Sandy Koufax

On this day in 1965, he threw a perfect game against the Cubs.

It was the last time any pitcher has thrown a no-hitter against them.

The full story is here.

Ford Pardons Nixon

It happened on this day in 1974...

Raffy

On this day in 1986, just five days after Greg Maddux made his major league debut, another young Cubs rookie made his. His name was Rafael Palmeiro.

Like Maddux, his best years would be played in another uniform.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I used my last pair of Cubs tickets yesterday, and took my middle son Johnny to the game.

I know people think I'm an idiot for rooting for the most pathetic franchise in history, but I refuse to let the naysayers ruin the experience for me. All it takes is an afternoon at Wrigley Field with my son to remind me why I love this game and this team.

Johnny loved every second of the experience. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing out, the hot dogs were tasty, he kept score with his Cubs pencil, and wouldn't you know it, the Cubs won the game in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a Geovany Soto home run.

In the future will Johnny's memory of yesterday be ruined by a fifth place finish? No, it won't. It was just a great day at the ballpark with Dad.

And if that makes us pathetic idiots, then so be it. I wish that kind of pathetic idiocy on all of you.

Keith Moon

On this day in 1978 Keith Moon died at the age of 32. This is the last song he did with the Who...

The Dick Van Dyke Show

On this day in 1966, one of the greatest shows of all-time "The Dick Van Dyke Show," aired for the last time...

Charmian Carr

"JD" stumbled across my Charmian Carr article, and sent me the following e-mail...

"Rick--Like you, I'm a long-time, but now retired Broadcaster: two years at WSB Radio in Atlanta, GA, then weather on TV at WSB-TV, The Weather Channel, WAGA-TV and WGCL-TV -- all in the Atlanta market. Especially during my years of doing weather, I met many celebrities around Noon News time, and as the saying goes, yep, the bigger they were, the nicer they were.

I had been at WSB Radio for a year when "The Sound Of Music" came out. As an on-air guy, I got a free pass to a press screening, very sparely attended, surprisingly. That was the first of five times I saw the movie during its first run.

While I have had a lifelong crush on Julie Andrews, I was absolutely gobsmacked by Charmian Carr! She was born 11 days after I was in 1942. The calendar says I'm 67, but I tell ya, I'm still 37 when I get up in the morning!

You said it, Rick: LOOK at those eyes.

I saw her on one of the network morning news shows about ten years ago, and she was still gorgeous.

I envy your doing John's transcribed scene with her. I expect I would have felt much the same as you; though, over the years of meeting stars, I realized that all of us "in the business" were simply performers together, even if some were in stratospherically different leagues! Having that realization made it quite easy for me to meet and talk with whoever showed up in the studio.

I just discovered your blog today, looking for Charmian. You are a fine writer!"

Right to the point

Ken Hubbs

On this day in 1962, Cubs rookie second baseman Ken Hubbs set a National League record for most plays handled without an error.

This is what it sounded like.

The record was broken in 1965 by Jerry Adair of the Dodgers.

By then, Hubbs was dead. He died in a plane crash in February of 1964.

Labor day

Happy Labor Day!

Please don't work.

That's the whole idea of the holiday.

Emil Verban

His name has become known because of the Washington group of Cubs fans formed in his honor (jokingly); The Emil Verban Society. Among it's one-time members; Ronald Reagan.

On this day in 1948, Emil did something on a baseball field for the only time in major league career.

He hit a home run.

He hit it off Johnny Van Der Meer, the man who once pitched consecutive no-hitters.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This week's is called "Interviews with a Scoutmaster."

You can read it here.

Chicago Radio Spotlight updates

Click here for updated interviews with WLS Radio's Roe Conn and Cisco Cotto, WGN's Jerry Agar, and former rock jock Bob Hale.

Chicago Radio Spotlight returns

After a summer hiatus, I'm back to interviewing Chicago radio personalities.

Tomorrow I'll post updated interviews with Roe Conn, Cisco Cotto, Jerry Agar, and Bob Hale.

Edwin Starr

#1 on this day forty years ago today, "War." Good God Y'all...

Maddux Debuts

He was just a skinny kid when the Cubs brought him up from Iowa on this day in 1986. No one was predicting a Hall of Fame career for him.

Maybe they couldn't see past the mustache.

Today's Date

It's 9-02-10 today.

Luke Perry's phone may actually ring today.

Star Trek

On this day in 1969, NBC canceled Star Trek, ending the show before the Enterprise crew could even complete their five year mission. The show, and those associated with it, have never been heard from since...


Star Trek TOS - William Shatner SNL - Get A Life - MyVideo

Ernie and Curt Simmons

Curt Simmons was the first pitcher Ernie Banks ever faced in the big leagues in 1954. Just eleven years later, on this day in 1965, Ernie hit his 400th career home run against the same pitcher, Curt Simmons.

By the middle of the following season, the two men were Cubs teammates.

Simmons had a great career. He won 193 career games, and a World Series title with the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals, but with the Cubs he only won seven games in parts of two seasons.

John Lennon meets Van Halen

I know I should find this blasephemous, but I like it. It's David Lee Roth singing "Jump" over the music from John Lennon's "Imagine," and somehow it works...

I Dream of Jeannie

Exactly forty years ago tonight, the last episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" aired. Tony and Jeannie got married. 40 years later, he's old, wrinkled, and retired from the military. She's a Genie. She looks exactly the same...



I'm also betting she no longer calls him "Master."

Lee Smith

One of the greatest relief pitchers in baseball history debuted on this day, exactly thirty years ago.

His name was Lee Smith, and he pitched for one of the worst Cubs teams in history.

Street Fighting Man

One of their very best was released on this day in 1968....

Now this is a mustache!

For my money, it's the best Cubs mustache of all-time.

It belonged to former Cub Ramon Hernandez.

Hernandez was born on this day 70 years ago. Sadly, he passed away last year in his native Puerto Rico.

I am New Orleans

Ronald Reagan

On this day in 1984, President Ronald Reagan was inducted into the Sportscasters Hall of Fame. Yes, it was a move to generate publicity for the Hall of Fame. Yes, it was pure exploitation of a popular president.

But it was also a deserved honor.

Though Reagan only did his sportscasting for WHO radio in Des Moines, he was still one of the most popular radio sportscasters in the country at the time. (How many Iowa broadcasters in history are able to say that?) That's not revisionist history. That's the truth. Every year a list came out of the top ten, and when he was a baseball announcer, Dutch Reagan was on that list.

What team did he broadcast again?

Toy Story 3

The latest gem from Pixar (Toy Story 3) has just passed the one billion dollar mark at the box office. That makes it one of the top ten in history.

My review of the film is here.

KiKi

His nickname was Kiki, which isn't pronounced "key-key," it's pronounced "cuy-cuy" as in his last name "Cuyler."

The Hall of Famer was born on this day in 1898.

Father Knows Nothing

I just posted my latest Father Knows Nothing column at NWI Parent. This one is called "Whoops," and it's about the unintended consequences of a previous Father Knows Nothing column.

You can read it here.

Lola

Released on this day exactly forty years ago...

Cubs move Harry's statue

Harry's statue was on the corner of Sheffield and Addison, greeting fans as they came to the park from the "L". I think this new location is actually more appropriate...outside the Bleacher entrance on Sheffield and Waveland.

Full details are here.

The new Billy Williams statue will take Harry's old place.

3 great nicknames

3 great Cubs nicknames were born on this day in 1915, 1901, and 1917 respectively.

The Antelope

Fidgety Phil (photo)

and

Peanuts

All three are long gone, but their legends live on.

E-mails, we get e-mails

"BP" writes in with his take on my take on the Rolling Stone Magazine list of the Top 10 Beatles songs...

I agree. It’s hard to argue with the list if you run under the assumption that the list is limited to “popular” Beatles songs (ie: the hits). If I were to pick my all time favorite Beatles songs it would include stuff like “Across the Universe.” “And Your Bird Can Sing,” and “I’m Down.”

I was surprised to see “Come Together” on the Rolling Stone list, but it would definitely make my list. I think they picked “I Want To Hold Your Hand” to have representation of early Beatlemania. If that’s the criteria, there’s not a lot else you could pick, maybe “Help!” My list would drop “In My Life” for “All You Need is Love” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” for “Drive My Car”

Purple Haze

Released on this day in 1967...

Sparky

His real name was Earl Adams, but his teammates called him Sparky.

Sparky Adams was a pretty good infielder for the Cubs, but his real long-term value to the team might have come the day he was traded to the Pirates.

Find out why here.

A bluebird on my shoulder

I can't help it. Seeing the last of the boys walk out the front door for school this morning has this song running through my mind....

Born to Run

Released 35 years ago today...

First Day of School

It's the first day of school today for my boys.

Tommy is in high school.

Johnny is in middle school.

Sean is in second grade.

And for the first time since early June, Dad is in a house that will be silent for six hours in a row.

Nice Guys Finish Last

I've been getting a lot of e-mails lately asking for recommendations for baseball books (What? The Cubs aren't doing it for you this year?). I can tell you which book I always mention first. The University of Chicago Press recently re-released "Nice Guys Finish Last," the autobiography of Leo Durocher.

I reviewed it last year at this time for the Beachwood Reporter. You can read that review here.

If you're looking for a novel, check out "The Man With Two Arms" by Billy Lombardo. I reviewed that one here.

