It was the All-Star Break, and the first half of the season for the Cubs was not what everybody expected, especially coming off of the year before. They were plagued by injuries and bats went cold. Pitching was keeping them alive, but barely. The worst thing was all the sports writers and most of the fans had written the Cubs off for the year. They were sitting in fourth place 5 games below .500.  About the only player that seemed to be having a good year was the young player from Japan that they brought over to give them a lefty in the line-up. The other lefty, Milt Bradley, that was supposed to be so good and resurrect the line-up turned out to be the biggest bust of all and he was proving to be confrontational with the fans. He was booed every time he came up to bat and his batting wasn’t too spectacular, it was .215.

            Things were not going so well for the Cubs, but they were about to get some rest. No one on the team was selected for the All-Star Game. As for Ryan Larson, he was getting ready to start throwing again in about two weeks. So while Amy didn’t have many good things to write about, at least that was something. She was miserable watching the Cubs just like most fans and she didn’t even have any good stories to tell Chris, but she was glad of one thing about him.  While things were going well with him he at least was too busy with work to even pay attention to the Cubs and so he was spared the agony. 

            The Cubs would spend a couple of days during the break getting some much needed practice and it gave Amy a chance to see her brother at the ball park. Being injured didn’t make him a very fun person to be around, and that was coming from his girlfriend Tara who had just been transferred back home to Chicago full time. Amy saw him at the ballpark over the weekend trying to be useful even though he couldn’t do much. She walked up to him and gave him a hug. She had to ask

            “So how is everything looking with the team?”

            “Is that a journalist asking or my sister?” Ryan asked.

            She gave him a dirty look and replied. “You should know better than that.”

            “I have to ask, we’ve been getting a lot of bad press these days and the last person I need it from is my sister.”

            “I write the facts, but I haven’t lost my faith in you and this team.”

            Ryan laughed and said. “You must be the only one. It doesn’t take long for this city to turn on us.”

            “And yet they still fill the stands. It’s hard to get a ticket to a game.”

            “Maybe, and I guess I should be used to it considering we grew up with this.”

            Amy smiled and said. “I’m sure it’s different when you’re a player…Dad always said it was.”

            “So are you here to do an interview?”

            “I have a couple to do, but I also wanted to see how everybody was doing and to see if we have anything to look forward to in the second half of the season.”

            Ryan smirked at the comment. He said. “Everybody is worn out and nobody can seem to figure out why they can’t hit. It’s getting so bad that I think Lou is going to have to get a witch doctor out here to tap all the bats with chicken bones and cut off a live rooster’s head to take the curse off of the bats.”

            Amy laughed and replied. “Nice Bull Durham reference.”

            “Did you like that?”

            Soto the catcher overheard the comment and said in a sarcastic tone. “Don’t make fun of that, you don’t want my mother up here taking care of business. It’s not a pretty sight.”

            Ryan said to him. “No woman looks good trying to cut off a rooster’s head.”

            Soto smiled and Amy laughed. At least part of the team seemed to be in good spirits. That’s when Amy remembered a story their grandfather used to tell when they were kids about slumps in baseball. Amy reminded Ryan of the story and how Leo Durocher approached the subject.  After 20 years of losing, PK Wrigley finally hired a manager with a winning record to turn the ballclub around and that manager was Leo Durocher. He had played with Babe Ruth and championship ball clubs with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants.  From the first day of his arrival he declared that the Cubs were no longer an 8^th place team and he was right. He also declared that the days of slumps were over, the Cubs were going to be consistent and even though they would have some ups and downs they were going be to be a winning team. Both Ryan and Amy knew the story behind that – they had grown up with it. The moral of the story was that the attitude on the Cubs team from 1966 – 1971 was going to change.  Ryan told Amy that was something she should write about because not many people knew that story and every fan should know it.

            So Amy decided that she would tell the story through the newspaper and her blog – at least it would be a more uplifting story than writing about the Cubs’ losing streak and string of injuries.  Fans needed a good inspirational story about their Cubs for a change. But like all of her stories there was a back story to it. Perhaps it was that way because Chris, who she mostly told these stories to, didn’t know a lot about the Cubs, but then again every story a journalist tells always has some background to it. 

            When Leo “The Lip” Durocher took over, he had what managers for the Cubs had never had, a blank check book to get the players he needed and total control of baseball operations for the Cubs. He immediately started making some serious changes, he got rid of the ball players on the team that weren’t cutting it and started making trades to get the ones that were going to make the winning difference. Jack Larson was almost traded in 1966, but he was kept around because in Leo’s mind at that time he was the only consistent pitcher that the Cubs had. In 1966 the Cubs traded for the All-Star catcher Randy Hundley, pitchers Bill Hands and the great Fergie Jenkins. They also brought up from the minors, Glenn Becket, Don Kessinger, and a phenomenal lefty on the mound named Ken Holtzmen. He was referred to as the Cubs’ Sandy Koufax.  While the Cubs in 1966 finished in 10^th place losing 103 games that year the improvements that Leo made were about to take effect, because by 1967 the Cubs had one of the best pitching staffs in the Majors, and it was only a matter of time before they all fell in sync to start winning ball games.

