Lincoln Museum to Explore the Cubs-Cardinals Rivalry
Abraham Lincoln, a long-time Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals season-ticket holder, used to show up at both Wrigley Field and Busch Stadium Cubs-Cardinals games in disguise to avoid a violent reaction from either team's fans should the crowd think Lincoln was choosing one squad over the other. Deep down though, Honest Abe bled Cubbie blue.
The previous paragraph is a complete and utter falsehood. There were no Cubs and/or Cardinals back in Lincoln's day, nor was there a Wrigley Field or Busch Stadium, and quite frankly, there were other issues for Lincoln to worry about potentially prompting a violent response from a crowd. However, I do believe that our nation's 16th president would bleed Cubbie blue if he were around today. You believe what you want.
Even if Abraham Lincoln never weighed in on the rivalry between the Chicago and St. Louis ball clubs, the Abraham Presidential Museum and Library is going to take on the topic with an exhibit opening March 24th called "Cubs versus Cardinals: The Rivalry."
Christopher Wills, spokesperson for the Lincoln Museum, says:
Visitors will see rare artifacts and photographs. They’ll learn about legendary players like Mordecai Brown and Rogers Hornsby and newer stars like Jake Arrieta and Yadier Molina. They’ll also be able to interact with the exhibit by sharing their own Cards-Cubs memories, answering trivia questions and playing a home run derby as their favorite team. “The Rivalry” was developed in conjunction with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals, an unprecedented partnership from all three organizations for an exhibit of this type.
Some of the really cool things you'll see include:
• The second-base bag stolen by Cardinals star (and former Cub) Lou Brock on Sept. 10, 1974, to break the modern record for steals in a season
• The cap worn by Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood when he struck out 20 batters on May 6, 1998
• A chart kept by Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog to track the hitting trends of Cubs slugger Andre Dawson
• A watch fob owned by Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown with medallions for the Cubs’ 1907 and 1908 World Series victories and 1906 pennant win
• Shoes worn by Cardinals outfielder Vince Coleman when he set the major league record for stolen bases by a rookie in 1985
• Gear worn or used by such greats as Rogers Hornsby, Hack Wilson, Stan Musial, Fergie Jenkins, Bob Gibson, Sammy Sosa, Albert Pujols and more.
As you may already know, these two teams were not always the Cubs and Cardinals. The Chicago White Stockings took the field in 1871 and the St. Louis Brown Stockings followed in 1882. But the exhibit begins even before the teams (which later took on the names Cubs and Cardinals) were officially created. It will carry visitors through 150 years of highs and lows – championships, memorable trades, broken racial barriers, famous broadcasters, home run races and more.
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