He was dubbed Big Daddy by teammate Mike Krukow, because at 6'3", 235 pounds, he didn't much look like someone who could pass for a professional athlete, let alone be one. For the decade of the 1970s, Rick Reuschel was the best pitcher on the Cubs. He got 135 of his 214 career wins for Chicago, which is the second highest win total of any Cubs pitcher since World War II (behind only Fergie Jenkins).
Big Daddy won 10 or more games for nine years in a row (1972-1980), and on August 21, 1975, he and his brother Paul became the first brothers to combine on a major league shutout. After an injury plagued stint with the Yankees, the Cubs re-signed him, and he pitched for them again in '83 and '84, but they let him go because they thought he was done.
He wasn't. He won 70 more games for the Pirates and Giants over the next seven seasons.
If you missed yesterday's Cubs 365, it was the anniversary of a Ken Holtzman no-hitter.
If you missed Saturday's Cubs 365, it was the birthday of Larry Jackson.