If you love baseball, you'll love both books.

Wooden Heart

On this day in 1961, this was the #1 song in our country. It's an old German folk song called "Muss i Denn," that has been given English words (which are totally different than the German words). In the middle verse here, he actually sings the German words. (Elvis had a hit with it too). I can't believe this was a #1 hit. I'm happy I wasn't alive yet.



By the way, I was forced to listen to the many different German versions of this my whole life. It's one of my mother's favorites.

Scoops

His real name was Jimmy Cooney, but his teammates called him Scoops.

He was born on this day in 1894, and remains the last player in team history to accomplish a rare feat.

Find out what it was here.

Don't Be A Sucker

They should have played at this at the Mosque protest yesterday...

Another One Bites the Dust

Released 30 years ago today.

Love Freddie's mustache in this video.

Lou Piniella

That was an emotional farewell for Lou yesterday. I must admit...I got a little verklempt myself.

This is what he looked like when he started in the big leagues in 1969. It's hard to believe he'll never wear a big league uniform again.

The video below was created by frequent Brandmeier contributor SquireHogg....

Leo Loses It

On this day in 1971, the combustible manager of the Cubs, Leo Durocher, completely lost it before a game against the Reds. Most of the Cubs on that team remember it as the day that Durocher lost control of the team.

The full story is here.

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column is now up at NWI Parent. This week's discusses my days as a child prodigy. It's called "The Baron of Barf."

You can read it here.

Derrek Lee's back in Wrigley

Today he'll play his first game as a Brave, and wouldn't you know it, it's in Wrigley Field.

Look for him to have a HUGE day.

By the way, I don't know if you've been following this or not, but Ted Lilly has been pitching like Cy Young for the Dodgers. He won again last night.

#14 Retired

This week in 1982, the Cubs retired the number 14 in honor of Ernie Banks. It was the first number the team ever retired.

Just over twenty years later the same honor was bestowed upon his former teammate Ron Santo.

They now share a flagpole at Wrigley Field.

"It's in the hole"

Eddie Gaedel

This caught my eye at Bob Dearborn's The Old Disc Jockey's Almanac. On this day in 1951...

"Bill Veeck, owner of baseball's St. Louis Browns, sent Eddie Gaedel, a 3'7" midget, to the plate to pinch-hit. Because of the tiny strike zone of someone of Gaedel's physical stature, he was walked on four consecutive pitches. His one appearance in the major leagues ended abruptly when he was replaced at first base by a pinch-runner. Gaedel's jersey, bearing the uniform number "⅛," is displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame." 

(Photo: Major League Baseball)

D-Lee is outta here

I enjoyed Derrek Lee's time with the Cubs. I think he was actually a pretty classy guy, and he was a very good player for several of those years.

But for the rest of this season, and hopefully the post season, D-Lee is a Brave.

This opens up one position for next year's Cubs. The rest of them are pretty much locked into contracts.

My Sharona

Still love this one. It was #1 on this day in 1979...



The Knack's lead singer Doug Fieger passed away earlier this year.

Sammy unloads on the Cubs

Sammy says he tried to retire with the Cubs and they wouldn't let him. And he's still bitter about the way they damaged his reputation before trading him away.

The tease of the Chicago Magazine story is here.

It comes out in the newsstands today.

Holtzman's No-No

It happened on this day in 1969.

Here is the last out of the game.

The Crashproof Motorcycle

Not sure if this is a joke or not...(although in my experience, Germans are not exactly known for their humor.)

Dan Quayle

On this day in 1988, George Bush unveiled his running mate to the nation...Dan Quayle. Don't you miss him a little?

China Grove

On this day in 1973, the Doobie Brothers released this one...

Bob Kennedy

Former Cubs manager and general manager Bob Kennedy was born on this day in 1920.

Kennedy was the Cubs manager the day the Kennedy expressway opened.

RIP Bobby Thomson

The Flying Scot was a Cub for a few years, but everyone remembers him as the man that hit the walk off home run to clinch the pennant for the New York Giants.

He passed away yesterday at the age of 86.

You Really Got Me

The ultimate garage band song was released on this day in 1964...

Cubs eat caviar

The spread in the Cubs clubhouse before last night's game included caviar. I'm not kidding. Paul Sullivan has the details in the Tribune this morning...

The Cubs have the highest average ticket price in baseball, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that the team served caviar in its pregame spread before Monday night's game against the Padres at Wrigley Field. Manager Lou Piniella joked about the expensive delicacy to clubhouse man Tom Hellmann before the game, saying: "Hell, if we were in first place, we'd have a chef from France in here."

Ray Chapman

On this day in 1920, exactly 90 years ago, this guy--Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman, got into the batter's box against Yankees pitcher Carl Mays. Mays was a known headhunter; a mean and surly type that was roundly disliked by teammates and opponents.

