Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Cubs 365, March 5

Just as a reminder, the JOBC Blog is still providing Cubs stories every day. Today's example is below...

On this day in 1982, famous Cubs fan John Belushi died at the way too young age of 33. His career was peppered with references to his favorite baseball team. On Saturday Night Live, he flipped "Cheesborgers" in a place eerily similar to the place that allegedly brought us our World Series curse...the Billy Goat Tavern.

Even more famously, in the classic film "The Blues Brothers," Jake and Elwood say that their address is 1060 West Addison Street. When the band of moronic Nazis turn up at the brothers’ official address, they are none to pleased to discover what is really there...Wrigley Field.

Just a few months before John died in 1982, the Tribune bought the Cubs. John called them "the fascist paper from Chicago." A few months later, Harry Caray was named to replace the retiring Jack Brickhouse in the broadcast booth. Sporting News writer Bill Conlin wrote: "Harry Caray taking over for Brickhouse will have about the same shock value as John Belushi taking over the network news."

John Belushi never heard Harry broadcast a single Cubs game. When he died on March 5, 1982, spring training had just begun. In John Belushi's lifetime the Cubs never appeared in the playoffs a single time.