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West Side Park

West Side Park

West Side Park was the name used for two different baseball parks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League. The first West Side Park was the ball club's home from mid-season 1885 through 1891. It was on a small block bounded by Congress, Loomis, Harrison and Throop Streets. The diamond was in the west half of the block, with center field in the east half. Although short-lived, it saw some history, with the ball club winning a couple of pennants in that interval. In 1891 the team split its schedule between West Side Park and South Side Park. Then they abandoned the first West Side Park and played their 1892 home season on the South Side. The site of the first West Side Park is now occupied by a school. In May of 1893, the club opened their second West Side Park a few blocks west-southwest of the first one, on a larger block bounded by Taylor, Wood, Polk and Lincoln (now Wolcott) Streets. They split their 1893 schedule with South Side Park, then moved into the new ballpark full-time. The second West Side Park is now also sometimes erroneously called West Side "Grounds". Home plate was in the northwest corner of the field. The right field fence paralleled Taylor, with flat apartments between the high fence and the street. Cook County Hospital was across the street to the north, i.e. behind third base. The second West Side Park was the home of the Cubs' most successful teams of the 20th century, which won 4 pennants and 2 World Series during their glory years of 1906-1910. By 1908 it sat 16,000, when the Cubs won their last World Series championship to date (through the 2005 season anyway). By the mid-1910s the wooden ballpark was showing its age, so in 1916 the Cubs abandoned it and moved to the steel-and-concrete ballpark on the north side, vacated by the Chicago Whales of the recently defunct Federal League, the site now known as Wrigley Field, and which the Cubs have called home ever since. The site of the second and much more famous West Side Park is now occupied by the University of Illinois Medical Center. University of Illinois

Sources

- Green Cathedrals, by Philip J. Lowry
- A Day at the Park, by William Hartel

Dimensions of first West Side Park

- Left Field - unknown
- Center Field - Unknown
- Right Field - 216 ft. (1 ft. over then-legal minimum)

Dimensions of second West Side Park

- Left Field - 340 ft.
- Center Field - 516 ft.
- Right Field - 316 ft. Category:Chicago sports Category:Defunct baseball venues Category:Defunct Major League Baseball venues

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, colloquially known as the "Second City" and the "Windy City", is the third-largest city in population in the United States, following New York City and Los Angeles, and the largest inland city in the country. Chicago is located in the Midwestern state of Illinois along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cook County. When combined with its suburbs and eight surrounding counties, the greater metropolitan area known as Chicagoland encompasses a population greater than 9 million people. Growing from a frontier town in 1833 to one of the world's premier cities, Chicago is ranked as one of 10 "Alpha" (most influential) world cities by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network. Today, Chicago is the financial, transportation, and cultural capital of the American Midwest. The city has long been known around the world as a financial, industrial, and transportation center and for its ethnic diversity. Chicago's skyscrapers, local cuisine, political traditions, and sports teams are some of the most recognized symbols of the city. A variety of colloquial nicknames reflect Chicago's unique character. A resident of Chicago is referred to as a Chicagoan. About one-third of Chicagoans are White, another third African-American, and the rest Hispanic or from other ethnic groups. Chicago also has many dozen distinct neighborhoods to match the ethnic diversity; the city is divided into 77 official community areas.

History

Early days

During the mid 1700s, the Chicago area was inhabited primarily by Potawatomis, who took the place of the Miami and Sauk and Fox who had controlled the area previously. The name Chicago originates from "Checagou" (Chick-Ah-Goo-Ah) or "Checaguar," which in the Potawatomi language means "garlic" (not "onions" or "skunk"). The area was so named because of the smell of rotting marshland wild leeks (ramps) that once covered it. The first non-native settler in Chicago was Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, a Haitian of African descent, who settled on the Chicago River in the 1770s and married a local Potawatomi woman. In 1795, following the War of the Wabash Confederacy, the area of Chicago was ceded by the Native Americans in the Treaty of Greenville to the United States for a military post. In 1803, Fort Dearborn was built and remained in use until 1837, except between 1812 and 1816 when it was destroyed in the Fort Dearborn Massacre during the War of 1812.

Incorporation and growth

War of 1812 On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was incorporated with a population of 350. The first boundaries of the new town were Kinzie, Desplaines, Madison, and State streets, which included an area of about three-eighths of a square mile (1 km²). Within seven years the primarily French and Native American town had a population of over 4,000. Chicago was granted a city charter by Illinois on March 4, 1837. The opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 allowed shipping from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi River and on to the Gulf of Mexico. The first rail line to Chicago, the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, was completed the same year. These projects foreshadowed Chicago's eventual development into the transportation hub of the United States. Chicago also became home to national retailers, including Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck and Company, offering catalog shopping using the city's expansive transportation connections. Sears, Roebuck and Company The geography of Chicago presented early citizens with many problems. The prairie bog nature of the area provided a fertile ground for disease-carrying insects. Early on, Chicago's population and commerce growth was stymied by lack of good transportation infrastructure. During spring, Chicago was so muddy from the high water that horses would be stuck past their legs in the street. One dirt road was so hazardous that it became known as the "Slough of Despond". Comical signs proclaiming "Fastest route to China" or "No Bottom Here" were placed to warn people of the mud. To address these transportation problems, the Board of Cook County Commissioners decided to improve two country roads toward the west and southwest. The first road crossed the "dismal Nine-mile swamp" and Des Plaines River to the west, then continued southwest to Walker's Grove, now known as Plainfield. The second road headed south, but its exact route is disputed. Early Chicago was also plagued by sewer and water problems. Many people described it as the filthiest city in America. To solve the problems, the city initiated the creation of a massive sewer system. In the first phase sewage pipes were laid across the city above-ground, with gravity moving the waste. The second phase, executed in 1855, involved raising the level of the city by four to seven feet (one to two meters); this was done by jacking up buildings and placing fill in order to raise streets above the swamp and the newly-laid sewer pipes. By 1857, Chicago was the largest city in what was then known as the Northwest. In a period of 20 years, Chicago's population grew from 4,000 to over 90,000 people. The 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago nominated home-state candidate Abraham Lincoln for U.S. president. At the election of April 23, 1875 the voters of Chicago chose to operate under the Illinois Cities and Villages Act of 1872. Chicago still operates under this act in lieu of a charter. The Cities and Villages Act has been revised several times since, and may be found in Chapter 65 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

Great Chicago Fire

In 1871, most of the city burned in the Great Chicago Fire. The damage from the fire was immense; 300 people died, 18,000 buildings were destroyed and nearly 100,000 of the city's 300,000 residents were left homeless. One of the factors contributing to the fire's spread was the abundance of wood; the streets, sidewalks and many buildings were built of wood. Some would say that this is what has led to the current tradition of most Chicagoans building with brick and steel. While at the time the fire damage was devastating, history has shown that it proved to be a benefit to the city and surrounding communities. It afforded city planners the opportunity to begin with a clean slate and fix the mistakes of the past. In the following years it led to a building boom that cemented the city's status as the transportation hub of America, the building of the world's first skyscraper and the adoption of the grid system. All of these factors contributed to a long term framework for robust and continued growth.

Geography

grid system grid system Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. When Chicago was founded in the 1830s most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Chicago has a total area of 606.1 km² (234.0 mi²), of which 588.3 km² (227.1 mi²) is land and 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²) is water. The total area is 2.94% water. The city has been built on relatively flat land; the average height of land is 579 feet (176 meters) above sea level. The city lies beside Lake Michigan and two rivers, the Chicago in downtown and the Calumet in the industrial far South Side, entirely or partially flow through Chicago. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River, which runs to the west of the city.

Climate

Chicago is known as a city of climate extremes. While winters can often be bitterly cold, extreme summer heat waves are not uncommon. Chicago has a temperate climate, typical of the U.S. Midwest, with hot summers and frigid winters, subject to extremes in both seasons (though Lake Michigan has a moderating effect close to shore). Weather typical of each season can arrive unusually early or late. For example, it has snowed in September (1942) and reached 90 °F (33 °C) in March (1982). The greatest recorded single-day temperature difference was more than 65 °F (31 °C) on (February 8, 1900). 1900 In a typical Chicago summer, average high temperatures are 72 °F to 84 °F (23 °C to 28 °C), with overnight lows averaging 62 °F (17 °C). Yearly precipitation averages about 33 inches (838 mm). Summer is the rainiest season, with short-lived rainfall and thunderstorms more common than prolonged rainy periods. On average, temperatures exceed 90 °F (33 °C) on 20 days each summer. The highest temperature reached in Chicago is an unofficial 109 °F (44 °C) on July 24, 1935. Winter in Chicago is a variable and fickle season. On average Chicago receives a total of 37.0 inches (95 cm) of snow, though total snowfall has ranged from 9.8 to 87.0 inches (25 and 223 cm). Typical snowfall accumulation is around 2 inches (5 cm), but about once a year Chicago experiences 10 to 14 inches (26 to 36 cm) of snow in one day. Temperatures can vary widely in the span of one week, and extended periods of temperatures below 32 °F (0 °C) are not uncommon in January and February. The temperature in January averages about 25 °F (-4 °C) in the afternoon and 10 °F (-12 °C) at night. Temperatures drop below 0 °F (-18 °C) an average of 15 days each winter. Although rare, the temperature can climb to 50 °F (10 °C) or higher in winter.

2004 Chicago Earthquake

An earthquake registering about 4.3 on the Richter scale shook some buildings in Chicago at 1:10 A.M. on June 28 2004. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Ottawa, Illinois and sparked worries that the New Madrid fault might become active again. An earthquake of 6 or higher in the Missouri Fault might cause moderate to high damage in Chicago.

Law and Government

New Madrid fault] The government of the City of Chicago is divided into executive and legislative branches. The mayor is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. The current mayor is Richard M. Daley, a Democrat. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the clerk and the treasurer. The City Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 aldermen, one elected from each ward in the city. The council enacts local ordinance and approves the city budget. Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November. The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions.

Politics

Former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley once led a political machine called the Chicago Democratic Machine. Another point of interest is the party leanings of the city. For much of the last century, Chicago has been considered one of the largest Democratic strongholds in the United States. For example, the citizens of Chicago have not elected a Republican mayor since 1927, when William Thompson was voted into office. Today only one Alderman member is Republican. Chicago's politics lean famously to the left compared to the rest of the midwest, and it is often said that Chicago is the "East Coast" of the Midwest. All precincts of the city voted for Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004. Social liberalism is strong in the city, with a strong majority of Chicagoans supporting welfare programs and the pro-choice movement. In 2004, Mayor Richard M. Daley rejected a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in the city. The issue was controversial especially in Illinois, since the state is arguably the most varied in terms of liberal urban areas vs conservative rural areas. In partisan elections, such as for the State Legislature and U.S. Congress, most elections are won by Democrats, such as the landslide win of Barack Obama in 2004.

Law enforcement

Barack Obama The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, under the jurisdiction of the mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the U.S. Midwest and the second largest in the nation (with 13,619 sworn officers and 2,625 other employees as of 2003), and one of the oldest organized police forces in the world. Currently, the Chicago Police Department is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. There are twenty-five police districts, each led by a commander. Each commander oversees a network of administrative and operational departments that include patrol officers, detective forces, and other investigative units. Commanders report to the superintendent of police who in turn is subject to the authority of the mayor of Chicago. Related topics
- Chicago City Hall
- List of Chicago city departments
- List of mayors of Chicago
- Municipal Flag of Chicago
- Chicago City Council
- Chicago Police Department
- Chicago Fire Department
- Sister Cities of Chicago
- [http://library7.municode.com/gateway.dll/IL/illinois/7539?f=templates&fn=default.htm&npusername=13322&nppassword=MCC&npac_credentialspresent=true&vid=default Municipal Code of Chicago]

People and culture

Demographics

People living in Chicago are called "Chicagoans." The term is also sometimes applied to those living in one of the neighboring communities. As of the census of 2000, there are 2,896,016 people, 1,061,928 households, and 632,909 families residing in the city of Chicago proper. This encompasses about one-fifth of the entire population of the state of Illinois and 1% of the population of the United States. The population density is 4,923.0/km² (12,750.3/mi²). There are 1,152,868 housing units at an average density of 1,959.8/km² (5,075.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 31.32% White, 36.39% Black or African American, 26.02% Hispanic or Latino, 0.15% Native American, 4.33% Asian and Pacific Islander, .15% from other races, and 1.64% from two or more races. For changes between the 1990 and 2000 census, see [http://www.chicagoneighborhoods.cc/chicago-demographics.html]. other races The city itself makes up 23.3% percent of the total population of Illinois, down from a top 44.3% in 1930. Chicago's unique culture arises from it being a melting pot, with nearly even percentages of Caucasians and African-Americans and a sizeable Hispanic minority. The main European ethnic groups in Chicago are the Irish, Germans, Italians and Polish. Chicago has a large Irish-American population on its South Side. Many of Chicago's politicians have come from this population, including the current mayor, Richard M. Daley. Chicago has the largest populaton of Swedish-Americans of any city in the US, numbering 123,000. After the Chicago fire, many Swedish carpenters helped to rebuild the city, which is why it is sometimes called the city the Swedes built. Today, Chicago has the largest ethnically Polish population outside of Poland, making it one of the most important Polonia centers. Polish food and customs have melted into the culture of the city. Chicago is also considered to be the second-largest Serbian, Lithuanian and Greek city in the world. The city also has the country's largest Assyrian population, numbering as many as 80,000 and is the location of the seat of the head of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Dinkha IV. The Chicago Metropolitan area is also becoming a major center for Indian Americans and South Asians. Chicago has the third largest South Asian population in the country, after New York City and San Francisco. The Devon Avenue Market on Chicago's north side is an example of this, as it is one of the largest South Asian neighborhoods in North America. There are 1,061,928 households, of which 28.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.1% are married couples living together, 18.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% are non-families. Of all households, 32.6% are made up of individuals and 8.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.67 and the average family size is 3.50. Of the city population, 26.2% are under the age of 18, 11.2% are from 18 to 24, 33.4% are from 25 to 44, 18.9% are from 45 to 64, and 10.3% are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.1 males. The median income for a household in the city is $38,625, and the median income for a family is $42,724. Males have a median income of $35,907 versus $30,536 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,175. Below the poverty line are 19.6% of the population and 16.6% of the families. Of the total population, 28.1% of those under the age of 18 and 15.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Museums and galleries
In 1998, the City of Chicago officially opened the Museum Campus, a 10 acre lakefront park surrounding three of the city's main museums, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. The Museum Campus was constructed on the southern section of Grant Park. The construction project involved re-routing Lakeshore Drive to make room for the new park. Grant Park is also home to Chicago's other major downtown museum, the Art Institute of Chicago. Some other major museums and galleries of the Chicago area include:
- Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, 1300 S. Lake Shore Dr.
- Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave. One of the premier art museums in the United States. Famous pieces include American Gothic by Grant Wood, and A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. The Museum is partnered with The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.Georges Seurat
- Chicago Cultural Center ([http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/CultureCenterTour/ Home Page]), 78 E. Washington St. Built in 1897 as Chicago's first public library, the building now houses the city's Visitor Information Center, galleries, and exhibit halls. The ceiling of Preston Bradley Hall includes a 38-foot Tiffany glass dome.
- Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago's natural history museum. Highlights include Sue, the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the world as well as a great, kids-friendly Egyptian exhibit.
- Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, 1852 West 19th St., a museum dedicated to Mexican, Latino and Chicano art and culture.
- Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Art of all types from around the world made since 1945.
- Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, 5700 S. Lake Shore Dr.
- Oriental Institute, part of the University of Chicago, one of the best collections of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern archeology in the world.
- Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. Lake Shore Dr. Located on the Museum Campus, the Shedd Aquarium is home to a large collection of marine life from throughout the world. The Pacific Northwest–themed Oceanarium features dolphins, whales, and other animals from the region, as well as a panoramic view of Lake Michigan. The aquarium was the largest indoor aquarium in the world until the Georgia Aquarium opened in November 2005.
Performing arts
2005 Chicago is a well-known theater capital and the birthplace of improvisational comedy, where it remains extremely popular. The city is home to The Second City and ImprovOlympic, two of the largest comedy troupes in the world. Many world-famous actors and comedians are Chicagoans or came to study in the area, particularly at Northwestern University in Evanston. The form itself was invented at the University of Chicago in the 1960s by an undergraduate performance group called the Compass Players, whose members went on to found Second City. (In honor of this, Second City returns to the school on major anniversaries to perform free shows.) Since its founding in 1976 as an ensemble effort, Steppenwolf Theatre Company on the city's north side has nurtured a generation of gifted actors, directors and playwrights and grown into an internationally renowned company of thirty-five artists. Many other theatres, from new performances spaces to landmark houses like the Chicago Theatre on State and Lake, present a wide variety of plays and musicals, both touring shows and original works, such as the premiere in December 2004 of the Tony Award winner for Best Musical in 2005, Spamalot. The Lyric Opera of Chicago was founded in 1954 and performs in the Civic Opera Building, which was built in 1929 on the east bank of the Chicago River and is the second-largest opera auditorium in North America, with 3,563 seats. The Lyric Opera purchased the Civic Opera House from the building's owner in 1993. The company has reported an average of 100% sales for the past 16 years and approximately 34,000 subscribers for its six-month season.
Music
Chicago has made many significant pop-cultural contributions. In the field of music, Chicago is well-known for its Chicago blues, Chicago soul, Jazz, and Gospel. It is known as the birthplace of the House style of music, whose history is related to the development and fostering of the techno electronic style of music in nearby Detroit. The Hip-Hop scene in Chicago is also very influential, with major artists including Kanye West, R. Kelly, and Common. The rock band Chicago was named after the city, although its original name was the Chicago Transit Authority. The band's name was shortened to Chicago after the CTA threatened to sue them for unauthorized use of the original. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, one of the nation's oldest and most respected symphony orchestras, plays its concerts at the historic Symphony Center in downtown Chicago. One of the most influential bands of the mid 1990s' alternative music era, The Smashing Pumpkins, hail from Chicago.
Cuisine
Chicago's signature foods reflect the city's ethnic and working-class roots. Chicago deep-dish pizza, popularized by Uno and Due pizzerias, is world renowned, although thin-crust and other styles of pizza are also popular throughout the city. A traditional Chicago hotdog is typically loaded with mustard, chopped onion, sliced tomato, pickle relish, celery salt and a dill pickle spear. It is somewhat taboo to put ketchup on a Chicago hotdog; there are actually some small hotdog shops and stands that will refuse service to you if you make the request. A Chicago hotdog is almost always made out of Vienna Beef, the largest provider of hot dog meat for Chicago. Chicago is also known for Italian Beef sandwiches and the Maxwell Street Polish (always served topped with grilled onions and mustard). Chicago also has a long list of world-renowned upscale dining establishments serving a wide array of cuisine from some of the most well-known chefs in the nation. Some notable destinations include [http://www.charlietrotters.com/index.asp Charlie Trotter's] (chef Charlie Trotter) on Armitage in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, Frontera Grill, a gourmet Mexican restaurant owned by Food Network star Rick Bayless, and The Everest, a new-French restaurant on the top floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange building downtown.
Media
Chicago commands the third-largest market in North America (after New York City and Los Angeles; although Mexico City has a larger population, its market does not hold such importance) and as such has many different forms of media and outlets to support its status. All of the major US television networks have subsidiaries in Chicago. Chicago's local WGN-TV, which is owned by the Tribune Company, is carried (with some programming differences) as "Superstation WGN" on cable nation-wide. There are two major daily newspapers published in Chicago, The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, with the former having the larger circulation. There are also a number of regional and special-interest newspapers such as the Daily Southtown, the Chicago Defender and the Chicago Reader. Local blog sites of note are Gapersblock, [http://www.flowfeel.com FlowFeel] and Bookslut.
Crime
Despite its prosperity and reputation as a safe city, Chicago's crime situation in the latter half of the 20th century, and the early years of the 21st, has often been less than ideal. In addition to its gangland problems, starting in the late 1960s Chicago, like many other major American cities, saw a major rise in violent crime which took decades to reverse. Murders in the city peaked first in 1974, with 970 murders for the year when the city's population was over three million, resulting in a murder rate of around 28.8 per 100,000; and again in 1992, with 943 murders for the year when the city had fewer than three million people, resulting in a murder rate of 33.87 per 100,000. Following 1992, the murder count slowly petered down to 703 by 1999; by this time, it had the most murders of any big city in the country and continued to until 2004. That year, after adopting crime-fighting techniques recommended by the New York Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department, Chicago recorded 448 homicides, the lowest total since 1965. Despite the impressive gains, however, the city's murder rate of 15.65 (going by the 2004 population estimate) is still higher than those of New York, Boston, San Francisco, and even Los Angeles. Chicago has been among the first US cities to build an integrated emergency response center to coordinate the city's response to terrorist attacks, gang violence, and natural disasters in the city. Built in 1995, the center is integrated with over 2000 cameras, a direct link to the National Counter-Terrorism Center, and communications with all levels of city government. Recently installed anti-crime cameras have been introduced and are capable of pinpointing gunshot sounds, calculating where the shots were fired, and pointing and zooming the cameras in the direction of the shots. So far early results show these new cameras to be highly effective in reducing crime within a 2 block radius. Placed in residential areas, these cameras cause some Chicagoans to feel uneasy about being so closely watched. They have prompted some calls of discrimination since these cameras are prevelant in Black and Latino communities. The FBI often does not accept crime statistics submitted by the Chicago Police Department, which tallies data differently than other cities. For instance, the police record all criminal sexual assaults as opposed to only rape, like other police departments do; and aggravated battery is counted along with the standard category of aggravated assault. As a result, Chicago is often omitted from studies like Morgan Quitno's annual "Safest/Most Dangerous City" survey.
- http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-06-06-crime-drop_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA
- http://www.cityofchicago.org/police
Economy
Morgan Quitno] Chicago has been a center for commerce in the United States for most of its modern history. Today, Chicago remains the United States' second financial center with the nation's second largest central business district and third largest gross metropolitan product. In fact, Chicago's gross metropolitan product would rank 18th in the world if it were a nation-state, at approximately 380 billion dollars. Before it was incorporated as a town in 1833, the primary industry was the fur trade. Chicago's early explosive growth led many land speculators and enterprising individuals to the area. Situated on the Great Lakes and with so many new people settling the area, Chicago became an ideal location for shipping and receiving goods. With that, many railroads started to be built from Chicago to other parts of the country, further aiding the growth of the city. Additionally, the building of the Illinois and Michigan Canal helped move goods south down the Mississippi River. In the 1840s, Chicago became the largest grain port in the world, shipping food from the Mississippi Valley region which was also growing into the largest food-producing region in the world. In 1848, Chicago built its first grain elevator, and, in 1858 there were twelve grain elevators dotting the skyline. Carl Sandburg described Chicago as a "stacker of wheat", and some would argue that the grain elevators were Chicago's first skyscrapers. In the 1850s and 1860s Chicago's pork and beef industry exploded. Great entrepreneurs such as Gustavus Swift and Philip Armour helped the area to become the largest producer of meat products in the world at the time. By 1862, Chicago had displaced Cincinnati, Ohio, as "Porkopolis". During the 1860s two factors helped this development: first, the Civil War increased the demand for food products, and Chicago's transportation network ensured that goods could be delivered quickly to soldiers all over the northern United States; and second, meat packing plants began to utilize ice. Before this time, meat production and distribution facilities, otherwise known as disassembly plants, had to shut down in the hot summer months. More operating months meant hundreds of thousands of new man-hours in which people could work. The efficiency of Chicago's meat packing industry and its disassembly plants inspired others such as Henry Ford when he developed Model-T assembly lines. Today, we consider industries such as steel, oil, and banking to be the great global market segments, but in the 1860s Chicago's pork and beef industry represented the first global industry. As the major meat companies grew in Chicago many, such as Armour, created global enterprises and communicated with divisions spread across the globe via telegraph. Modern-day futures and commodity trading markets were pioneered in Chicago. A number of events led to this, along with Chicago's transportation systems and geographic proximity to the rest of the country. Massive amounts of goods passed through Chicago from places in the Mississippi Valley such as St. Louis, Missouri. Grain was stored in Chicago, and people began buying contracts on it. Later, people as far away as New York City began buying contracts by telegraph on the goods that would be stored in Chicago in the future. From this were established the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), and the modern systems we use today for futures and commodity trading. Related topics
- Chicago Climate Exchange
- List of major companies in Chicagoland
Education
List of major companies in Chicagoland
Public education
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the school district that controls over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago. It is currently the third largest school district in the United States, with more 400,000 students enrolled in the school district and is led by CEO Arne Duncan. The CPS also includes a number of selective-admission magnet schools, including some of the best in the country. Lincoln Park High School, Whitney Young Magnet High School, Walter Payton College Prep and Northside College Preparatory High School have all topped the lists.
Higher education
Chicagoland is home to two of America's leading universities, the University of Chicago in Hyde Park and Northwestern University in nearby Evanston. Northwestern also maintains a campus in downtown Chicago, near the Magnificient Mile. The Illinois Institute of Technology in Bronzeville has notable engineering and architecture programs. The city is also home to several honored Catholic universities, including Loyola University - with campuses in Rogers Park, Edgewater and Water Tower Place, and DePaul University in Lincoln Park. The Chicago campus of one of the state's top public university, the University of Illinois at Chicago, is one of the nation's largest urban public universities. A number of smaller colleges are known for fine arts education, including Roosevelt University, Columbia College Chicago, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; annually, the latter ranks alongside the Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University as having the best graduate and undergraduate level arts programs in the country. The Chicago region boasts 12 accredited theological schools representing most mainline Protestant traditions, including the city's oldest institution of higher education, the United Church of Christ-related Chicago Theological Seminary, the United Methodist run Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, the Episcopal Seabury-Wesleyan and multiple Roman Catholic institutions, including St. Mary of the Lake Seminary; the schools are joined in a consortium known as the [http://campus.northpark.edu/acts/ Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS)]. Another well-known Christian school in downtown Chicago is the Moody Bible Institute. The city also has a community college system known as the City Colleges of Chicago. Many of these institutions have downtown campuses as well as suburban locations. Related topics
- Colleges and universities of Chicago
Sports
Colleges and universities of Chicago] Chicago is one of the few cities in the United States with two professional baseball teams (Cubs, White Sox), professional football (Bears), soccer (Fire), basketball (Bulls, WNBA Sky), and professional hockey (Blackhawks). In addition, Chicago has a minor-league hockey team (Wolves). Chicago sports teams have a high visibility throughout the nation for many reasons. The Chicago Cubs play in one of the most famous stadiums in baseball, Wrigley Field, reknowned for age, historic value, and classic style. "Da Cubs" are also famous for being "loveable losers" who despite not being the most successful team always seem to be have a full stadium of dedicated fans. The Cubs are the only team to play continously in the same city since the formation of the National League in 1876. The Chicago White Sox won the World Series in 2005, with a police estimated crowd of 1.75 million Chicago fans turning out to cheer on the victory parade. The Chicago Bears football team has been home to some favorite NFL personalities and icons like George Halas, Dick Butkus, William "Refrigerator" Perry, Mike Ditka, and legendary Walter Payton to name a few. The Chicago Bulls of the NBA are argueably the the most recognized basketball team in the world thanks to the heriocs of the player who is usually cited as the best basketball player the world has ever seen, Michael Jordan. The hometown TV station WGN being broadcast nation-wide also has helped spread the visibility of Chicago sports, much like TBS has helped make the Atlanta Braves one of America's famous teams. In the early history of the city, sports were at the heart of some founding legends. During the city's boomtown days local authorities staged a dog fight, knowing that it would attract some of the more unsavory characters on the town's crime scene. As soon as the fight began, police moved in and arrested every criminal and escorted them to the city borders. While the complete truth of the story is sometimes doubted, it is important as an early Chicago legend and does reflect the early days of sports in the city. Early Chicago had only the most primitive of sports. Until about 1850, men outnumbered women and this male-dominated subculture encouraged gambling and drinking, as well as activities such as billiards and horse racing. The city of Chicago has announced that it will bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Chicago is the host for the 2006 Gay Games. Related topics
- Arlington Park
- Chicago Motor Speedway
- Chicago Blitz
- Chicago Rush
- Chicago Enforcers
- Chicago Bruisers
- Chicago Wolves
- Chicago Storm
Transportation
Chicago is considered to be the premier transportation hub in America. Much of this status stems from its geographic proximity during a time when the United States was growing quickly in population and area. The Illinois and Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, allowed for transportation around the world with connecting waterways through Chicago all the way to New York and the Atlantic Ocean, west to St. Louis, and south to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. Chicago then became one of the largest grain and lumber ports in the world, with grain being sent to more established populations and lumber being sent to the forest-starved prairies where new settlers needed to build. Even today, Chicago's importance in global distribution remains, as it is the third largest inter-modal port in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore.
Public transportation
The Chicago Transit Authority, or CTA, operates the second largest public transportation system in the United States (to New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority) and covers the City of Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs. The CTA operates 24 hours a day and, on an average weekday, 1.4 million rides are taken on the CTA. CTA has approximately 2,000 buses that operate over 152 routes and 2,273 route miles. Buses provide about 1 million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. CTA's 1,190 rapid transit cars operate over seven routes and 222 miles of track. CTA trains provide about 500,000 customer trips each day and serve 144 stations in Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette, Rosemont, Forest Park, Oak Park and Cicero. Chicago is one of the few cities in the world that provides rapid transit service to two major airports. From the downtown area the CTA's Blue Line takes customers to O'Hare International Airport in about 40 minutes and the Orange Line takes customers to Midway Airport in about 30 minutes from the loop. Metra operates commuter rail service at over 200 stations in Chicago and its suburbs. Pace operates a primarily-suburban bus service that also offers some routes into Chicago.
Street system and highways
The streets of Chicago primarily follow the grid system established by the Chicago City Council in 1908 and implemented on September 1, 1909. The baselines for numbering streets and buildings are State Street (east-west numbering) and Madison (north-south numbering). Street numbers begin at "1" at the baselines and run numerically in directions indicated to the city limits. Letters, N,S,E and W indicate directions. The City of Chicago is divided into one-mile sections which contain eight blocks to the mile (though the street grid is not entirely uniform). Each block's addresses occupy a 100-number range, making a range of 800 address numbers cover approximately one mile. There are three exceptions to the 800-to-a-mile rule: Madison (the north-south zero point) to Roosevelt at 1200 south is one mile, as is Roosevelt to Cermak at 2200 south, and Cermak to 31st Street (3100 south). The regular 800-per-mile range resumes south of 31st Street so that 39th Street (3900 south) is one mile south of 31st Street. Even-numbered addresses are on the north and west sides of streets; odd-numbered address are on the south and east sides. Seven interstate highways run through Chicago, more than any other city in the nation. Segments that link to the city center are named after influential politicians, and traffic reports tend to use the names rather than interstate numbers. The named interstate segments are the Kennedy Expressway (I-90 From the 'Loop' to O'Hare International Airport), Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94, From South of the 'Circle Interchange' to the I-57 Split), Stevenson Expressway (I-55), Edens Expressway (I-94), Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), Bishop Ford Expressway (I-94 from the I-57 Split south), and the Chicago Skyway (I-90 when it breaks off the Dan Ryan). Interstate 57 is not named.
Airports
interstate highways In the 20th century, Chicago held on to its status as the nation's transportation hub with the building of three airports: O'Hare International Airport, Midway Airport, and Meigs Field. Meigs Field, which was closed by Mayor Richard M. Daley in a nighttime coup, was a relatively small airstrip but unique because of its proximity to Chicago's downtown, and as an airstrip for private planes it was one of the busiest in the world. Northerly Island, the land on which Meigs sat, reverted to its original status as parkland, and is now a park and nature center. In the 21st century, Chicago is working toward maintaining its status as the U.S. and international transportation hub by working to expand O'Hare International Airport. Additionally, a new airport has been proposed for Peotone, Illinois, and the city is working toward expanding its ties with the Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana. Related topics
- Taxis of Chicago
- Chicago Pedway
- Chicago City Railway
- Bicycling in Chicago
- Union Station
- Multilevel streets in Chicago
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Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a Major League Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are in the Central Division of the National League.
Franchise History

White Stockings
The success and fame of the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869, baseball's first openly professional team, led to a minor explosion of openly professional teams in 1870, each with the singular goal of defeating the Red Stockings. A number of them adopted variants on the name and colors, and it happens that the Chicagos adopted white as their primary color. After a summer of individually arranged contests among the various teams, the time was right for the organization of the first professional league, the National Association, in 1871. The Chicago White Stockings were close contenders all summer, but disaster struck on October 8 when a fire began in Mrs. O'Leary's barn on DeKoven Street on the near south side of the city. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed the club's ballpark, uniforms and other possessions. The club completed its schedule with borrowed uniforms, finishing second in the N.A. just 2 games behind, but was compelled to drop out of the league during the city's recovery period, finally being revived in 1874. After the 1875 season, Chicago acquired several key players, including pitcher Al Spalding of the Boston Red Stockings, and first baseman Cap Anson of the Philadelphia Athletics. While this was going on, behind the scenes the club President, William Hulbert, was leading the formation of a new and stronger organization, the National League. With a beefed-up squad, the White Stockings cruised through the N.L.'s inaugural season of 1876. The Chicagoans went on to have some great seasons in the 1880s, starting with 1880 when they won 67 and lost 17, for an all-time record .798 winning percentage. Extrapolating an 84-game season onto a 162-game season is a dubious proposition, but it does provide some perspective to note that a similar winning percentage nowadays would yield 129 wins. By then, Spalding had retired to start his sporting goods company. The length of the season was such that a team could get by with two main starters, and the Cubs had a couple of powerhouse pitchers in Larry Corcoran and Fred Goldsmith. Those two were fading by mid-decade, and were replaced by other strong pitchers, notably John Clarkson. Much has been written about Old Hoss Radbourn's 60 victories for the Providence Grays of 1884, but Clarkson also had a fair year in 1885, winning 53 games as the Chicagos won the pennant. A second major league called the American Association came along in 1882, and the Chicagos met the AA's champions three times in that era's version of the World Series. Twice they faced the St. Louis Browns in lively and controversial Series action. That St. Louis franchise, which went on to join the National League in 1892 after the A.A. folded, continues to be a perennial rival of the Cubs. Throughout all of this, and for the better part of twenty seasons, the team was captained and managed by first baseman Adrian "Cap" Anson. Cap Anson was one of the most famous and arguably the best player in baseball in his day. He was the first ballplayer to reach 3,000 hits. However, the Hall of Famer is chiefly remembered today for his extreme racist views (which he stated in print, in his autobiography, lest there be any doubt) and thus his prominent role in establishing baseball's color line, rather than for his great playing and managing skills. After the Chicagoans' great run during the 1880s, the on-field fortunes of Anson's Colts dwindled during the 1890s, awaiting revival under new leadership. The Cubs are the only team to play continuously in the same city since the formation of the National League in 1876.
"Tinker to Evers to Chance"
Joe Tinker (SS), Johnny Evers (2B) and Frank Chance (1B) were three legendary Cubs infielders, who played together from 1903-1910, and sporadically over the following two years. They, along with third baseman Harry Steinfeldt, formed the nucleus of one of the most dominant baseball teams of all time. After Chance took over as manager for the ailing Frank Selee in 1905, the Cubs won four pennants and two World Series titles over a five-year span. Their record of 116 victories in 1906 (in a 154-game season) has not been broken, though it was tied by the Seattle Mariners in 2001, in a 162-game season. As with 1880, extrapolating is statistically questionable, but the Cubs' 116-36 percentage of 1906 equates to 123 wins in 162 games. Curiously, both of those teams were so far in front that they seemingly lost their edge, and fell in the post-season. The Cubs again relied on dominant pitching during this period, featuring hurlers such as Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown, Jack Taylor, Ed Reulbach, Jack Pfiester and Orval Overall, who posted a record for lowest staff earned run average that still stands today. Reulbach threw a one-hitter in the 1906 World Series, one of a small handful of twirlers to pitch low-hit games in the post-season (another was Claude Passeau of the Cubs' 1945 squad). Brown acquired his unique and indelicate nickname from having lost most of his index finger in farm machinery when he was a youngster. This gave him the ability to put a natural extra spin on his pitches, which often frustrated opposing batters. However, the infield also attained fame, after turning a critical double play against the New York Giants in a July 1910 game. The trio was immortalized in Franklin P. Adams' poem Baseball's Sad Lexicon, which first appeared in the July 18, 1910 edition of the New York Evening Mail: :These are the saddest of possible words: :"Tinker to Evers to Chance." :Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds, :Tinker and Evers and Chance. :Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble, :Making a Giant hit into a double-- :Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble: :"Tinker to Evers to Chance." The fourth line is sometimes misquoted as also reading "Tinker to Evers to Chance". Also, in the still-in-modern-usage expression "Tinker to Evers to Chance", meaning a well-oiled routine or a "sure thing", people tend to pronounce it "EH-verz", when the proper pronunciation was "EE-verz". Tinker and Evers reportedly could not stand each other, and rarely spoke off the field. Evers, a high-strung, argumentative man, suffered a nervous breakdown in 1911 and rarely played that year. Chance suffered a near-fatal beaning the same year. The trio played together little after that. In 1913, Chance went to manage the New York Yankees and Tinker went to Cincinnati to manage the Reds, and that was the end of one of the most notable infields in baseball. They were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame together in 1946. Tinker and Evers reportedly became amicable in their old age, with the baseball wars far behind them.
Every three years
The Cubs fell into a lengthy doldrum after their early 1900s Glory Years, broken only by their pennant in the war-shortened season of 1918. Around that time, chewing-gum tycoon William Wrigley obtained majority ownership of the Cubs, and things started to turn around, especially after they acquired the services of astute baseball man William Veeck, Sr. With Wrigley's money and Veeck's savvy, the Cubs were soon back in business in the National League, the front office having built a team that would be strong contenders for the next decade. During that stretch, they achieved the unusual accomplishment of winning a pennant every three years - 1929, 1932, 1935 and 1938 - sometimes in thrilling fashion, such as 1935 when they won a record 21 games in a row in September, and 1938 when they won a crucial late-season game with a walk-off "Homer in the Gloamin'" by Gabby Hartnett. Unfortunately, their success did not extend to the post-season, as they fell to their American League rivals each time, often in humilating fashion. By the late 1930s, the double-Bills (Wrigley and Veeck), were both dead. As the decade wound down, the front office under P.K. Wrigley was unable to rekindle the kind of success that P.K.'s father had created, and the Cubs slipped into mediocrity. They enjoyed one more pennant, at the close of another wartime year, 1945, lost the World Series, and have not been back since then, at least through the 2005 season.
Day games at Wrigley
2005 The Cubs' home ballpark, Wrigley Field, played host to only day games until 1988 because the stadium owner donated the lights to the war effort in the 1940s, and it then became tradition. The first night game was scheduled to be played August 8, 1988, versus Philadelphia, but it was rained out after 3 1/2 innings. The high point of that contest, beyond the cry of "Let there be lights", was when famous top-heavy entertainer Morganna Roberts, "The Kissing Bandit", ran onto the field and attempted to plant one on Ryne Sandberg. She was thwarted by Chicago's Finest, but Sandberg hit the next pitch out of the park to thunderous approval. Unfortunately, the rainout nullified his home run. The first official night game thus occurred the following evening, August 9, 1988; the Cubs defeated the New York Mets, 6-4. While night games are now possible at Wrigley, the Cubs still play more day games at home than any other Major League team.
Championship Dry Spell
