A List To Provide Some Context For Just How Long Ago 1908 Was
The Chicago Cubs blanked the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 on Saturday to win the NLCS and secure their first World Series appearance since 1945. The Cubs have flown under the radar as probably the least successful franchise in professional American Sports history. For some reason society has given them a pass for their complete and utter ineptitude. The Cubs franchise has roots from 1876 as the Chicago White Stockings before they formally became the Chicago Cubs in 1903. The Cubs won back to back World Series' in 1907 to 1908, but have hardly sniffed a title since then. Since the end of World War 2, the Cubs have made the playoffs just 8 times, with their first post-war playoff birth coming 1984. Delusional Cubs fans are quick to remind you of 'the curse,' but the reality of the matter is that the Cubs are historically the worst team in baseball. Zero success in over a century of competition is truly odds-defying. Had they not been in a city like Chicago, this franchise would have packed its bags for greener pastures decades ago. To illustrate just how long ago the Cubs last World Series Win was, and to convey how pathetic that franchise has been since then, I had our research team compile a list to provide some context for just how long ago 1908 really was:
Major League Baseball in 1908:
- 16 teams
- Teams included the Cleveland Naps, St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Athletics, Washington Senators, New York Highlanders, Boston Doves, and Brooklyn Superbas
- Honus Wagner led the majors with a .354 batting average
- Cy Young was in the twilight of his career
Things that Happened in 1908:
- Henry Ford produces the first Model T car
- Oklahoma becomes 46th State
- William Taft wins U.S. Presidential election, succeeding Teddy Roosevelt
- Ernest Shackleton sets sail for Antarctica for his first of three expeditions to the continent
- The 4th Summer Olympics are held in London
- University of Pennsylvania named College Football National Champions
- Montreal Wanderers win the Stanley Cup
- University of Chicago named College Basketball National Champions
- Future President Lyndon B. Johnson is born
- Harvard Business School established
- Gandhi was a lawyer
- Hitler had just moved to Vienna to pursue an art career
Things that Hadn't Happened Yet:
- Wrigley Field was not yet built (1916)
- The Sinking of the Titanic (1912)
- Frisbee Invented (1948)
- World War 1 (1914)
- Invention of the Television (1927)
- First McDonalds (1954)
- Invention of the Helicopter (1939)
- 19th amendment - women's suffrage (1920)
- Board Game Monopoly invented (1934)
- Prohibition (1920-1933)
- Hayley's comet has passed Earth twice
- Charles Lindbergh flies across the Atlantic Ocean for the first time (1927)
- New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii gain statehood
- Ballpoint Pen Invented (1938)
- Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (1917)
- FM Radio (1933)
- Irish independence from UK (1921)
- Refrigerator introduced to US home market (1916)
- The NFL (1920)
- The NHL (1917)
- The NBA (1946)
- First Military Tank (1912)
- Empire State Building completed (1931)
- Modern Zipper invented (1917)
- First Crossword Puzzle (1913)
- Bra invented (1913)
- Golden Gate Bridge Opened (1937)
- Fortune Cookies (1918)
- First Traffic Light installed (1914)
- Hoover Dam completed (1933)
- Penicillin discovered (1928)
- Bubble Gum invented (1928)
