Mark Buehrle on Letterman

I thought he did a nice job with the Top Ten List last night.

Time to bring these out again...

Losing is soooo last century.*

Your shirts are available here. Still selling for 19.08% off.






*I know I stuck a fork in the season on May 1, but what can I say, I've been sucked back in again. Maybe you have been too.

Birthday announcements

Two famous Cubs fans were born on this date.

Joe E. Brown was born in 1892.

Walter Jacobson was born in 1937.

Also, your humble Just One Bad Century editor Rick Kaempfer was born on this day in 1963.

Piano playing otter

E-mails, we get e-mails...

I have to say, I'm beyond touched by this e-mail. It's from the people that gave Sean and I the great seats at the Cubs game on Friday. (If you missed it, I wrote about it in this weekend's Father Knows Nothing column.) I sent them the column via e-mail as an additional thank you, and this is how they responded...

"Good morning Rick,

I think that Cheryl and I were the real winners Friday. How can you beat helping a cute little fella like Sean in having his best day ever? Friday is what life is all about. Kids having fun and a special day with their dad. Sean won't remember the score or many of the details of the game, but he will always remember who shared his special day with him. Congratulations on being a wonderful parent, a very nice and appreciactive guy and a fabulous writer! Your article was great, and I would be thrilled to read your book. That is very generous of you. Thank you. I'm glad that we got to share a great game and some time with you and Sean. People like you help remind me what is still truly good in a hectic world today. Thanks again for for sharing a lot of smiles with us! Karma really is a beautiful thing!

Tell Sean we say hi!

Brian and Cheryl"

Leo the Lip

Leo was born on this date in 1905.

He was a big challenge for Lou Boudreau to interview every day during the Cubs pre-game show (Durocher in the Dugout). There weren't enough bleeps in the world to clean up some of those radio interviews.

Ever hear one of the unedited versions? Listen to this with caution. It's full of unbleeped f-bombs. Consider yourself warned.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest "Father Knows Nothing" column at NWI Parent. It's about my day at the ballpark with my youngest son Sean. You can read it here.

Mick is 66

That just sounds wrong doesn't it?

His days in Chicago are recounted here, if you're interested.





And here's a taste of Mick in his prime...

Steve Goodman

If he were alive today, Steve Goodman would be celebrating his 61st birthday.

The die-hard Cubs fan left us way too soon.

Take me out to the ballgame

I'm taking my youngest son Sean (the biggest Cubs fan in the family) to the Cubs game today. I hope the weather holds up.

I take each of the boys to one game a summer, but Sean looks forward to it the most. He woke me up at 7 this morning with his Cubs shirt and hat on, holding his mitt.

Last year he almost got to express his Cubs love to a national audience. This year, he'll be satisfied to express it to the Cubs themselves.

This week in...

1929

The Cubs are in the midst of a pennant winning season.

*Riggs Stephenson slugs a home run and Sheriff Blake beats the Brooklyn Robins in Wrigley Field on the same day that 60,000 SA and SS troops march in Munich, flexing their Nazi muscles.

********************
1969

The Cubs are in the midst of one of their most memorable seasons.

*While Fergie Jenkins is striking out 10 Pirates and throwing a two-hitter in Chicago, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are preparing to perform at the Fillmore East, their first ever concert together.


********************
1984

The Cubs are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since World War 2.

*The Cubs score eight runs in the eighth inning to beat the Mets 11-4 in New York, but most Chicagoans aren't watching the game. They're watching the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.


********************
1989

The Boys of Zimmer are taking Chicago by storm.

*On the day that George W. Bush makes his self-proclaimed "biggest mistake ever" (trading Sammy Sosa to the White Sox while he was President of the Texas Rangers), the Cubs beat the Mets 10-3 at Wrigley Field. Greg Maddux gets the win.

Ron Santo & Diabetes

On this date in 1971, Ron Santo admitted that he was a diabetic. In this video he talks about the challenges he faced, including the scariest moment of playing with diabetes...it somehow resulted in a home run.

Bumper Stickers

- I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.

- Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them.

- I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

- You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.

- BEER: It's not just for breakfast anymore.

- I got a gun for my wife, best trade I ever made.

