National League Central Division Title (1989)

Lore & Background

Throughout the club's history, the Cubs have played in a total of 11 World Series. The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, finishing 116–36 and posting a modern-era record winning percentage of .763, before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series, and the first to win it twice. Most recently, the Cubs won the 2016 National League Championship Series and 2016 World Series, which ended a 71-year National League pennant drought and a 108-year World Series championship drought. Since the start of divisional play in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason 11 times through the 2024 season.

In Their Own Story

The wind at Wrigley Field carried a different kind of electricity in October 1989. It wasn't just the chill of autumn; it was the weight of forty-four years lifting off the shoulders of the faithful. In the dugout, Don Zimmer paced with a intensity that belied his age, staring out at a sea of red and white. The scoreboard blinked with numbers that had been impossible for so long: 93 wins. But now, the real test awaited in San Francisco. As the final out of the regular season was recorded, the roar from the bleachers didn't sound like celebration; it sounded like a promise kept. Rick Sutcliffe tightened his glove, looking toward the mound where history waited, unaware that while they had conquered the division, the ghosts of 1945 were still whispering in the wind.

Reader's Guide

The Cubs are known as 'the North Siders', a reference to the location of Wrigley Field within the city of Chicago, and in contrast to the White Sox, whose home field (Rate Field) is located on the South Side. Through 2024, the franchise has played the most games in MLB history, with an all-time regular season record of 11,419–10,837–161 (.513).

Did You Know?

• The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series.
• The 108-year World Series championship drought that ended in 2016 was the longest such occurrence in all major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.