Cubs 365, September 17

On this day in 1882, future Cub Frank Wildfire Schulte was born. Wildfire didn't get his nickname for his style of play (although he stole home 22 times), or his tendency to hit the town (although Frank Chance used to chide him for that in the press). He got it because he named his favorite pony after his favorite Broadway show "Wildfire" (starring Lillian Russell), and soon it became his nickname too.

Schulte was known as a bit of a flake, but his teammates loved him for it. Joe Tinker once said: "I doubt whether a quainter or more original character ever existed in the National Pastime". One of his more bizarre eccentricities was that he had a thing for hairpins. He thought they were good luck, so he would search the streets looking for them. The bigger the hairpin, the better the luck.

Wildfire wasn't just a character, he was also a great player for the Cubs from 1904-1916, an era that spanned four NL pennants. He had a 13 game hitting streak in the World Series (and hit .321 overall in 91 World Series at bats). He was the MVP of the league in 1911. He led the league in homers, triples, and RBI. In short, he was a superstar.

Many years later, when Ty Cobb was an old man, he was asked what he remembered about Wildfire Schulte, his opponent in the 1907 and 1908 World Series. He said simply, "Schulte was one of the all-time greats."

Wildfire was the last remaining member of that last championship team when he was traded on July 29, 1916. He passed away in 1949 at the age of 67.