The Cubs have the longest dry spell between championships in all of the four major U.S. sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA), having failed to win a World Series since 1908. To make matters worse, the Cubs haven't even been in a World Series since 1945, and finished in the second division, or bottom half, of the National League for 20 consecutive years beginning in 1947. They didn't win any playoff series between 1908 and 2003, when they beat the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. NLDS and Moises Alou celebrate a Lee home run]] In 1969, The Cubs had a 8-game lead in August led by Hall Of Famers Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins and Billy Williams, but they wilted under pressure, lost key games against the surprising New York Mets, and floundered a shot at the postseason by 8 games (92-70). Many superstitious fans attribute this collapse to an incident at Shea Stadium when a fan released a black cat onto the field, thereby cursing the club. In 1984, The Cubs won the first two games of the then-best of 5 National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field against the San Diego Padres (It must be noted that at the time, the team with homefield advantage played the first two games on the road), only to lose the final three games in San Diego. The Cubs' 2003 playoff run ended in an emotional game 7 of the NLCS against the Florida Marlins. While at one point ahead in the 7-game series 3 games to 1, the Marlins came back to win the final three games. Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett shut out the Cubs in game 5. An implosion of the Cubs defense late in game 6, following the now-infamous incident in which a fan attempted to catch a ball in foul territory, allowed the Marlins to score 8 runs in the eighth inning (see The Inning) and tie the series. The Cubs were unable to win the final game at home, and were without a pennant again. To historians of the game, this incident echoed another Cubs disaster, Game 4 of the 1929 World Series, in which the Cubs yielded 10 runs to the Philadelphia Athletics in the seventh inning. A key play in that inning was centerfielder Hack Wilson losing a fly ball in the sun, resulting in a 3-run inside-the-park home run. In 2004, misfortune struck the Cubs again. Having the Wild Card lead by a game and a half on September 24, the Cubs proceeded to drop 7 of their last 9 games, and relinquished the Wild Card to the then-red hot Houston Astros. This time, the fallout was decidedly unlovable, as the Cubs traded superstar Sammy Sosa in the off-season, after he had left the final game early and then attempted to lie about it publicly. Sosa was a controversial figure, and his place in Chicago Cubs lore was possibly tarnished. Inconsistency struck the Cubs for their 2005 season, as the team finished under .500 for the first time since 2002 with a 79-83 record and fourth place in the NL Central. Again, the Cubs were hit by injury to pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, and shortstop Nomar Garciaparra suffered a groin injury in late April, which kept him out for three months. Despite the bleak ending for the injury-plagued Cubs, the team witnessed a career year from first baseman Derrek Lee (.335 batting average, 46 home runs, 107 RBIs) and the rise of closer Ryan Dempster (33 saves in 35 save opportunities). The long history of the Cubs is a dichotomy. For their first 80 years, prior to and including 1945, the Cubs were generally assumed to be contenders, playing well and winning the occasional pennant. For much of the 60 year span since then, it was as if the baseball gods had forsaken the Cubs, granting them just an occasional glimmer of hope. It did not take astute observers long to realize that something bad had happened to this once-proud franchise... In his 1950 book The World Series and Highlights of Baseball, LaMont Buchanan wrote the following prose next to photos of Wrigley during the 1945 World Series and of their newly-hired manager: "From the sublime to last place! Wrigley Field, the ivy of its walls still whispering of past greatness, watches its Cubs grow less ferocious in '47, '48, '49. New doctor of the cure is smiling Frank Frisch, veteran of previous baseball transfusions who thinks, 'It's nice to have the fans with you.' Chicago has a great baseball tradition. The fans remember glorious yesterdays as they wait for brighter tomorrows. And eventually their Cubs will bite again." Little did anyone realize how long "eventually" might turn out to be. What may be the least known, but possibly the most telling, statistic of futility for the Cubs, though, is that their first back-to-back winning seasons since 1973 came in 2003 and 2004. Nonetheless, they remain one of the best-loved and best-attended teams in the league, with attendance figures consistently in the top 10, despite the 3rd smallest stadium in Major League Baseball. As with the Boston Red Sox (prior to their astonishing 2004 post-season triumph), the Cubs of recent generations have seemed to be a team that "bad things happen to". Although there is a tendency to compare the Cubs and the Red Sox, there is a stark difference. Since World War II, the Red Sox have been frequent contenders and frequent visitors to the post-season, including five trips to the World Series. They have had more of a reputation as "chokers" than as "losers", the tag that the Cubs bear. Despite their image as "Lovable Losers" during the post-World War II era, the club's longevity combined with their earlier successes add up to a major league record 9,756 victories (for a franchise in a single city) through the 2004 season. In other years the Cubs have shown they can win, or at least contend, when their pitching is superior. Outstanding pitching has been a major difference in every one of their winning seasons since World War II. But although there is no substitute for front-office savvy and on-the-field excellence, the venerable ballpark itself has to be considered a factor in the teams' failures to go farther than they have. When the bleachers were extended into left field in 1937, it shortened the true power alley from a posted distance of 372 feet to about 350 feet, which is too short for major league standards, especially for a left field. Most batters are right-handed, so their natural power alley is left-center. Thus most asymmetric ballparks have their short field in right. Not so with Wrigley. This allows more left-center field home runs than the average ballpark would. Ferguson Jenkins, upon being traded to the Texas Rangers after a successful though home-run prone career with the Cubs, bitterly complained that "Wrigley Field is a bad ballpark!" After posting a below-.500 record for the first time since 2002, the Cubs are looking to retool for the 2006 campaign. Since the Cubs' last pennant in 1945, every other Major League franchise that was playing at that time has won the World Series (as the Red Sox and the White Sox both won the title in 2004 and 2005, respectively). It remains to be seen what, if any, effect this will have on the club's management. The Cubs started to improve their club in the offseason by signing relief pitchers Scott Eyre and Bobby Howry. See also: Curse of the Billy Goat, Steve Bartman, Grant DePorter, Major League Baseball franchise post-season droughts, Lee Elia tirade
Quick facts
:Founded: 1870, as an independent professional club. Joined the National Association in 1871. Became a charter National League member in 1876. :Formerly known as: White Stockings, in the 1870s. Colts, in the late 1890s. Orphans, 1898, after the firing of longtime manager Cap Anson. Remnants, in 1901, after a number of players deserted the team for the American League. The nickname Cubs was coined in 1902 when manager Frank Selee arrived and rebuilt the club with young, inexperienced players. The Chicago Tribune tried to call the team the Spuds around this time, but that name did not appeal. :Home ballpark: ::23rd Street Grounds (1874-1877) (first as part of the National Association, later as National League) ::No home 1872-1873 (club dormant for two years after Great Chicago Fire) ::Union Base-Ball Grounds (1871) (as part of the National Association) ::Dexter Park (1870) (as an independent professional club) :Uniform colors: Blue, Red, and White :Logo design: A red "C" circumscribed by a blue circle. Sometimes a smaller "ubs" will follow the large "C", or the team will make use of a cartoon bear cub. See also: Cubs-White Sox Rivalry, I-55 Series (Cubs v. Cardinals), Brewers-Cubs Series
Songs
Many songs have been written about the Cubs. Here are a few:
- "The Cubs Song (Hey Hey, Holy Mackerel)" - produced in 1969 by a Chicago studio group (the Len Dresslar Singers), and later covered by several members of the team. Its title refers to the home run calls of the team's TV and radio play-by-play men, Jack Brickhouse and Vince Lloyd respectively. It became kind of infamous among fans, as a reminder of a year that ended badly for the team.
- "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" - a lengthy and funny (and prophetic) song recorded "live" by die-hard Cubs fan and folk musician Steve Goodman in the early 1980s.
- "The Land of Wrigley" - by a local group called Stormy Weather, inspired by "Let the Good Times Roll".
- "Go Cubs Go" - a rah-rah tune by Steve Goodman that became the theme for the WGN radio coverage of the team during its division-winning season of 1984. Goodman died of leukemia just days before the Cubs clinched their first title in 39 years.
- "Here's to You, Men in Blue" - a bluegrass or country number recorded by a group of team members in 1984.
- "Here Come the Cubs" - a rah-rah tune done specially for the Cubs by The Beach Boys, to the tune of "Barbara Ann", used extensively on WGN radio during the team's division-winning season of 1989.
Baseball Hall of Famers

