Cards-Cubs rivalry goes back to 1800s

Q: I’ve lived in this area most of my life and am, naturally, a Cardinals fan. Although I enjoy the Cubs-Cards rivalry, I’m puzzled as to why and how it began. Yes, they knocked us out of the playoffs last year, but other than that, they have not been much of a threat to us for as long as I can remember. It would seem to make more sense to “hate” the Red Sox, who have beaten us twice in the World Series in the last 10 years, or the Giants, who knocked us out of the NLCS twice. Your thoughts?

A: When you combine their physical proximity with 130 years of on-field battles that have featured everything from brawls to the McGwire-Sosa home run chase, I’d say it was only logical that this has turned into one of the most colorful rivalries in pro sports.

No, that number is not a typo. Before they were known as the Cardinals and Cubs — before there was an MLB — our two favorite regional teams already were going at it tooth and nail. The reason? In his book “Before They Were Cardinals,” author Jon David Cash suggests that at least part of the reason that the St. Louis Brown Stockings even formed in 1875 was the economic trade rivalry between the two cities. It seems only logical that this dueling would have extended to the baseball field by the time the Brown Stockings became the Cardinals in 1900.

And even back then this rivalry took place on a national stage.

The year was 1885. Now known as the Browns, St. Louis had won the American Association while the Chicago White Stockings (who became the Colts in 1890, the Orphans in 1898 and, finally, the Cubs in 1903) took the National League. In what would become the “World Series” in 1903, St. Louis and Chicago then played a seven-game series for a $1,000 prize not only in St. Louis and Chicago, but Pittsburgh and Cincinnati as well.

It would lay a solid foundation for the rivalry to come. In game two on Oct. 15, St. Louis Manager Charles Comiskey pulled his Browns off the field in the sixth inning to protest a call by umpire Dave Sullivan. Chicago, which was leading 5-4, was ruled the winner. Yet when the series ended at 3-3-1, St. Louis claimed the forfeit didn’t count and demanded the prize. Instead, both teams split the pot.

So you can bet feelings were running high when the two teams met again for the “world championship” the very next year. This time, St. Louis left no doubt. With Chicago forced to use John Clarkson as its starting pitcher in five games, St. Louis topped the Windy City bunch four games to two, which included what some call the most famous play in 19th-century baseball. With the score tied 3-3 in the 10th inning of the sixth game, Clarkson threw a wild pitch, allowing Curt Welch to score. But did he actually slide across the plate? Without slo-mo replays, we’ll never know. Some still call it the “$15,000 slide” because it prevented a seventh game and earned St. Louis the $13,920 pot. It would also be the American Association’s only victory over the National League, according to David Nemec, author of “The Beer and Whiskey League.”

When the American Association dissolved in 1891, the Browns moved to the National League, cementing the rivalry as the two teams began facing each other multiple times during the regular season. It’s been a fierce struggle, too — not nearly as one-sided as the Cubs’ World Series history would suggest. From 1892 through 1919, the Cubs boasted a 341-181-11 advantage over the Cards for a .640 winning percentage. In fact, the Cubs still hold a slight edge in victories to this day. Counting last year’s post-season series, the Little Bears enjoy a 1,200-1,148-19 edge in the 124 seasons the two have been National League rivals.

That’s only part of the reason for the rivalry. The fact that the two teams are so close certainly adds to it. I remember growing up that my neighbor the Munies branded our family as traitors because we weren’t supporting our Illinois team. Of course, anyone who has driven by Bob Kaiser’s barbershop at 2117 W. Main St. in Belleville has seen his “Wait Till This/Next Year” sign in the window and his big, blue-and-white cloth “W” flapping in the breeze after every Cubs victory. I would argue you just couldn’t elicit the same intense emotion with the Giants, which are in another division and 2,000 miles away, or Boston, who we’d only play a few games a year even if we did play them during the regular season.

It’s certainly not in the same league, but your argument made me think of the Belleville Township West-East St. Louis High School football rivalry. Before the state playoffs came along, East St. Louis owned a 45-11-3 advantage, with many victories by blowouts. It shouldn’t have been much of a rivalry. Yet representing two cities that physically connected, this matchup turned into the annual Thanksgiving Day classic complete with a half-day school holiday, parade and the awarding of a railroad bell to the winner.

But whether you buy my argument or not, the Cardinals-Cubs battle has led to several historic baseball events that have spiced up the rivalry even more. You don’t have to be much of a historian to remember these:

June 22, 1928: During a game at Wrigley Field, Hack Wilson, the Cubs’ own center fielder, jumped into the stands to attack a heckling fan in the ninth inning. His actions sparked a melee that resulted in 5,000 fans swarming the field. He was fined $100, but was found not guilty when the fan sued him for $20,000. (This was one year after he was fined $1 when police caught him escaping through a rear window during a speakeasy raid.)

1945: The Cubs won the pennant, three games ahead of the Rebirds. But during a day that will live in infamy in Chicago, Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was allegedly ejected from the park during game four when fans complained that his pet goat was stinking up the stadium. Chicago owned a 2-1 edge in games at the time, but lost the series 4-3 — and has never reached the Fall Classic since.

May 15, 1960: Good news and bad for the Cubbies: Two days after being traded from Philadelphia, Chicago right-hander Don Cardwell fired a no-hitter in a 4-0 Cubs win, the only no-hitter during the long rivalry. Unfortunately, it was one of only 60 wins the entire season as Chicago finished 35 games out (but one ahead of the hapless Phils).

June 15, 1964: In what ESPN calls the worst deadline trade ever, the Cubs sent Lou Brock (along with Paul Toth and Jack Spring) to St. Louis for Ernie Broglio, Bobby Shantz and Doug Clemens. I guess I should not remind Cub fans that Brock, who will throw out the first pitch Monday, broke Ty Cobb’s stolen base record while Broglio went 7-19 for Chicago.

Sept. 22, 1974: In one of the weirdest basebrawls ever, the Cubs’ Bill Madlock and Card reliever Al Hrabosky got into a spitting match over who could delay an at-bat more. With Madlock out of the box, the ump ordered the Mad Hungarian to pitch. He fired a strike, setting off a fight that saw Redbird catcher Ted Simmons deck Madlock.

June 23, 1984: The Cubs roared back from a 7-1 deficit to win 12-11 in 11 innings as Ryne Sandberg went five for six with seven RBIs.

1998: Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa kept fans riveted with their season-long home-run faceoff. McGwire hit No. 62 against Chicago and wound up with 70, but Sosa was voted league MVP and only the Cubs made the playoffs.

Oct 13, 2015: In the two teams’ 2,367th meeting since 1892, Chicago dumped St. Louis in the fourth and deciding game of their National League Division Series. After John Lackey blanked the Cubs in game one, Chicago swept the next three.

In all, despite having fewer wins, the Cards have outscored the Cubs 10,375-10,328. The Redbirds are also far better in the post-season with a 130-117 record (and 11 World Championships) to the Cubs’ 31-55 (two crowns). But if the experts are right, these margins may start to close when the two teams renew their rivalry on April 18 at Busch.

Today’s trivia

Who says he convinced Oprah Winfrey to take her then-Chicago show into national syndication while the two were on a date?

Answer to Saturday’s trivia: Most male students who want to grow a beard at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, first need to submit a note from their doctor. In response to student protest against the long but unwritten ban of facial hair, the school issued guidelines early last year stipulating three cases in which beards would be allowed. They are: as needed for approved theatrical productions; religious practice: and skin conditions that prevent shaving, which requires a doctor’s note. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was cleanshaven, so the college began encouraging its male students to be likewise. The school’s honor code also forbids premarital sex, immodest dress, tattoos, alcohol and skin piercing beyond one earring in each ear for women. In 2014, some students began sporting cardboard beards in protest.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 5:37 AM with the headline "Cards-Cubs rivalry goes back to 1800s."