Tag: baseball

By Chris Katsaros

The Chicago Cubs are one of Major League Baseball’s most historic franchises. They were one of the founding members of the National League, establishing themselves as the White Stockings in 1876.

Since they officially became the Chicago Cubs in 1903, they have grown to be one of the most popular sports franchises in North America.  Playing their home games at iconic Wrigley Field on the North Side of Chicago, the Cubs regularly draw large attendance numbers.

The Cubs have gone through several large roster overhauls in the last decade.  They won back-to-back National League Central Division titles in 2007 and 2008, explaining their spikes in attendance those years.

The Cubs were also experiencing the longest championship drought in the history of North American sports. The 2007 and 2008 seasons were both 100 years since their previous title victories in 1907 and 1908, which convinced many that “this was the year.”

In July of 2009, the Ricketts family (founders of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation) purchased the Cubs.  In 2011, they hired Theo Epstein from the Boston Red Sox to be their President of Baseball Operations.

The rebuild of the roster soon began, and by the 2015 season the Cubs were exceeding expectations and made it to the National League Championship Series before getting eliminated 4 games to 0 by the New York Mets.

Finally, in 2016, the Cubs won the World Series, ending the drought at 108 years. The Cubs spent the entire season dominating the league, winning 103 games while having a historically good offense and pitching staff.

While the Cubs have yet to repeat their 2016 success, there is reason to be optimistic on the North Side.  Once called the “Lovable Losers,” the Cubs now see themselves as annual contenders for the World Series.