Current roster

Minor league affiliations

- AAA: Iowa Cubs, Pacific Coast League
- AA: West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, Southern League
- Advanced A: Daytona Cubs, Florida State League
- A: Peoria Chiefs, Midwest League
- Short A: Boise Hawks, Northwest League
- Rookie: AZL Cubs, Arizona League
- Rookie: VSL Cubs, Venezuelan Summer League
See also

- Cubs award winners and league leaders
- Cubs statistical records and milestone achievements
- Cubs players of note
- Cubs broadcasters and media
- Cubs managers and ownership
External links

- [http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/chc/homepage/chc_homepage.jsp Chicago Cubs official web site]
- [http://www.suntimes.com/index/cubs.html Chicago Suntimes Cubs News]
- [http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ Chicago Tribune Cubs News]
- [http://www.mlb-teams.com/cubs.php Chicago Cubs Resource - Complete information on Cubs] Cubs Category:MLB teams Cubs ja:シカゴ・カブス

National League

:This article refers to the American baseball league. For the English cricket league of the same name, please see National League (cricket). There is also a political party called the Indian National League. ---- The term National League generally refers to the organization more properly referred to as the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, the older (founded on February 2, 1876) of the two leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. (The other major league is the American League.) Beginning with the 1903 season, the regular season champions of the two leagues have met annually in the World Series, with the exception of 1904 and 1994. After the absorption of the American Association by the League in 1892, the temporarily-redubbed "National League and American Association" was the only Major League until the American League rose to Major League status in 1901. The National League in 1876 consisted of eight teams, six of which were previously members of the defunct National Association. The teams were: the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs), the St. Louis Brown Stockings (folded in 1877), the Hartford Dark Blues (folded in 1877), the Boston Red Caps (now the Atlanta Braves), the Louisville Grays (folded in 1877), the Mutual of New York (folded in 1876), the Athletic of Philadelphia (folded in 1876), and the Cincinnati Red Stockings (folded in 1880; not the same as the modern Reds, who began play in 1882 as the Red Stockings and joined the National League in 1890). Of these teams, only the White Stockings (Cubs) and the Red Caps (Braves) have survived to the present day. The National League, which for the first 93 years of its existence competed equally in a single grouping, re-organized into two divisions of 6 teams (East and West) in 1969, with the division champions meeting in the National League Championship Series (an additional round of postseason competition) for the right to advance to the World Series. Beginning with the 1994 season, the league has been divided into three divisions (East, West, and Central), with the addition of a Wild Card team (the team with the best record among those finishing in second place) to enable four teams to advance to the preliminary Division Series. After contracting from twelve teams down to eight in 1900, the National League consisted of the same eight teams until 1962, when it added the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s (renamed the Houston Astros in 1965). In 1969 the league added the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals). That same year the league was divided into East and West Divisions. In 1993 the league expanded again, adding the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins. In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks were added as a new franchise and the Milwaukee Brewers moved over from the American League to make the National League what it is today. The National League is also known as the Senior Circuit, due to the fact that it has existed 25 years longer than the American League. Often characterized as being a more "traditional" or "pure" league, the National League (as of 2005 at least) has never adopted the designated hitter rule as did the AL during the 1970s. In theory, this means the role of the NL manager is somewhat expanded in comparison to the AL, because the manager must take offense into account when making pitching substitutions and vice versa. There are perceived to be fewer home runs and big offensive plays due to the presence of the pitcher in the batting order, although this is not always the case.

Teams

East Division

- Atlanta Braves
- Florida Marlins
- New York Mets
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Washington Nationals

Central Division

The NL Central Division is the only division in either league to have six teams; the others all have fewer.
- Chicago Cubs
- Cincinnati Reds
- Houston Astros
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- St. Louis Cardinals

West Division

- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Colorado Rockies
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- San Diego Padres
- San Francisco Giants

Franchise Moves since 1900

- 1953: Boston Braves move to Milwaukee
- 1958: Brooklyn Dodgers move to Los Angeles and New York Giants move to San Francisco
- 1962: Houston Colt .45s and New York Mets enfranchised
- 1966: Milwaukee Braves move to Atlanta
- 1969: Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres enfranchised
- 1993: National League enfranchises Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins
- 1998: National League adds Arizona Diamondbacks; Milwaukee Brewers move from the American League to the National League
- 2005: Montreal Expos move to become the Washington Nationals

NL Presidents 1876-1999

- Morgan G. Bulkeley 1876-1876
- William A. Hulbert 1877-1882
- Arthur H. Soden 1882-1882
- Abraham G. Mills 1883-1884
- Nicholas E. Young 1885-1902
- Harry C. Pulliam 1903-1909
- John A. Heydler 1909-1909
- Thomas J. Lynch 1910-1913
- John K. Tener 1913-1918
- John A. Heydler 1918-1934
- Ford C. Frick 1934-1951
- Warren C. Giles 1951-1969
- Charles S. Feeney 1970-1986
- A. Bartlett Giamatti 1986-1989
- William D. White 1989-1994
- Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. 1994-1999 Office eliminated in 1999. Bill Giles, son of former NL President Warren C. Giles, currently serves as honorary National League president.

1885

1885 is a common year starting on Thursday.

Events

January

- January 4 - The first successful appendectomy is performed by Dr. William W. Grant on Mary Gartside.
- January 20 - L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
- January 26 - Troops loyal to the Mahdi conquer Khartoum

February

- February 5 - King Léopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State as a personal possession.
- February 9 - The first Japanese arrive in Hawaii.
- February 18 - Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published for the first time.
- February 21 - US president Chester A. Arthur dedicates the Washington Monument
- February 23 - British executioner fails to hang John Lee, sentenced of the murder of Emma Keyse. Sentence is commuted to life imprisonment
- February 26 - Final Act of the Berlin Conference regulates European colonisation and trade in Africa.

March

- March-May - North-West Rebellion took place and was put down in Canada.
- March 3 - A subsidiary of the American Bell Telephone Company, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), is incorporated in New York.
- March 4 - Grover Cleveland replaces Chester A. Arthur as President of the United States.
- March 14 - W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's The Mikado opens at the Savoy Theatre.
- March 26 - The Times reports that "A lady well-known in literary and scientific circles" has been cremated by the Cremation Society in Woking, Surrey. Jeannette C. Pickersgill was the first person to be officially cremated in the United Kingdom
- March 30 - Pandjeh Incident - Russian force routs Afghan troops and drive them across the Pul-iKhishti bridge
- March 31 - The United Kingdom establishes a protectorate over Bechuanaland.

May

- May 2
- Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
- Cree and Assiniboine warriors won the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
- The Congo Free State is established by King Léopold II of Belgium.
- May 9-12 - Canadian government forces inflict decisive defeat on Métis rebels at the Battle of Batoche.

June

- June 17 - The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
- June 24 - Randolph Churchill becomes Secretary of State for India

July

- July 6 - Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies. The patient is Joseph Meister; a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
- July 20 - Professional football legalized in Britain

September

- September 2 - In Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 white miners attack their Chinese coworkers, killing 28, wounding 15, and forcing several hundred more out of town.
- September 6 - Eastern Rumelia declares its union with Bulgaria. The Unification of Bulgaria is accomplished.
- September 18 - Union of Eastern Rumelia with Bulgaria proclaimed at Plovdiv.
- September 30 - A British force abolishes the Boer republic of Stellaland and adds it to British Bechuanaland.

November

- November 7 - Canadian Pacific Railway finished: In Craigellachie, British Columbia, construction ends on a railway extending across Canada. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald considered the project to be vital to Canada.
- November 11 - George S. Patton, Jr. Born in San Gabriel, California.
- November 14-28 - Serbo-Bulgarian War: Serbia declares war against Bulgaria but is defeated in Battle of Slivnitsa on November 17-19.
- November 16 - Canadian rebel leader of the Métis, Louis Riel is executed for high treason.

December

- December 1 - The US Patent Office acknowledges this date as the day Dr Pepper was served for the very first time; the exact date of Dr Pepper's invention is unknown.
- December 28 - 72 Indian lawyers, academicians and journalists gather in Bombay to form the Congress Party

Unknown Dates

- Creation of the first genuine bicycle, the Rover, by John K Starley.
- John Boyd Dunlop invents the pneumatic tire.
- Cholera epidemic in Spain – one of the victims is the king Alfonso XII
- Third Burmese War begins
- Sitting Bull joins Buffalo Bill
- Nikola Tesla sells a number of his patents to George Westinghouse
- William Stanley, Jr. builds the first practical alternating current transformer device, the induction coil.
- Local anesthetic
- First skyscraper – Home Insurance Building in