In 1981, Goodman had written "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request" about the team's long history of futility (last World Series championship in 1908 - the longest title drought of any team in US professional sports). Baseball people being notoriously superstitious, the Cubs had banned him from performing it at Wrigley Field. In the video, he is playing from one of the nearby "Wrigley rooftops" - not actually on stadium grounds:
In September of that same season of '84, Goodman died of leukemia at the age of 36. Four days later, the Cubs clinched their first playoff berth since 1945. In the years since, "Go, Cubs, Go" has at various times been the official team song and the official victory song. In April 1988, some of Goodman's ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field.
My Baseball Fantasy
Vermont League: won, 6-4 (61-40-9 overall, 1st place out of 12 teams)
Maryland League: lost, 3-7 (54-49-7, 5th of 10)
Public League: 87 Rotisserie points (2nd of 12)
My Player of the Week: Carlos Gonzalez (Left Fielder, Rockies) with 3 home runs, 6 runs, 8 RBI, 1 stolen base and a .476 batting average
The Goodman story is quite sad.
ReplyDeleteI used to hear Go Cubs Go in the streets around Wrigley field before and after games during the 1990s and I was happy when they started playing it after Cubs wins in the 2000s. He was a pretty good songwriter and was most famous for the folk song "City of New Orleans," made popular by Arlo Guthrie.
Good mornin', America! How are ya?
DeleteNice - I had not made the connection.
This is a very sad story. I always wonder why the Cubs can't win ? But then I lived through all the years of the Angles not winning. Of course not as long as the Cubs losing streak, it payed off when they won the World Series and I had season tickets for all though years !
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
The problem, for decades, was ownership who were more interested in profits than winning. The loveable loser image is highly marketable - the Cubs have one of the largest national followings of any team. Investing in a better on-field product was not a high priority.
DeleteThe current regime appears to be different. Hiring Theo Epstein away from the Red Sox was a clear move towards sustained success. Rebuilding is underway. We shall see.
Timely post for me this morning. And the comments thread, too. Nice job, Squid. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteTimely? I'm curious.
DeleteOh, gosh. Inarticulable. You know how when you go through something and then you read something that makes sense at that wordless level. Sorry. Not much to satisfy curiosity. I just like that he played just off stadium grounds. It's so, 'I gotta ride ...'
DeleteYes, I do understand that feeling.
DeleteYou lost me on the "I gotta ride" thing, though. I'm clearly missing some obvious cultural reference.
:)
DeleteNo, you're not missing something obvious. It's a line from The Black Stallion. 22:30-24:37
Got it.
DeleteThis has always been my favorite Steve Goodman song. I think it's because having your car towed in Chicago is sort of a rite of passage to becoming a Chicagoan. I wish the lyrics were hyperbole but they aren't.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE5HtTxxJRM
Very nice! Thank you for sharing.
Delete