- So you're a feminist...Isn't that cute!

- I'm just driving this way to tork you off.

- Keep honking, I'm reloading.

- As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in public schools.

- I took an IQ test and the results were negative.

- Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.

- Very funny, Scotty. Now beam down my clothes.

Fart wars

I went to college with one of the fart warriors in this piece; Joel Comm. Looks like he has become quite successful.

Watch it here.

Glenn Beckert's Hitting Streak

Today in 1968, Glenn Beckert extended his hitting streak to 27 games.

That hitting streak is among the most cherished Cubs memories of WDRV afternoon host Bobby Skafish. He told us all about it in this exclusive video...

Nirvana meets Ric Astley

This really is incredibly well done...

Reverse Racism

Stephen Colbert has been on fire this week.

Another great piece on Reverse Racism.

The Crab & the Polish Prince

Two important Cubs birthdays today.

The Crab, Johnny Evers, was born on this date in 1881. Find out why they called him the Crab here.

The Polish Prince, Moe Drabowsky, was born on this date in 1935. Read about his worst day in a Cubs uniform here.

Joke for a Monday morning

Contributed by "KK"



Tom, Dick and Harry were in the pub enjoying a few quiet drinks one night, when they decided to get in on the weekly raffle.

They bought five $1 tickets each, seeing it was for charity.

The following week, when the raffle was drawn, they each won a prize.

Tom won the first prize - a whole year's supply of gourmet spaghetti sauce.

Dick was the winner of the second prize - six month's supply of extra-long gourmet spaghetti.

And Harry won the sixth prize - a toilet brush.

When they met in the pub a week later, Harry asked the others how they were enjoying their prizes.

"Great," said Tom. "I love spaghetti."

"So do I," said Dick. "And how's the toilet brush, Harry?"

"Not so good," Harry said, "I reckon I'll go back to paper..."

This week in...

1929

The Cubs are in the midst of a pennant winning season.

*As the Cubs are winning a double-header in Philadelphia behind home runs from Hack Wilson and Cliff Heathcote, the world's first airport hotel opens in Oakland California.



********************
1969

The Cubs are in the midst of one of their most memorable seasons.

*Bill Hands pitches a shutout in Wrigley Field against Montreal backed by RBI hits from Ron Santo and Ernie Banks just a few hours before Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon.


********************
1984

The Cubs are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since World War 2.

*Rick Sutcliffe 6-hits the Padres at Wrigley Field on the same day that Walter Mondale wins the 1984 Democratic nomination in San Francisco.



********************
1989

The Boys of Zimmer are taking Chicago by storm.

*Former President Ronald Reagan (a Cubs fan) takes a turn at the microphone, broadcasting the all-star game. The Cubs are represented in that game by 2B Ryne Sandberg, OF Andre Dawson, SP Rick Sutcliffe, and RP Mitch Williams.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. It's about our latest camping trip to Wisconsin. I call this one: "Up the River"

Billy Joel & Elton John

They played last night at Wrigley Field. I missed it.

Here's the review of Billy & Elton in today's Tribune. Sounds like it was a great show. I'd love to hear from someone that attended.

Lou Piniella meets the President

Here's the full story. I saw him interviewed about it during the Cubs pre-game last night. It sounds like Lou was genuinely blown away by the experience.

Lou Boudreau

The Good Kid was born on this date in 1917.

Despite the fact that he was a Chicago boy, and he broadcast the Cubs games for many years, he never actually played for the Cubs.

He did manage them for a season, however. That's a pretty weird story.

A no-handed backflip over the Thames

This is crazy.

Apollo 11 launches

It happened on this day in 1969, exactly 40 years ago today.

Unless of course you're one of those loons who believes the whole thing was staged.

This is some pretty impressive staging. Here's the video.

Keep it, kid.

On this date in 1916, the Chicago Cubs became the first team to allow their fans to keep the balls hit into the stands.

Imagine if that rule had never been instituted. Would it have made a difference on a certain date in 2003?

I love Chicago

I went downtown with the boys on Wednesday. We went to the Art Institute and then hung out in Millennium Park. I know this isn't exactly profound, but every time I come downtown I'm still blown away by the beauty of this city.

