An inglorious ending

Dateline: June 7, 1968. One week before the author of this post was born. The country is reeling from the shocking assassination of New York Senator and potential Democratic presidential nominee Robert F. Kennedy, who had died the day before. By some strange and spectral coincidence, the Baltimore Orioles used their first pick in the

A Monday to remember

There are some things I’ll never understand, and one of them regards the 1976 Cubs. This was my first full season as a fan, and I hadn’t learned anything about the team and its history yet. As far as I was concerned, they were just a team that wore blue and played their games in

The pivotal year

I was walking my dog this morning when I noticed a penny in the street. It was in the crease between the actual street and the asphalt lump that rises to form a speed bump. Speed bumps are prevalent in my neighborhood, and they’re irritating but, like squirrels, they continue to exist without regard to

A one-time starter

It seems like it would be impossible to let the Joe Paterno situation at Penn State go without some commentary. It’s shocking what happened, and even more shocking how quickly it consumed Paterno’s career. Nobody–and I mean nobody–will come close to matching Paterno’s records for longevity and wins. And in another time he may have

Madlock took it away

1976 was the first full year that I considered myself a Cubs fan. Watching the games on WGN every afternoon was something of an elixir for the eight-year old that I was at the time. The games were always in the sunshine at Wrigley Field, and the away games must have happened, but they were

One game, two historic acts

In the final games of every major league season, batting titles are won and lost. Playoff berths can be decided. And, as Doug Glanville has pointed out, many playing careers will come to an end. And, every so often, history is made. Such was the case on the final day of the 1977 season. On