            Leo always said that it didn’t matter how many good bats you had in the lineup, pitching is what wins games. He was proved right because in 1967 the Cubs were not a last place team anymore.  They would finish in third place at the end of the season but on one glorious day in July they would get to first place, something that had not happened since 1945.  But of course it was the consistency that always seemed to be the Cubs Achilles’ Heel.  Leo hated to lose and he always voiced his frustration. The attitude he brought to the Cubs was not always  a pleasant one, but he was the smartest baseball man that the Cubs had, had in the 20^th century, at least to some people. He knew how to get the best out of his ball players and he could recognize talent. For example when they found Fergie, he was only a relief pitcher for the Phillies, but with the Cubs he would anchor the pitching staff and win 20 or more games 5 consecutive seasons for them.

            To say that Leo was a son of a bitch was putting it mildly, but everybody respected him and he would find hidden talents in his ball players that would make them better on the field.  When a man could do that, the son of a bitch part gets taken with a grain of  salt. Of course if you ask most of the players back then they would tell you “he may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.” And that was never clearer than in 1967 when the Cubs had hit upon a losing streak that nobody could figure out how to get out of. Leo would have to do something about it.  Leo was frustrated and had one of his fiery inspiration speeches in the clubhouse before a game against the Pirates in June. The Cubs had started out strong that year and had a winning record after the first month of the season, but something happened and they started losing in May. Leo was not going to put up with it considering that he knew the level of talent that his team possessed.  That’s the way Jack Larson put it, according to Amy, when he told the story.

            It was the beginning of June and Leo called the team into the clubhouse during one of their off days. He was mad and everybody knew it, but he didn’t start cussing like a sailor as he did sometimes – he didn’t even throw anything across the room like he did at times. He looked at everybody who was desperately waiting for some kind of answer from the wise old man that had been around the game of baseball longer than any of them had been alive.  Leo finally said to all of them.

            “Alright, playing childish games is over from this day on until the end of the season. If all you are going to do is act like a bunch a little whiny children, playing the game out there as if winning doesn’t matter then I will give all of you some milk and cookies right now and you can be on your way because there is no place for you on this team.” Leo looked over at the table of cookies and cartons of milk. The players looked over at them too and were surprised that there really was milk and cookies. Some of the players were actually thinking that the metaphor might be good, but it was sure was a waste of milk and cookies.

            Leo spoke up again and said. “Now I know that this game is supposed to be fun and you’re supposed to play it that way, but let’s face it,  nobody likes lose and the game isn’t very fun when you do. There’s too much talent sitting in this clubhouse for you to not be winning. And I don’t think this club is a below .500 team. I can cuss at you, I can throw things at you, and be the biggest son of bitch you’ve ever encountered…a bigger son of a bitch than I usually am. But...I am not going to do that. You know how to win and you also know that you can’t win without giving everything you have. Can any of you honestly tell me that you’ve done that?  Well, can you?”

            There was mumbling among the players and finally a few of them spoke up and said in unison, “No.” Leo looked at everybody with a stern look and replied. “That’s what I thought!”

            He continued in his speech. “If that’s the case then what are going to about it? If you are man enough then you will go out there from this day on and play the game I know you can. Don’t be children, be men, and play this game with guts, with every part of your soul…with every ounce of strength you have. If you do that then I know that we will be winners and that the days of losing in this town will be over. But the choice is yours and I will tell this if you don’t like it here…if you don’t like what I just said then you can get the hell out of my clubhouse because I don’t have any use for you. “

            The players all looked at each other and it was as if they were all in agreement. They could play half ass and just get by, maybe they would win or maybe not. Or they could play like champions, playing hard on every play, diving for balls to get the out and they could swing like there was no tomorrow. If they failed at the plate then at least they would go down trying. Banks was the first to stand up and he said. “Let’s do this…let’s play like we know how to.“ The team agreed. They all started to walk out of the club, but Ron Santo walked over to the milk and cookies and grabbed some while pouring himself a glass of milk. Leo gave him a dirty look and asked him. “What the hell are you doing?”

            Santo replied. “No use letting the milk and cookies go to waste. I can still play hard with the milk and cookies.” Truth was he actually needed the sugar. Nobody in the Cubs knew that he was a diabetic. Even he didn’t know much about the disease, but he had the heart of a lion and that’s what made him play so well despite the disease. Leo just looked at Santo and said.  “Get the fuck out of my clubhouse.” Jack was the one that walked over to Santo and escorted him out before Leo actually did throw something at him for being a smart-ass. Santo just smiled at the comment.

            Jack once told Amy and Ryan when telling this story that he couldn’t say for sure whether it was the speech by Leo or the fact that they didn’t want to be losers anymore that inspired all of them to play harder. Whatever the reason that’s exactly what the 1967 team did and they started winning. The bats were on fire and the pitching staff was the best in baseball and for a few months it looked as if the Cubs were going to go all the way.  But the day they actually got to first place, a bright beautiful July day, was a special one for Jack. He would throw his first no hitter in baseball. Jack had turned into a seasoned veteran and given the freedom to be the pitcher he could be made him very dominant on the mound.  As it turned out they were playing the Pirates again.

