Yes, it's true, I'm not doing an update of EveryCubEver this season. On the other hand, I do plan on featuring every Hall of Fame Cub on or around their birthdays this year right here on this blog. And those entries will be from EveryCub Ever.
Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn was born this week (March 19) in 1927. Here's Richie's free excerpt...
Richie Ashburn 1927–1997 (Cubs 1960-1961)
While it was great to have the Hall of Famer Ashburn
covering center field for the 1960 and 1961 Cubs, the
lifetime .308 hitter was long past his prime. He put up
those Hall of Fame numbers mostly for the Philadelphia
Phillies. The stories about Ashburn from his early days
are legendary. He loved hitting so much he slept with his
Louisville Slugger when he was in slump. He was a speedy
singles hitter who won two batting titles, finished second
three times, and hit over .300 nine times. By the time he
came to the Cubs, unfortunately, his career was declining
and he no longer had the speed he exhibited early in his
career. Ashburn was a five-time All-Star, but none of those
appearances came with the Cubs. The Cubs let him go in
the expansion draft of 1962, and he finished his career as
the only All-Star on the worst team of all-time, the 1962
Mets. After his playing career ended, he became a beloved
announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies. He died in 1997,
two years after he was elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame.