This is just one of the many pictures I took yesterday. It's the only one that doesn't have a boy making rabbit ears over another boy's head.

Bubbles

Ernest Hargrave was born on this day in 1892. His teammates called him "Bubbles," and he was a catcher for the Cubs about a hundred years ago.

Read why they called him Bubbles here.

Two more of our Arlington Park videos

Both of these videos star Quinn Ella (otherwise known as my buddy Dave).

Easy Rider

It was released 40 years ago today.

I was fortunate enough to meet the director and co-star of that movie, Dennis Hopper. He's a very interesting guy. (Read all about that meeting here.)

Enjoy a clip of the movie too. This is obviously pre-booze tax.

All Star Cubs

I was just curious about which Cubs have appeared in the all-star game over the years, so I did some research. Keep in mind that the All-Star game began in 1933, so the many Cubs greats from the first 66 years of the franchise are not included here. The photos represent the most recognized Cub at each position.


Catchers:
Gabby Hartnett (1933, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
Clyde McCullough (1948, 53)
Randy Hundley (1969)
Steve Swisher (1976)
Jody Davis (1984, 86)
Geovany Soto (2008)







First Basemen:
Ripper Collins (1937)
Phil Cavaretta (1944, 45, 46, 47)
Eddie Waitkus (1948)
Ernie Banks (1962, 65, 67, 69)
Bill Buckner (1981)
Mark Grace (1993, 95, 97)
Derek Lee (2005, 07)





Second Basemen:
Billy Herman (1934, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
Don Zimmer (1961)
Glenn Beckert (1969, 70, 71, 72)
Manny Trillo (1977)
Ryne Sandberg (1984, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93)







Shortstops:
Billy Jurges (1937)
Ernie Banks (1955, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
Don Kessinger (1968, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74)
Shawon Dunston (1988, 90)






Third Basemen:
Woody English (1933)
Stan Hack (1938, 39, 41, 43)
Andy Pafko (1948)
Randy Jackson (1954, 55)
Ron Santo (1963, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73)
Bill Madlock (1975)
Vance Law (1988)
Aramis Ramirez (2005, 08)




Outfielders: Kiki Cuyler (1934), Chuck Klein (1934), Augie Galan (1935), Frank Demaree (1936, 37), Bill Nicholson (1940, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1945), Andy Pafko (1945, 47, 49, 50), Hank Sauer (1950, 52), Moose Moryn (1958), George Altman (1961, 62), Billy Williams (1962, 64, 65, 68, 72, 73), Jim Hickman (1970), Jerry Morales (1977), Dave Kingman (1979, 80), Leon Durham (1982, 83), Andre Dawson (1987, 88, 89, 90, 91), Rafael Palmeiro (1988), George Bell (1991), Sammy Sosa (1995, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 04), Moises Alou (2004), Alfonso Soriano (2007, 08), Kosuke Fukudome (2008)

Pitchers: Lon Warneke (1933, 34, 36), Curt Davis (1936), Larry French (1940), Claude Passeau (1941, 42, 43, 45, 46), Johnny Schmitz (1946, 48), Bob Rush (1950, 52), Dutch Leonard (1951), Don Elston (1959), Larry Jackson (1963), Dick Ellsworth (1964), Fergie Jenkins (1967, 71, 72), Rick Reuschel (1977), Bruce Sutter (1977, 78, 79, 80), Lee Smith (1983, 87), Rick Suttcliffe (1987, 89), Greg Maddux (1988, 92), Mitch Williams (1989), Randy Myers (1994, 95), Steve Trachsel (1996), Jon Lieber (2001), Mark Prior (2003), Kerry Wood (2003, 08), Carlos Zambrano (2004, 06, 08), Ryan Dempster (2008), Carlos Marmol (2008), Ted Lilly (2009)

Ironic PSA

James Dean on safe driving...

Ricketts gets approval

The Trib and Tom Ricketts (photo) have finally come to an agreement about the Cubs. Now they just need to wait for approval from the bankruptcy court and the other MLB owners.

Dave Kaplan tells the story here on his blog.

Investment Banker Jokes

Thanks to "HJ" for sending these to me...