            Jack was solid that day and no one could hit off him.  He was perfect through six innings and the pitch count wasn’t even high. The Cubs managed to get 6 runs on the board from a Billy Williams three-run homer in the fourth and RBI doubles by both Banks and Santo. In the 7^th Jack’s curveball was gone and perfection was almost lost when a blast by Roberto Clemente into the left field bleachers turned out to be foul. He would end up walking Clemente for the only walk of the game. Leo almost pulled Jack because he had lost momentum, but Jack Larson was a smart pitcher and a breaking ball inside to the next batter made him pull for a grounder to the shortstop which was tuned into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

            The Cubs had been tied for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals for the past week, but couldn’t seem to get past them because both teams had won six in a row. The eighth inning was trouble and Jack would get his second walk of the game. That’s when Leo went out to mound to talk to Larson and of course Hundley followed too as well as Banks from first. He looked at Larson and asked one simple question.

            “Are you done? You’ve had perfection up to this point, but now you’re all over the plate.” It was true his curve was completely gone and now going into the dirt. The slide was about a mile off the plate and his fastballs inside were nearly taking the batters kidneys out.

            Larson looked at the skipper and replied. “I can get these guys out.”

Leo stared at him for a moment and then looked over at Hundley the catcher.  He asked him. 

“What do you think?”

Randy said. “He is battling.”

“I said tell me what you think. You’re my captain on the field.  You should know if he’s done.”

Jack was already at point. He was five outs away from no-hitter and while most managers wouldn’t take away the opportunity when he was so close he also knew that Leo was just the kind of son of bitch that would actually pull him at this point to try and win the game. Bank chimed in.  “Skip I think he can get these guys out.”

“I’m not really asking Banks, Hundley will know the right answer. “

Randy took a deep breath, looked up at the Majestic old fashioned green scoreboard in center field and said.  “He’s not done yet, he can do it.”

“Alright then,” Leo said, “But if he gets into trouble you call time and we’ll get someone out here. “ Looking at Jack he said. “Don’t fuck this up, get these guys out.”

After three balls in a row, Jack finally made the next batter hit into another 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.  The Cubs went down three in a row at the top of the eighth so Jack didn’t have much time to rest. As he was leaving the dugout Leo said to him. “Why don’t you get the next three batters out so we can go home early.” Larson smiled at him. Leo replied again. “I need outs…get me those three outs Larson.  Years later three outs would become synonymous when a Larson was on the mound in for the Cubs. 

Jack didn’t waste time with the first batter, three fastballs that if they clocked would have been 97 or 98 mile an hour easy, and the batter was down on strikes. The second batter took a little longer. He actually got Larson to a full count before he sent a pop fly into left field for the second out. The last batter went down in a way that only a great pitcher could get him out. He pitched inside for the first two pitches backing him off the plate; it was a set up for the final pitch that would get him out. The batter had one strike and one ball on him. The next pitch by Larson got away from him and nearly took the batter’s head off for another ball, but that pitch even helped setting the batter for a strikeout.  The fourth pitch was Jack Larson’s famous sinking fastball – it was basically a slider with speed behind it that when you first saw it looked like a fastball right down the middle, but when it was at the plate the bottom would drop out from underneath it and curve to where it was almost in the dirt. The batter would swing right over it and that’s what the Pirate batter did. The next was a thing of beauty and since the batter was already backed up off the plate more than he should have been because he was pitched inside on the first two pitches Jack could throw a hard slider off the outside of the plate and he wouldn’t be able to reach enough to hit. That’s what the batter did and he struck out by chasing a pitch off the plate – it was embarrassing to the batter to say the least.

Jack had pitched his first no-hitter and it was the game that finally put the Cubs into first place. The Cubs celebrated by carrying Jack Larson off the field, but it wasn’t the most memorable moment of that day. The flags alongside the scoreboard in centerfield always signified the team’s placing in the division, the flags were not usually changed until the next day, but the Cubs fans wouldn’t leave the stadium until the flags were changed that day. They waited a half an hour before the scoreboard keeper finally came out and did it – that was the official moment that the Cubs were in first place and it had been 22 years since that had happened in Chicago.  Steve Larson was there the day his father threw the no-hitter and he told his dad that he had never seen the Cubs in first place. Jack just told his son, now you have and it won’t be the last time either.

It was great that day, not because of the record or that the Cubs had finally gotten into first place, but because the team had played the way the game was always meant to be played. They played the game with the hearts of children – they had fun playing the game. And as Randy Hundley commented one time, “we didn’t play the game for the money, we played because we loved it and truth be told we would have paid to play the game of professional baseball.” That kind of attitude is what made them winners in the late 60’s even when they finished third in 1967 and again in 1968. The 1969 season would be different, though.