Northsiders

This collection of 19 essays examine the role of baseball’s Cubs in the history and politics of Chicago. They focus on topics such as the rise of a nationwide fan base through the long reach of superstation WGN; the local uses and views of icons Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, and Ryne Sandberg; historical divides along lines of race (on the field) and class (in the stands); Wrigley Field as a public space both sacred and cursed; the importance of local and nationwide media coverage; and the Cubs’ impact on Chicago music and literature.

Gerald C. Wood is chair of the English department and dean of the School of Humanities at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee. He lives in New Market, Tennessee.
Andrew Hazucha is the chair of the Humanities Division and English Department at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas.

Edited by Gerald C. Wood and Andrew Hazucha
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 229
Bibliographic Info: 17 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3623-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Introduction      1

Cubs Timeline      5

I. THE CUBS, WRIGLEY FIELD, AND P.K. WRIGLEY

Lake View, Baseball, and Wrigleyville: The History of a Chicago Neighborhood

Margaret Gripshover      11

Wrigley Field: An Historical Basis for the Cubs’ Curse?

David Bohmer      27

Hallowed Ivy and Sacred Sun: The Iconic Character of Wrigley Field

Joseph L. Price      35

Philip K. Wrigley: Contrarian

George Castle      49

Educating Wrigley: The Failed Experiment of the College of Coaches

Andrew Hazucha      59

II. RACE, ETHNICITY, AND THE CUBS

Making It Home: Cap Anson, Fleet Walker, and the Romance of the National Pastime

Steve Andrews      69

Mediocrity Under Pressure: The Integration of the Cubs as Covered by the Chicago Defender

Brian Carroll      86

Let’s Play Two … in Black and White: Ernie Banks and Race Relations in Chicago

Gerald C. Wood      97

For Ken Holtzman: Wherever I May Find Him

Terry Barr      105

III. THE SOCIOLOGY OF CUBDOM

“I’m a Cub fan. I cannot be bought”: Onstage Fandom in Bleacher Bums

James Davis      121

The Friendly Confines of Prose: Chicago Cubs in Fiction

Tim Morris      126

The Voices of Cubs Broadcasters

Curt Smith      134

Paradise Lost: Cubs Fans, the Tribune Company, and the Unfriendly Confines

Ron Kates      142

Scoring at Home

Holly Swyers      149

IV. PLAYERS AS ICONS

John Clarkson, the 34 Million Dollar Man

Shawn O’Hare      159

Hack Wilson in Chicago

Bob Boone and Jerry Grunska      165

Gabby, Gangsters, the Great Depression, and the “Homer in the Gloamin’”

William F. McNeil      176

Loving Ivy: Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, and the Ideals of Cubs Nation

Gerald C. Wood      184

V. EPILOGUE

Why the Cubs Must Not Win the World Series … Yet

Rick Moser      195

Selective Bibliography      203

About the Contributors      209

Index      213

“even for those who are not Cubs fans, Northsiders is worth reading”—Nine.