JOBC Cubs Almanac--February 13

Today's Cubs Birthdays

~Bill Bradley 1878 (Orphans 1899-1900)
Chicago signed him as a shortstop, but he made eight errors in his first five games, so they moved him over to 3B. When his career ended 14 years later, he was considered one of the top third basemen in baseball history. He jumped to the American League in a contract dispute in 1901 (urged to do so by another ex-Chicago star Clark Griffith), and over the next three seasons he was in the top ten in batting average, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers and slugging percentage. He was also the best fielding third baseman in the league. How much was the difference between the Cubs offer in 1901 and the offer from Cleveland? $3100. Doesn't sound like much, but it was 3/4 of his yearly salary.

~Gilly Campbell 1908 (Cubs 1933)
Gilly was a catcher, and had a cup of coffee as Gabby Hartnett's backup during the 1933 season. He hit .280 in that limited capacity, and helped handle a pitching staff that included big-time pitching stars like Lon Warneke, Guy Bush, Charlie Root, and Pat Malone (all of them double digit winners that year). The following season he was sold to Cincinnati. Gilly was a big leaguer until 1938.

~Donnie Moore 1954 (Cubs 1975, 1977-1979)
The Cubs traded him before he reached his prime. He became an all-star closer with the California Angels, but he also gave up the home run that knocked them out of the playoffs in 1986. That moment tormented him, and he was out of baseball just a few years later. The depressed Donnie took his own life in 1989.

~Matt Mieske 1968 (Cubs 1998)
He was a fourth outfielder for the Cubs in their wildcard winning season of 1998, and an important bat off the bench. He hit nearly .300 in that capacity. The Cubs let him go after the season and he palyed another four years (for Seattle, Houston & Arizona)


A/V Club

On this day in 1964, Cubs second baseman Ken Hubbs passed away in a plane crash. This video tells part of that story...

JOBC Cubs Almanac--January 10

Today's Featured Cub: Donnie Moore

On this day in 1973 the Cubs picked a young pitcher named Donnie Moore in the first round. Moore pitched parts of four seasons in Chicago and was beginning to show some promise when they traded him away for a middle infielder named Mike Tyson.

In typical Cubs fashion, Tyson didn't do much, while Moore became an all-star closer for the Angels.

Unfortunately, the Donnie Moore story has a very tragic ending. He was haunted by a home run he gave up in the 1986 ALCS, and just a year after the Angels released him, he took his own life at the age of 35.

This is the LA Times obituary, printed the day after his death.


Today's Featured Baseball Card: Donnie Moore

(1979 Topps Baseball Card)

This card shows his stats from the 1978 season, probably his best as a Cub. They read as follows: 9 wins, 7 losses, 71 games, 102.2 innings pitched, 50 strikeouts, 31 walks, 117 hits allowed, and an ERA of 4.12.





Nickname of the Day: Lefty

Needless to say, Cliff Chambers was a lefty, and he was born on this day in 1922. He got his big league start with the Cubs in 1948, but had a pretty rough season (2 wins, 9 losses, and a 4.43 ERA). The Cubs traded him to Pittsburgh after the season, and he had a few solid seasons with the Pirates. On May 6, 1951 he pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Braves.



Cup of Coffee

Future Cub Ed Stauffer was born on this day in 1898. He pitched in only one game for the Cubs on April 26, 1923. Ed pitched two innings and gave up five hits and three earned runs in a 7-5 loss to the Pirates. His final ERA in the NL is 13.50. Among the Pirates he faced that day: future Cub Charlie Grimm, and future Hall of Famers Rabbit Maranville and Pie Traynor. Stauffer later got a little longer shot with the 1925 St. Louis Browns (20 games).

Ed Stauffer passed away in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1979.


Other Cubs Birthdays

~Tom Dolan 1855 (White Stocking 1879)
He got his first taste of the big leagues in Chicago (4 at bats in 1979), but later played seven big league seasons elsewhere.

~John Houseman (1894 Colts)
He was the first big leaguer born in the Netherlands.

~Jack O'Neill 1873 (Cubs 1904-1905)
He was born in Ireland, and four of his borthers also played in the big leagues. Jack was a catcher.

~George Pierce 1888 (Cubs 1912-1916)
He pitched six years in the big leagues--five of those with the Cubs--including the team's first season in what is now known as Wrigley Field.

~Dan Rohn 1956 (Cubs 1983-1984)
He was a mostly used as a pinch hitter, and in his rookie season of 1983 he was a pretty good one, hitting .387.

~Rafael Dolis 1988 (Cubs 2011-2013)
The Cubs allowed him to leave via free agency after the 2013 season. He never managed to overcome his control problems.


A/V Club

Donnie Moore's very sad final days...