SJ0065 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0065 LRB104 21691 MST 37267 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In 1876, five years after the Great Chicago Fire, the Chicago Cubs became a charter member of the new National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, founded by, among others, Chicagoan William Hulbert and Albert Spalding, who was then-club secretary, a player-manager, and the founder of the sporting goods company that still bears his name today; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs played their first National League game on April 25, 1876, two months before Custer's Last Stand and three months before Colorado was admitted as the 38th state of the union, winning 4-0 vs. the Louisville Grays behind pitcher Albert Spalding's complete-game shutout; and

WHEREAS, Of the eight charter members of the National League, only two remain, and the Cubs are the only one to have remained loyal to their original city and state since 1876; and

WHEREAS, Since 1876, more than 182,000,000 fans have attended Cubs games in Chicago, celebrating success, enjoying America's pastime, cheering their team, and bringing economic success to the city and State, and millions more have listened on radio and watched on television; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs have played more than 22,000 games and used nearly 2,300 players, both Major League Baseball records; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs have won eight division titles, 17 National League pennants, including the inaugural National League pennant in 1876, and three World Series championships, including a thrilling seven game series with Cleveland in 2016; and

WHEREAS, The parade celebrating the 2016 Cubs World Series Championship was reported to have been attended by an estimated five million people, making it the largest recorded non-religious gathering in human history and the 7th largest gathering of any type at the time; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs won the 1907 and 1908 World Series, playing at the West Side Grounds in the area near Taylor and Wood Streets in what is today the Illinois Medical District; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs have played around the world, including opening the 2025 MLB season in Tokyo, playing in London in 2023, becoming the first team to play a regular season MLB game in Asia when they opened the 2000 season vs. the New York Mets, and the first team to play an around-the-world baseball tour in 1888-1889, which also made them the first MLB team to play games in Australia, Egypt, France, Italy, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka; and

WHEREAS, A Chicago Cubs' "W" flag has flown from the summit of Mount Everest, on the shores of the Dead Sea, in outer space at the International Space Station, and at both the North and South Poles; and

WHEREAS, The team was called "Cubs" for the first time in 1902 in reference to a roster of young players in spring training and officially adopted the name in 1907; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs have played at Wrigley Field since 1916 and have been a part of countless events etched in the national consciousness, including Babe Ruth's famous called shot in the 1932 World Series and Gabby Hartnett's Homer in the Gloamin, and they play in the last remaining Major League Baseball ballpark in which Jackie Robinson played; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs have scored more than 103,000 runs and collected more than 200,000 hits, both Major League Baseball records, won the highest scoring game in MLB history (49 total runs, 26-23) on August 25, 1922, and have scored the most runs ever in a single MLB game, 36, on June 29, 1897; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs' season record of 116 wins in the 154-game season of 1906 is still a Major League Baseball record today; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs boast 54 players, managers, and executives who have been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs made history in 1926 when Margaret Donohue became the first woman in Major League Baseball unrelated to a team owner to serve as an officer of a professional sports team; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs were the first Major League Baseball team to hire an African American coach, Buck O'Neil, in 1962; and

WHEREAS, The Cubs have employed hundreds of thousands of Chicago residents; and

WHEREAS, Cubbie Blue is a color known to be a source of pride to Cubs fans across the globe; and

WHEREAS, Cubs Charities has donated more than $62 million since 2009 to support families and individuals, promote youth sports and well-being, and improve lives and communities across all 77 neighborhoods of the City of Chicago and throughout the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Famous Cubs, including Ernie Banks, Mordecai Brown, Phil Cavaretta, Frank Chance, Andre Dawson, Johnny Evers, Stan Hack, Gabby Hartnett, Fergie Jenkins, Anthony Rizzo, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Santo, Sammy Sosa, Joe Tinker, Billy Williams, and more than 2,000 others, have brought joy and celebration to fans for generations; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare August 29, 2026 as Chicago Cubs Day in the State of Illinois to celebrate and honor the team and all those who have played for, worked for, enjoyed the triumphs of, and shared a passion for, the Chicago Cubs; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we congratulate the Chicago Cubs on 150 years as part of the fabric of our State and the City of Chicago, serving to delight fans, attract visitors, and heighten civic pride; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Chicago Cubs organization in celebration of the professional sports franchise having made the longest and greatest contribution to the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago.