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CHICAGOCUBS RIVALRIES Featured Article:

The Magazine espn.com

17.9

October

15

2014

$4.99 US/ $5.99 CAN/FOR

Chicago Rivalaries The city of Chicago and it’s greats sports rivalries dating back to the 1880’s.

CUBS BLACKHAWKS BEARS

CARDINALS REDWINGS PACKERS

CUBS CUBS vs CARDINALS PAST 2175 MEETINGS 1100 cubs wins

1058 cubs losses 17 ties

11

HALL OF FAMERS (plaques with team logo)

Together, over the span of just over 125 years, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs have played nearly 2200 games. The Cubs are winning the series 1100-1058-17. The teams have been competitive during the entirety of the series, meaning that fans are going to be treated to a good time every time they meet.

In the first game, McGwire hit a home run to be the first player since 1961 to hit 61 home runs. On September 8, 1998, McGwire hit his shortest home run of the season to get to 62 home runs. Sosa would make it to 66 home runs that season, but McGwire would hold the record at 70 home runs in a season.

The fans also make this series a great rivalry for both cities. Red Sox fans and Yankee fans travel 217 miles to get between cities, but for Cubs and Cards fans, they have to travel 300 miles between the two cities. It may only be 83 miles, but those extra miles may be the difference between taking the car and flying, or having to fill up the car an extra time or not. Diehard fans want to travel to see their team in the opposing cities, and they travel the extra miles to see them.

This battle may have been epic, but what really makes this series is its fans. Cardinals fans are perhaps the most knowledgeable fans in baseball. Not only do they respect the players, but they respect the game itself. The atmosphere at Busch Stadium cannot be matched in any other stadium.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, their fans haven’t been able to cheer about a lot between these two ball clubs. Sure, they are winning the series, but that’s about it. The Cardinals have 11 World Series titles to their name, the most recent being the miraculous 2011 season. The Cubs’ most recent World Series title was in 1908. The Cardinals have 11 division titles and 18 National League Pennants. The Cubs hold 16 National League Pennants, but only five division titles.

Perhaps the best battle between the two clubs was in 1998. Sammy Sosa was playing right field for the Cubs, while Mark McGwire was the Cardinals’ first baseman. The two were poised for a great season, but no one guessed what would happen over that season.

Ernie Banks, Frank Chance, Kiki Cuyler, Gabby Hartnett, Billy Herman, Ferguson Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, Billy Williams, Hack Wilson, Ron Santo, Andre Dawson

Lou Brock, Rogers Hornsby, Dizzy Dean, Bob Gibson, Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter, Ozzie Smith, Bruce Sutter, Billy Southworth, Whitey Herzog

11

By the end of May, McGwire had 27 home runs compared to Sosa’s 13.

But by the end of the month, Sosa stormed to 33 home runs, only four behind McGwire. The two would duel each other until one fateful series in early September. The Cubs visited the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, and McGwire was sitting on 60 home runs.

Wrigley Field is one of baseball’s historic ballparks. Both Cardinal and Cub legends have battled the same battles at Wrigley, batting in the same batter’s box, warmed up in the same bullpens. Being in a place with so much history connects the current teams to those teams of the past.

The Cards vs. Cubs rivalry is the best rivalry in baseball because it is a territorial rivalry. These teams and fans travel far to declare their supremacy, and have been fighting with each other ever since the first game was played more than 125 years ago.

When these two teams play, they play for keeps.

20-10 2-11 Cubs double the Cardinals with a 20-10 ratio of the National League MVP’s.

Cardinals have 11 World Series titels while the Cubs only hold 2.

BLACKHAWKS

808 Blackhawks and Red Wings have played each other more than any other two teams.

On Nov. 24, 1926, Detroit beat Chicago 1-0 for its first-ever win -and the Blackhawks’ first loss. Since then, the two clubs have played each other more often (727 regular-season games) than any other NHL pairing. The Wings are up 85 games and have lifted 11 Cups to Chicago’s four, but the Blackhawks hold the playoff series lead 9-7.

Former Blackhawk Troy Murray remembers when the BlackhawksRed Wings rivalry was at its peak. That’s when Detroit really did suck — the players, the coach, the fans, the whole damn town.

To this day. Blackhawks fans still chant ‘‘De-troit sucks’’ at the United Center, even though the Red Wings haven’t sucked since before many of them were born. ‘‘The fans get riled up for it, for sure,’’ Hawks winger Patrick Sharp said. ‘‘I remember playing here eight years ago, when we didn’t draw so well for our regular-season games. But every time the Wings were in town, it was a sellout crowd and a playoff-type atmosphere. That rivalry in the crowd filters down onto the ice, and it makes both teams play even harder.

42

HALL OF

Sidney Abel, Ed Belfour, Douglas Bentley, Maxwell Bentley, John Boucher, Francis Brimsek, Harry Burch, Chris Chelios, Paul Coffey, Lionel Conacher, Roy Conacher, Arthur Coulter, Cecil Dye, Philip Esposito, Anthony Esposito, William Gadsby, Charles Gardiner, Herbert Gardiner, Doug Gilmour, Michel Goulet, Glenn Hall, William Hay, Robert Hull, James Irvin, Gordon Keats, Frederick Lehman, Robert Lindsay, Harry Lumley, Duncan MacKay, Stanley Mikita, Howard Morenz, William Mosienko, Murray Olmstead, Robert Orr, Pierre Pilote, Denis Savard, Earl Seibert, Clinton Smith, Allan Stanley, Russell Stanley, John Stewart, Harry Watson

