October 14, 1908: The moment you've been waiting for ... Cubs win the World Series!

And here we are ... the big day. The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions!

Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!

Before I go any further, just a quick reminder that you can buy a Make America 1908 Again shirt, which would give me a warm feeling in my belly (that isn't all the chicken wings I ate last night). It also helps you look extremely cool with your Cub friends during this year's NLCS (and hopefully beyond). Also ... as a little thank you for reading this blog throughout the season, use the code CHICAGO10 and you can get 10% off your order. BUY NOW

OK ... now that we are past that ... let's talk some baseball!

Behind the strong pitching of Orval Overall, the Cubs blanked the Tigers 2-0 in a game that lasted LESS than an hour and a half. Now I wasn't there (because I'm not 127 years old), but I get the feeling the Tigers had pretty much given up and mailed this game in. And if they didn't, their fans certainly did. A paltry 6,210 fans bothered to show up at Detroit's Bennett Park ... the lowest attendance in the history of the World Series.

Orval Overall warming up before game 5 ... Oct 14, 1908

But let's not let that diminish the accomplishments of the Cubs, who survived a dogfight of a regular season in the National League to earn the right to give the Detroit Tigers a beatdown while under the national spotlight of baseball fans across the country. The Cubs were now back-to-back World Series champions, as well making them the winningest team in baseball's young history.

And yes, we all know that the next 108 years haven't exactly gone as desired following this early domination, but I think we can all still appreciate the massive success that this team was in the early 1900's. Winning a World Series isn't easy (obviously!), so winning two in a row is an accomplishment that can ALWAYS be celebrated (three straight NL pennants as well).

As a whole, the city of Chicago truly were the kings of the baseball world. The Cubs had won two straight World Series, plus that loss in the 1906 series? The Chicago White Sox. The Windy City was absolutely dominating the game!

Chicago Cubs 1908 World Series celebration

The Cubs took control of the game immediately in the top of the first. Second baseman Johnny Evers hit a one out single to center. Right fielder Frank Schulte then singled to left to advance Evers to second base. Player-manager Frank Chance then stepped to the plate and smashed a single to center. Evers scored and the Cubs took a 1-0 lead.

With the way Overall was pitching today, that was the only support the Cubs really needed. Big Jeff made it immediately known that he was firing on all cylinders by striking out FOUR batters in the first inning ... the first time that had ever happened in the modern era of the game. From there he struck out another six on the day and scattered just three hits. A Johnny Evers double in the 5th added another run and the Cubs cruised to a 2-0 victory.

So there it is ... the Cubs won a freakin' World Series!

I will say this ... I started this blog over the summer because as a fan of baseball history, I thought it would be cool to travel back in time and watch the season unfold with a Cubs championship. I also had a weird (and positive) feeling about the 2016 team that told me "this is the time to do this."

I'm certainly not predicting anything beyond that, but I've very much enjoyed following the 2016 Chicago Cubs run, and then simultaneously getting a blast from the (very very distant) past from the 1908 season.

I hope you've enjoyed the blog. I've enjoyed writing it, and it really was fun to truly get down to the details of the 1908 season. I, of course, always knew that the Cubs won that year, but now I almost feel like I KNOW these guys after following them day after day.

I'll leave you with this quote that I found from the Chicago Tribune's recap of the game, that I thought was really fitting (especially since I'm writing about this 108 years later) ...

"What those gray-clad modest young warriors have accomplished will be remembered longer than any of them lives."

Totally true!

Thanks again for taking the time to read this. Feel free to reach out at makeamerica1908again@gmail.com

Go Cubs!