If you are a baseball fan and a history fan, then you probably know a bit about the famous Chicago Cubs. Their history stretches back to 1871. At first they were called the Chicago White Stockings and they were part of the original National Association.

The great Chicago fire of October 10, 1871 wiped out much of the city, including the Chicago White Stockings. But they were back by 1874 and just two years later they joined the new National League. The most famous players of that team were first baseman Cap Anson and pitcher Albert Spalding.

For a few years they were called the Colts, but by 1906 the name Cubs became official and has stuck ever since. In the early 1900s the Cubs won the National League championship four times and the World Series twice. That 1906 team had a winning percentage of .763 when they won 116 games, but they lost to their cross-town rivals the White Sox in the World Series that year.

The Cubs were perennial contenders during those years, winning the league championship in both 1907 and 1908 when they also won the World Series. The team repeated as league pennant winners in 1910 but lost the World Series to the Philadelphia Athletics.

From 1918 to 1945 the Chicago Cubs won the National League title six times, but could not win a World Series. Those years featured many memorable moments, including Babe Ruth’s called shot in 1932, winning twenty-one consecutive September games in 1935, and the “homer in the gloamin”, which occured in 1938 when Gabby Hartnett hit a walk-off homer into the gathering twilight to win the game.

A World Series title has eluded the Cubs since 1908, which means they have not won a world title in more than one hundred years. That is the longest drought of any team in professional sports.

According to some diehards their bad luck goes back to the Curse of the Billy Goat. The story goes like this. A fan named Billy Sianis decided to attend game four of the 1945 series. He purchased two box seats, one for his pet goat, the other for himself.

Billy had fun showing off his goat for part of the game, but it wasn’t long before some patrons began to complain about the smell. Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley succumbed to the pressure and ejected the culprits.

As he and his goat left the stadium Billy was heard to utter those fateful words: “the Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.” Sure enough, the Cubs went on to lose that game, and the World Series. And they haven’t made it to the World Series since. Still thousands of faithful fans consider Chicago Cubs tickets a prized possession. Indeed many seem to wear that unique 100 year record as a special badge of honor.