Agony & Ivy

Greatest Moments: No. 9, Scratching a 39-Year Itch

(Editor's Note: Twenty-second in a series recalling the 30 greatest moments in Cubs history.)

When a Jody Davis sacrifice fly in the ninth inning finished off a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field on Aug. 1, 1984, the Cubs moved into first place to stay. But even by the time the North Siders had fattened their NL East lead to seven games over the second-place New York Mets in early September, I still was waiting for bad things to happen.

13 Moments to Forget

You don't put together a 103-year championship drought without a few infamous and embarrassing moments. Cubs history is full of head-scratching and gut-wrenching moments. I believe these are the 13 worst:

102 Years and Counting... Why Us?

My grandfather turned 90 earlier this year.

Pops is no saint, but I have always been struck by his ability to make friends. It's a testament to his talent for relating to others that a week does not go by when somebody in our neighborhood asks me how he's doing or tells me a story about a good time they had with him.

But the fact that he has been a Cubs fan since at least the 1930s has to be penance for something. The man has been subjected to more bad baseball in his lifetime than anybody else I know and has not even enjoyed the experience of watching his favorite team play in the World Series since 1938. He was serving in the Pacific while the Cubs participated in the 1945 Fall Classic.

"Wait 'til next year!" my late grandmother would mutter whenever she'd hear a Cubs fan speak those words. "It's always wait 'til next year with those Cubs!"

1984: A Memorable Night in Pittsburgh

When a Jody Davis sacrifice fly in the ninth inning finished off a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field on Aug. 1, 1984, the Cubs moved into first place to stay. But even by the time the North Siders had fattened their NL East lead to seven games over the second-place New York Mets in early September, I still was waiting for bad things to happen.

Cubs Blew Second Chance With Moyer

When 47-year-old Philadelphia left-hander Jamie Moyer pitched a two-hit, complete-game shutout in the Phillies' 7-0 victory over Atlanta on Friday, he became the oldest hurler in major league history to pitch a complete-game shutout. It was Moyer's 234th major league victory since the Cubs traded him to the Texas Rangers on Dec. 5, 1988.

Mr. Ricketts, Stay Out of the Clubhouse

The latest issue of Sports Illustrated arrived in the mailbox Wednesday and it included a short story about Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts.