You’ve Got Cub Questions, We’ve Got Answers

Honesty time here. With the Chicago Cubs about to start their playoff run tonight (after an incredible, history-making regular season), around here, our minds are pretty much one track--all Cubs, all the time. If you're planning on hanging out with a group of friends and/or family for the games, we've got a few nuggets of information for you to have ready-to-go, just in case they're needed.

The Chicago Tribune came out with a great column out a couple of days back that offers up "100 Things Every Cub Fan Should Know." It's basically one factoid for every year that the Cubs have gone without a World Series title.

Here are a few to get you started:

The Cubs play their home games at Wrigley Field, as you already know, but how many parks have the Cubs called home?

Six: The 23rd Street Grounds on 23rd and State Streets (1876-77), Lakefront Park south of Randolph Street between Michigan Avenue and the Illinois Central Railroad tracks (1878-1884), West Side Park at Congress and Throop Streets (1885-1891), South Side Park at 35th and Wentworth Streets (1891-1893), West Side Grounds at Polk and Wolcott Streets (1893-1915) and Wrigley Field -- also known as Weeghman Park and Cubs Park -- from 1916 to today.

How come the Cubs didn't get lights at Wrigley Field until 1988?

Former owner P.K. Wrigley planned to install lights for the 1942 season but instead donated the fixtures to a shipyard for the war effort on the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked.

What was the attendance for Wrigley Field's biggest crowd?

On July 27, 1930, 51,556 fans attended. But it was Ladies Day, so only 19,748 admissions were paid. They let fans stand on the field of play -- along the warning track of the outfield. Hits going into the crowd were declared ground-rule doubles.

I see that sign at Wrigley Field that reads: EAMUS CATULI, followed by a bunch of numbers. What does all that mean?

"Eamus catuli" is an imperfect Latin translation of "Go Cubs." The other sign starts with “AC,” which means "anno catuli" -- Cubs time. The first numbers indicate years since the Cubs won a division title (that gets reset to 00 now). The next numbers indicate years since the Cubs last won a National League pennant (71); and the final numbers indicate years since the Cubs have won a World Series title (108). If the Cubs win the 2016 World Series, the sign will read "AC000000" on Opening Day in 2017.

And, finally...why is there something called "the basket" in front of the outfield bleachers?

It was installed in 1970 to keep fans from falling or jumping onto the field. It also prevented them from draping coats and jackets over the wall -- a practice that used to inspire Cubs public address announcer Pat Pieper to playfully declare: "Will the bleacher fans please remove their clothes?"

For all 108 questions and answers from the Chicago Tribune, click here.

And, if you've enjoyed the 2016 Cubs season as much as I have, check this out: