September 9, 1908: Cubs win their second to last home game of the YEAR. Also, another flying record

What a terrible schedule. Despite the fact that the Cubs still have 26 more games after today, only ONE of them is a home game. Brutal!

Prior to embarking on the Evil Road Trip From Hell (or ERTFH from now on), the Cubs managed to make pretty easy work of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 5-3 win in their second to last home game of the season.

Things were not nearly as close as the final score made them look. The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Jimmy Slagle walk, a stolen base, and a Frank Schulte single. After that the Cardinals imploded and committed five errors that led to four more Cub runs in the 6th and 7th.

Leading 5-0, the Cards managed to pick up some garbage time runs in the 8th and 9th, but the Cubs were essentially on autopilot by then. Orval Overall went the distance for Chicago, giving up only four hits on the day and striking out eight.

At the plate, right fielder Frank Schulte was the offensive star with a 3-4 day that included three RBIs. Despite going 0-3 in the game, left fielder Jimmy Slagle scored all three of those runs thanks to sloppy play and the aforementioned Cardinals' errors.

Let's be honest, I look like I can totally beat you up

The other big news of the day saw the legendary Wright Brothers reclaiming their title as the flight kings of the world. Of course you already know the whole "we flew a plane first" history of the brotherly duo, but naturally they were not the only people trying to build and fly airplanes.

Earlier in the week, a French aviator and sculptor, Leon Delegrange had broken the previous world flight record by staying in the air for a "whopping" 29 minutes. Not to be outdone, the Wright Brothers immediately sprung into action to put the smack down on Mr. Frenchy and his little airplane.

The result? 62 minutes and 15 seconds. Eat THAT Frenchy! ... USA! ... USA! ... USA!

[Side note: Suddenly I feel the urge to just eat a giant bowl of bacon and french fries to feel like a true 'Murican!!]

Hey and I'm well aware ... 62 minutes in the air barely gets you from Chicago to Peoria these days and we have a long way to go, but we're taking baby steps here people! Let's not forget, people barely had CARS in 1908, let alone planes, so they're doing their best.

Anyway ... here's pictures of the record-breaking plane, which is still pretty cool to see ...

In summary, the Cubs win sends them to 79-51 on the season. The Giants, as usual, won as well, so their lead remains two games. The Cubs now begin the ERTFH, heading to St. Louis for four more games against the Cardinals, and then on to Boston for three with the Doves.

Meanwhile, Cubs fans in Chicago can sit around and wait patiently for October 4, when they can actually watch their team play again. Boooo!