Wrigley Field, the leafy home of the Chicago Cubs is 100 years old this year. It takes a lot of patience and forbearance to be a Cubs fan. They haven't won a World Series in 105 years. But many baseball stars crossed those foul lines. The 1932 team had Gabby Hartnett and Jolly Cholly Grimm and this was before we had those bubble gum cards. That was the year that Babe Ruth called his famous shot after needling the Cubs bench. About that time Al Capone had front row seats. As a youth I followed the 1945 team who lost the World Series to Detroit. The Tigers had Hank Greenberg back from the war. Later the Cubs had a double play combination of Baker-Banks and Bilko, anchored by the great Ernie Banks at shortstop. Steve Bilko was a huge fellow - very adroit around the first base bag but not too swift above the neck. It was a time when the teams mostly traveled by train and on a trip back from Montreal, they had to clear U.S. Customs. When they asked Bilko for his place of birth he replied "Car 12 Lower". After all, you wouldn't ask this large fellow to take the Upper Berth.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/sports/baseball/oh-the-stories-wrigley-field-could-tell.html?_r=0
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