Q: You used to work for Lehman Brothers? How do you make a living now?
A: I sell furniture. My own.

Banker: Take me to the bankruptcy court.
Cabbie: Here we are. $20 please.
Banker: Well, I guess you better come in too.

Q: What do you say to a banker with a steady job?
A: Two Big Macs and one large fries.

Q: What’s the definition of optimism?
A: An investment banker who irons five shirts on a Sunday evening.

An investment banker said he was going to concentrate on the big issues from now on. He sold me one in the street yesterday.

A man went to his bank manager and said: ‘I’d like to start a small business. How do I go about it?’ ‘Simple,’ said the bank manager. ‘Buy a big one and wait.’

The credit crunch is getting bad, isn’t it? I mean, I let my brother borrow a tenner a couple of weeks back, it turns out I’m now Britain’s fourth biggest lender.

Q: What is the difference between an investment banker and a pigeon?
A: A pigeon can still make a deposit on a BMW.

Q: What is the difference between an investment banker and a large pizza?
A: The pizza can still feed a family of four.

Q: What does a hedge fund manager with no fund to manage say?
A: Would you like fries with that sir?

Q: What is the capital of Iceland?
A: About $3.50

I tried to get cash from the ATM today but it said “insufficient funds.” I don’t know if that meant them or me.

Mark Twain was ahead of the curve: “October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.”

Doctor: Bad news, you have only three weeks to live.
Sales Broker: On what?

Q: Have you ever been arrested?
Structurer: No.
Q: Why?
Structurer: Never got caught.

CEO - Chief Embezzlement Officer

CFO - Corporate Fraud Officer

BULL MARKET - Statements made by banks to get you to buy their stocks

BEAR MARKET - A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex

VALUE INVESTING - The art of buying low and selling lower

P/E RATIO - The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market plunges

BROKER — What your broker has made you

STANDARD & POOR — Your life in a nutshell

STOCK ANALYST – The shrink who’s treating your depressed financial advisor

STOCK SPLIT — When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally

FINANCIAL PLANNER — A guy whose phone has been disconnected

MARKET CORRECTION — The day after you buy stocks

CASH FLOW– The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet

PROFIT — An archaic word no longer in use.

Footsie

His real name was Clarence Blair, and he was born on this date in 1900.

See why all of his teammates called him Footsie.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted another Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. It's a tribute to my dad called "Why do I write?"

You can read it here.

Camping

I can't believe I got sucked into again, but I'm leaving in a few hours to go camping with my family in Wisconsin.

Here's what happened last time.

The weather for this weekend calls for scattered thunderstorms.

I look at it this way. The bigger the disaster, the better the story. Right?

United Breaks Guitars

I'm not a big fan of country music, but this one hits home. It perfectly captures our beloved O'Hare Airport. It's pretty funny too. (Apologies to my friends who work at United Airlines)

Andre Dawson

Andre Dawson is celebrating his 55th birthday today. We've previously written about Andre several times at Just One Bad Century.

We've praised his mustache.

We've explained his nickname.

We've relived the 1989 season.

And we've played the Andre Dawson song.

Today we just wish him a happy birthday.

Dad & Harry

I just got back from the cemetery (visiting Dad). While I was there, the boys and I went for a stroll to check out some of the other graves. My grandparents are there, an uncle, a family friend, and a bunch of other people they knew.

Imagine my surprise when we also stumbled onto the grave of Harry Caray. He's buried no more than a hundred yards away from Dad.

It's a nice gravestone that says "CARAY" and features a baseball, the caricature of Harry's "Holy Cow" logo, and says something to the effect of "Dedicated to baseball fans everywhere."

Eckhard Kaempfer

This is a picture of my father Eckhard Kaempfer.

We lost Dad exactly twenty years ago today.

I was hosting the "Best of Steve & Garry" on the Loop when I got a call on the hotline from my sister. She said I needed to come to the hospital immediately because something happened to Dad.

My good buddy Jim Wiser was there at the time of the phone call, and volunteered to finish the shift for me so I could drive out to the hospital in Arlington Heights. I'll never forget Jim for that because I arrived just moments before Dad lost consciousness forever.

Dad was only 54 years old when he died.