Chapman took one to the head and went down hard. He died the following day. It's still the last fatality resulting from a baseball injury in MLB history.

After the season, a new rule was established requiring the umpire to get rid of any dirty balls (because they couldn't be seen well enough by the batters). The spitball was also banned, largely because of this incident.

As for Carl Mays, he became even more unpopular, and was later accused of throwing a World Series game. Although he had outstanding numbers (Five 20 win seasons, 4 World Series Championships, 2-time shutout leader, 207 career wins), Carl Mays was never seriously considered for  baseball's Hall of Fame.

Robert Redford

The star of the great baseball film "The Natural" is celebrating a birthday this week. He turns (believe it or not) 74 years old. Wonder if he still uses Wonderboy...

E-mails, we get e-mails

From "BP"

I agree with you on the greatness of “Hang on Sloopy.” I’ve always loved the song, too. Interesting note: When I saw Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band last summer Bruce played “Sloopy” as an encore. It obviously wasn’t planned as he sang the whole first verse by himself with only his guitar as accompaniment. On Bruce’s last tour he did a lot of impromptu songs. Fans were bringing signs to concerts for the last several years requesting oddball songs from deep in the Bruce catalog and oldies he had played in the past. Bruce amped this up by often challenging the crowd to “stump the E Street Band.” Bruce would have the band play an instrumental (“Raise Your Hand” or “Heatwave” while he would go into the crowd and collect these often elaborately made signs). The band had no idea what was coming and often had to huddle up to determine the key of the song or the bridge. The requests got more and more off the wall and by the end of the tour Bruce and the band had played everything from Elvis and Chuck Berry to The Who, The Ramones and The Clash. You can see Bruce collect signs and sort through them deciding which songs to play in the just released DVD “Live from Hyde Park .” The band opens the show with the appropriate “London Calling.”

I admit that I didn't appreciate Bruce in my younger days. My wife was the one that showed me the way.

Julie Newmar

She's 77 years old today. I don't care how old she is, Julie Newmar will always be, for my money, one of the hottest women ever. I think it was the catsuit. The other girl in this scene, by the way, is Leslie Gore singing her hit "California Nights"

The Day that Elvis Died

On this day in 1977...

Elvis' last song performed on stage

It was in June of 1977. Less than two months later he was gone.

This Week in 1945

Mao makes "peace," Chicago buses, Happy Chandler, Abbott & Costello, Orville Wright, and Cubs outfielder Frank Secory are featured This Week in 1945.

Harry and Elvis

On this day in 1977, the King of Rock and Roll passed away at the age of 42. Thousands of Elvis fans are currently flocking to Memphis to pay tribute to the man, but one story they probably won't tell or hear is this one: The day Harry Caray met Elvis Presley...

Father Knows Nothing

My latest Father Knows Nothing column is now available at NWI Parent. This week's is called: "Adulthood: The Video Game."

You can read it here.

Hang on Sloopy

One of the few Oldies I didn't end up hating after working at an Oldies station for ten years. This one was released on this day in 1965. The lead singer and guitarist for the McCoys later had some solo success as Rick Derringer in the 1970s...

Friday the 13th

Snopes.com tackles the superstition surrounding this day.

Happy Friday the 13th, by the way.

#26 Retired

On this date in 1987, the Cubs retired the number of one of the all-time greats: Good Ol' Number 26, Billy Williams. It was only the second number they ever retired (Ernie was first).

Billy's #26 now shares a flagpole with #23 (Sandberg), and #31 (Maddux & Jenkins).

Baseball Striking Again

It happened on this day in 1994. Baseball went on strike...again!

John Landecker and the Legends paid musical tribute to the moment. 

I wrote the words in a fit of love/hate.

Warren Spahn

He was one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in baseball history.

On this day in 1961 he won his 300th game, a complete game 2-1 victory in County Stadium in Milwaukee.

Care to guess which team he beat? Yup. Who else?

Lou Boudreau

On this day in 2001, we lost another great Cubs announcer. Lou Boudreau passed away at the age of 84.

Of course, Lou was much more than an announcer. He was a Hall of Fame player, and a World Series winning manager (with the Cleveland Indians--which by the way haven't won the World Series since)

He also managed the Cubs under truly strange circumstances.

Magic Bus

Released on this day in 1968...

Hall of Famer: Ernie Banks

A few weeks ago we enjoyed the induction of Andre Dawson into the Hall of Fame.

Well, thirty three years ago this week another former Cub took his rightful place in the Hall of Fame.

Here's what Ernie Banks had to say on that day.

Nixon's Farewell

26 years ago today...

Bill Campbell

Like any player with that last name, his nickname was Soup.

Today's his birthday. He's 62.