The Joe Maddon Managerial Era (2015-2019)

Lore & Background

The team was originally called the White Stockings, then Orphans and Colts by the press before officially becoming the Cubs in 1903. They won the NABBP championship in 1870, though the title was disputed. After the Great Chicago Fire destroyed their ballpark and equipment in 1871, the season was cut short and no official finish was recorded. Club president William Hulbert helped form the National League in 1876, and the team won the league's first championship that year. Under Cap Anson, they won pennants in 1880 and 1881. In 1883, Al Spalding assumed ownership after a brief period of group ownership following Hulbert's death.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Wrigley Field on October 30, 2016, was thick with smoke from flares and the roar of nearly forty thousand fans. Joe Maddon stood at the mound, not as a participant, but as a conductor watching his orchestra hit the final note. As Jon Lester delivered the final pitch to end the game, the manager didn't scream; he simply smiled, knowing that the weight of 108 years had finally lifted from the shoulders of this city. The confetti rained down on the diamond, mixing with the rain from the sprinklers, a perfect storm of joy for a franchise reborn.

Reader's Guide

The only championship mentioned is the 1876 National League championship.

Did You Know?

• The Chicago White Stockings won the NABBP championship in 1870, though the title was disputed by the New York Mutuals.
• Pitcher Larry Corcoran threw three no-hitters in the early 1880s, a record that stood until Sandy Koufax broke it in 1965.
• Fred Goldsmith is one of two pitchers credited with inventing the curveball.
• The White Stockings' 1871 season was cut short by the Great Chicago Fire, and no official finish was recorded.