His name was Eckhard Kaempfer, but don't bother Googling him. He lived his entire life before the Internet era so there is almost no record of his accomplishments. I'll give you the Cliff Notes version. He was a German immigrant, but he was also a proud American. He served in the United States Air Force, and the US Army Corp of Engineers. He loved westerns and cowboys.

But his real love was soccer. He was one of the founders of the Green White Soccer Club, which still exists more than fifty years later. The current secretary of the club is my sister Cindy. She's another one of Dad's accomplishments; one of his very best. Add my brother Peter to that list. And I suppose I should include Dad's oldest child too; not a child at all anymore, nearly 46 years old.

After they declared Dad dead, and we all came home from hospital, I sat in the darkness and couldn't sleep. I picked up a pad of paper and just started writing. Some sort of a poem or song or essay about Dad came out. I wrote it more for my own therapy than for anything else. I wasn't going to show it to anyone. If I hadn't written it, I wouldn't have slept.

The next morning Mom woke up before I did, and found that pad of paper. She begged me to read it in church as Dad's eulogy. I didn't know what I was getting into when I agreed. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I honestly don't remember a word of it. After the funeral, I gave that pad of paper to Mom and I haven't seen it since.

I'll be stopping by the cemetery today (along with three little boys he never met) to see the stone in the ground with his name on it. It still startles me every time I see it: Eckhard Kaempfer, 1935-1989.

After that, I think I'll stop by Mom's and see if I can read that pad of paper again.

I think it's time.

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks is 53 years old today. Remember his immortal words: "There's no crying in baseball."

E-mails, we get e-mails

"AS" responds to yesterday's post about the Journey song "Don't Stop Believin'". She writes...


"“Just a city boy, born in raised in South Detroit …..”

There is no South Detroit. South Detroit is Windsor, Canada .

Which also reminds me of the old, cheesy 70’s song, The Night Chicago Died. The very first line is “ Dad dy was a cop….on the east side of Chicago.” Evidently, Daddy was on a boat in the middle of Lake Michigan .

Little things like that bug me for some reason. It is interesting that Journey basically wrote that song backwards, which explains the odd formula and the chorus coming at the end of the song. I remember them singing Don’t Stop Believin’ at Rosemont Horizon during the 1981 Escape tour. Steve Perry pointed to Jonathan Cain and sang, “just a city boy, born and raise in South Chicago .” Evidently, Cain IS from Chicago (and was a survivor of the Our Lady of the Angels fire in 1958). A little useless trivia for you."

Thanks "AS." There's no-one who appreciates worthless trivia more than I do.

20 years ago this week

One of my all-time favorite shows debuted 20 years ago this week. Here are some highlights...

Hank O'Day

He was the umpire who made the controversial ruling that gave the Cubs the 1908 National League pennant.

Just six years later he was managing the team. Read the story of Hank O'Day here. He was born on this day in 1882.

Ryan Dempster

How did he break his toe? Jumping over the railing to celebrate a Cubs victory.

He's out 3-4 weeks.

That is so Cubs.

Behind the Scenes at Arlington

Arlington Park hired us to produce funny "behind the scenes" videos for their website. Here are the first few. Long-time readers of this blog might recognize the star of these videos (Quinn Ella) as my former Half-Empty co-writer Dave.







Keep checking their website Arlington Park Live for more Behind the Scenes videos. There are a couple more in production as we speak.

Don't Stop Believin'

There's a great look at the Journey song "Don't Stop Believin'" in this morning's Chicago Tribune.

The song was a top ten hit, but it is lasting way beyond everyone's expectations. After all, it came out in 1981. The Tribune analyzes.

The first All-Star game

It was played on this date in 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

There were several Cubs on that first all-star team: Lon Warneke (who pitched 4 innings of one-run ball against the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig & Jimmie Foxx), Gabby Hartnett (who struck out in his only at-bat) & Woody English (who didn't get to play in the game).

Babe Ruth hit a two run homer in the bottom of the third, but it wasn't against Warneke. Cardinals pitcher Wild Bill Hallahan served up the dinger to the Babe.

The American League won 4-2.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted a new Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. It's called "The Big Easy" and it's about the family trip to New Orleans.