Well-Established History
One of the oldest active professional sports clubs in North America.
The Chicago Cubs are a Major League Baseball team, a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings, before joining the National Association in 1871. They are the only franchise to play continuously in the same city since the formation of the National League in 1876, and are among the oldest active professional sports clubs in North America, though the Cincinnati Reds (founded 1869) and Atlanta Braves (originating in 1871) are older.
- Opened
- 1914
- Location
- Chicago, Illinois (Lakeview neighborhood)
- Surface
- Natural Grass
- Notable Feature
- Hand-turned manual scoreboard and ivy-covered outfield walls
- Primary Rivalry
- Chicago White Sox (Crosstown Classic)
Lore & Background
The team was originally called the White Stockings, and later the Orphans, Infants, Remnants and Colts by the press before officially becoming the 'Cubs' in 1903. In 1870, the Chicago White Stockings won the NABBP championship, though the title was disputed. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed their ballpark and equipment, the club dropped out of the league until being revived in 1874. Club president William Hulbert spearheaded the formation of the National League in 1876, and the White Stockings won the league's first championship that year. Under Cap Anson, the team won pennants in 1880 and 1881. After Hulbert's death in 1882, Al Spalding assumed ownership.
In Their Own Story
As the late afternoon sun stretches long shadows across the bleachers, the wind funnels out toward Wrigleyville, carrying the scent of roasted peanuts and fresh-cut grass. High above center field, a veteran scoreboard operator ascends his ladder, his hands moving with an instinctual rhythm no screen can replicate. Below, forty thousand voices hum a mix of nervous hope and deep-rooted ritual. When the first pitch cuts through the air, even the ivy seems to hold its breath, waiting alongside the crowd for history to unfold once more in this cathedral of baseball.
Reader's Guide
The team's early home games were played at Ogden Park and Dexter Park in 1870, then at Union Base-Ball Grounds in Lake Park (later Grant Park) in 1871. After the fire, they moved to the 23rd Street Grounds in 1874. In 1878, a new Lake Park ballpark was built in essentially the same place as the 1871 ballpark.
Did You Know?
- The Chicago White Stockings played their first game on April 29, 1870, defeating the Union Club of St. Louis 7–1.
- In 1880, the White Stockings won 67 and lost 17, for an all-time NL record .798 winning percentage.
- Pitcher Larry Corcoran threw three no-hitters in the early 1880s, a record that was later tied by several pitchers (including Bob Feller and Cy Young) before Sandy Koufax broke it with four no-hitters in 1965.
- Fred Goldsmith is one of two pitchers credited with the invention of the curveball.
More in Stadium & Fan Culture
Elsewhere in the Chicago Cubs universe
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