Cubs/Cardinals -The Rivalry
A Look at the history of this bitter rivalry
Nothing excites Cubs and Cardinals fans quite like the bitter rivalry that takes place within the Central Division between these two teams. With game one of this series snowed out what better to take a look at than the history of this heated affair.
The Cubs and the Cardinals have been building this rivalry for a long time. In fact, they have been playing since 1892. It has been touted as the Route 66 Rivalry, The Downstate Illinois rivalry, or many fans just refer to it as the Good guys vs the Bad guys, I think we all know who the bad guys are.
Hack Wilson Riot
Over the years we have witnessed some exciting games and some very memorable moments. One of those moments goes all the way back to June 22, 1928 and is known as the “Hack Wilson Riot”. Wilson who was known to instigate fights between opposing teams and opposing fans and on this day he chose the fans. In the 9th inning Hack Wilson jumped into the stands (ala Ron Artest) and attacked a heckling fan. Around 5000 fans would storm the field before police were able to restore order. The fan filed a lawsuit against Wilson for $20,000 dollars, but a judge ruled in favor of Wilson.
The Sandberg Game
I could probably just leave it at that and the majority of Cubs fans know what game this is, but for those fans that don’t know let’s take a look. The date was June 23, 1984 and Cubs fans were experiencing an unfamiliar occurrence that year. They were actually winning games and beginning to draw some attention in the National League as an actual contender. The Sandberg game was the game that opened the eyes of baseball fans and let them know that the Chicago Cubs and Ryne Sandberg were the real deal.
The Cubs trailed the Cardinals 9–8 in the bottom of the ninth inning and were facing one of the best closers in baseball, Bruce Sutter. In most cases this was a lock for the Cardinals once they handed the ball over to Sutter, but on this day Ryne Sandberg had other things in mind. Sandberg hit a shot that found the bleachers to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The Cardinals would not go away easily as they plated 2-runs in the top of the 10th to take an 11–9 lead over the Cubs, but again Sandberg stepped to the plate with one runner on in the bottom half of the inning and got the best of Sutter again. That’s when the late, great Harry Caray called Sandberg’s shot to left.
McGwire vs Sosa
This time around it wasn’t the battle between the teams that brought so much attention, but instead a star from each team. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa would put on a home run show like none we had seen in baseball in 1998. After Major League Baseball had lost many angry fans to a strike that cancelled the World Series in 1994, Sosa and McGwire would reignite the flame that baseball so dearly needed. These two men would battle it out as they chased the all-time season home run record (61)held by roger Maris.
McGwire would finish the year with 70 home runs and Sosa with 66. The Cubs would go on to win the National League wild card and make the playoffs for the first time in nine years, the Cardinals finished barely above .500 which is always a good thing to hear if you're a Cubs fan.
2015 National League Division Series
After years of watching the Cardinals dominate the Central Division and be contenders for a World Series the tides finally turned.
Here’s a look at the Cubs 2015 Playoff run:
As we enter this Rivalry once again in 2018, what will happen next? Who will emerge as the winner of one baseball and sports all-time greatest rivalries?
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