FAMERS

41

Sidney Abel , Martin Barry, Andrew Bathgate, Leo Boivin, John Bucyk, Chris Chelios, Dino Ciccarelli, Paul Coffey, Charles Conacher, Roy Conacher, Alexander Delvecchio, Marcel Dionne, Bernard Federko, Viacheslav Fetisov, William Gadsby, Edward Giacomin, Ebenezer Goodfellow, Glenn Hall, Douglas Harvey, William Hay, Gordon Howe, Mark Howe, Sydney Howe, Brett Hull, Leonard Kelly, Igor Larionov, Herbert Lewis, Robert Lindsay, Harry Lumley, Francis Mahovlich, Larry Murphy, Edward Noble, Adam Oates, Douglas Park, Marcel Pronovost, Hubert Quackenbush, Luc Robitaille, Anders Salming , Terrance Sawchuk, Earl Walter Seibert, Brendan Shanahan, Darryl Glen Sittler, John Stewart, Cecil Thompson, Norman Ullman, Harry Watson, Ralph Weiland, Stephen Yzerman

The shame is that it probably won’t be any kind of rivalry anymore.

With the Red Wings moving into the Eastern Conference, the teams will play only twice a season.

The Blackhawks might miss the rivalry more than they know. While the Red Wings were a source of entertaining vitriol for the fans, they were a measuring stick for the Hawks — a template that helped transform them from a laughingstock into a Stanley Cup champion.

Former general manager Dale Tallon emulated the Red Wings’ development of speed and skill. Current GM Stan Bowman is assisted by his father, Scotty Bowman, who turned the Red Wings into a juggernaut, winning Stanley Cup championships in 1997, 1998 and 2002.

It’s not a coincidence that before winning the Cup in 2010, the Blackhawks lost to the Red Wings 4-1 in the conference finals in 2009. ‘‘I thought it was a good learning curve for us,’’ coach Joel Quenneville said. ‘‘A young team learning from one of the teams that knows how to win, the defending Cup champs. I think there’s an education there from them.’’

BLACKHAWKS vs RED WINGS PAST 727 MEETINGS 364 blackhawk losses 279 blackhawk wins 84 ties (Doesn’t include postseaston)

5-11 The Blackhawks hold a mere 5 Stanley Cup Championships to the Red Wings 11.

BEARS The rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers began innocently on a mild November Sunday afternoon at Chicago’s Wrigley Field (then called Cubs Park) in 1921.

The influence of Halas, Lambeau, and Lombardi has extended well beyond their days as head coaches. The disdain the Packers have for the Bears-and vice versa-has been handed down through the eras.

The Bears, then named the Staleys and one of the league’s founding teams, were ready to show the ropes to the Packers, who were in their inaugural NFL season (although they had existed as a pro football club since 1919).

“There was a true uniqueness about it, and it always felt that way because coaches and veterans would pass it down to rookies.”

Chicago pounded the Packers 20-0, and, for extra measure, Staleys guard tackle Howard (Cub) Buck. It was the opening bell in the start of a beautiful relationship.

For the past 80 years, the Bears-Packers series has had all the bitterness, intensity, and animosity normally associated with rivalries.

Along the way, however, the teams have also developed a deep admiration and appreciation for each other, and that is what makes the Bears-Packers rivalry special. Maybe it’s the kinder, gentler Midwestern roots they share or maybe it is because they have won a combined 21 NFL championships.

Whatever the reason, the Bears against the Packers is professional football. Without the Chicago-Green Bay rivalry, the NFL never would have developed the way it did.

2-0 Bears vs. Packers have ended two games (out of five) with a final score of 2-0. Each team has won one of these games.

Regardless of the era, the style of play has borne familiar trademarks.

Punishing tackles, bone-jarring blocks, and rugged individual efforts mark Packers-Bears games.

The Bears-Packers rivalry also has featured some of the best moments by some of the greatest players in NFL history. A total of 57 Pro Football Hall of Fame members (30 for the Bears and 27 for the Packers) have participated in the series.

Only 207 miles separate tiny Green Bay and behemoth Chicago, and the rivalry has become symbolic of the differences between the people of these two cities.“ Many things have changed in the NFL since I played,” Davis says.

“But even today the Bears game still is the one the Packers have to win. If you beat the Bears you still have an acceptable season, no matter what else happens.”

BEARS vs PACKERS PAST 187 MEETINGS 92 bears wins 89 bears losses

HALL OF FAMERS

6 ties

BEARS: 30

Doug Atkins, George Blanda, Dick Butkus, George Connor, Richard Dent, Mike Ditka, John Driscoll, Jim Finks, Dan Fortmann, Bill George, Harold Grange, George Halas, Dan Hampton, Ed Healey, Bill Hewitt, Stan Jones, Walt Kiesling, Bobby Layne, Sid Luckman, William Roy Lyman, George McAfee, George Musso, Bronko Nagurski, Alan Page, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, Mike Singletary, Joe Stydahar, George Trafton, Clyde Turner

PACKERS: 27

Curly Lambeau, Cal Hubbard, Don Hutson, John McNally, Clarke Hinkle, Mike Michalske, Arnie Herber, Walt Kiesling, Emlen Tunnell, Vince Lombardi, Tony Canadeo, Len Ford, Jim Taylor, Forrest Gregg, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Herb Adderley, Willie Davis, Jim Ringo, Paul Hornung, Willie Wood, Ted Hendricks, Jan Stenerud, Henry Jordan, James Lofton, Reggie White, Dave Robinson

9.28.14 There have been over 14,000 regular season football games played in the 94-year history of the NFL. On Sept. 28, 2014 the Bears and Packers did something that the league had only seen once before: They played an entire 60-minute game without kicking a single punt.