What is YOUR most memorable Cubs game?

Even though I’ve probably only seen about 50 Cubs games in my lifetime, several stand out.

My first Cubs game as a pre-teen in the 1960s.
I have absolutely no memory of who the Cubs played or who won. What I do remember are two things: the first was my reaction walking up the ramp behind home plate and seeing the ballpark IN COLOR for the first time. Up to that point, I’d only seen it on our black and white TV or in newspaper photos. To this day, I still take people attending their first Cubs game with me up this same ramp. And their expression is the same as mine some 45 years later. My second memory of this game is my father handing me a baseball when I got back from a bathroom break. He’d caught a foul ball while I was gone! A guy a section over came to my dad and tried to guilt us into giving him the ball claiming it broke his watch as it ricocheted off his wrist as he was reaching for it. My dad told him to get lost.

My first game without a parent.
My next door neighbor and I took the bus from Michigan to Chicago on opening day in 1971. Two 15-year olds on their own. Right after the end of the 1970 season, I’d written the Cubs asking for two opening day tickets next to the Cubs dugout. I had no concept of season tickets and that these seat might be "club seats". It must have been a pretty funny request to whomever opened the envelope. I also had sent cash. Duh. I was lucky to even get seats. They put us in the first row of the upper deck between home and third base. Great seats EXCEPT it was about 33 degrees that day with the wind blowing in off the lake. I’ve never been so cold in my life. And to top it off, the game went into extra innings. Billy Williams won it 2-1 with a homer in the 10th as Fergie Jenkins and Bob Gibson went the distance. The game still ended in less than two hours.

Cubs vs. ? at Wrigley, September 1985.
The only thing noteworthy about this game was that it was Mrs. Zeke’s first Cubs game. They lost. I don’t even remember who it was against.

Cubs – Expos in Montreal in 1990.
Worst environment I’ve ever sat in for a baseball game. An airport hanger with a terrible paint job. Echoes galore. The Cubs lost.

Cubs – Brewers at Wrigley in June 2003.
Joe Borowski gives up a homer in the 9th as the Cubs lose. Mrs. Zeke’s loss streak continues.

Cubs – Marlins, NLCS Game 6 in 2003.
Honest to God. I got tickets for the family over the phone. I wanted the 2nd "home" game in the series, but it sold out while I was on the phone. The woman said: "We have four seats in the first row of the upper deck between home and 3rd base." I took ‘em. They were nearly the same seats I sat in on Opening Day 1971. However the game had a much different outcome.

Date/year unknown- Cubs vs. Giants at Wrigley
While sitting in the upper deck on the first base side, we watch Barry Bonds break an apartment window on the fly with a batting practice HR. Later, it was replayed on ESPN. The only time I’ve seen a batting practice replay on ESPN.

Cubs vs. Pirates at PNC Park, May 2004.
I spent the day hobbling around the ballpark not knowing I had completely torn my Achilles tendon during a touch football game the previous day. When I told my doctor what had happened and what I’d done in the time between the tear and the office visit, he thought I was nuts. At least the Cubs won.

Cubs Home Opener April 2006-
Greg Maddux pitches the Cubs to a win and Mrs. Zeke sees her very first win at Wrigley Field. 13 straight home losses over 20 years (1985-2005) for her. But she never gave up.

Cubs – Brewers in Milwaukee Easter Sunday night 2009
We were driving to Chicago on Sunday before the Cubs Monday Home Opener. Then it hit me: The Cubs – Brewers game this day had been moved to a night game for ESPN. Milwaukee is only an hour farther than Wrigley. We had a hotel about a half mile from Wrigley. We could check into the hotel, then get back into the car and head north to catch the night game. We called the Brewers, got tickets, and did exactly that. The Cubs won. Mrs. Zeke got a Webkinz bunny.

OK, as for my MOST MEMORABLE Cubs game: NLCS Game 6, 2003.

The Cubs come back to win against the Reds when Griffey Jr. boots a blooper into shallow right field. DeRosa scored the winning run, I think; and they all ran out of the dugout, cheering…

I live in Nebraska, and September was shaping up to be nice in Chicago, so we went to Ryno’s last game, when they gave him a Car. Turns out it was Harry Caray’s last broadcast as well.

My dad and i sat in the last two seats of the upper deck front row down the right field line for my birthday. Cubs were down like 9-3 or so, and they steadily came back. Dusty got booted for going ballistic after Ramon Martinez was called out for batting out of order (good ’ol Dusty forgot to tell the umps). They were down 10-9 in the ninth and Sammy hit one to tie it. As the crowd was calling for a curtain, Alou hit the first pitch he saw out and the cubs won 11-10. Awesome game. The upper deck literally felt like it was going to fall. Side notes: Woody got tossed the next day i believe for arguing also, and on a bittersweet note, this was the last game i ever got to with the old man.

We drove in, and got her name up on the scoreboard for a “Happy 75th” announcement. The expression on her face was priceless.

or rather, near fog out of several years ago. It was a night game in June, I believe- the temperature kept dropping as the game progressed. Fans switched from beer to cocoa/ coffee. As the fog rolled in, it got harder and harder to see right field from our seats behind 3rd base. Finally, the umps interrupted the game, and hit fungos into the outfield. I believe they continued the game, but don’t remember who won- I think my brain was frozen by then.

Even tho we went to the 13-0 Padre post season game these games top my list. They all 3 blend into one (the 7th was a dbl header) and it was hotter than Hates. I saw Sutcliffe, Smith, Gooden and Darling pitch . I saw a bench clearing brawl. I saw the Mets get their a$$ kicked 3 times. The flags were totally limp out there, and we got to sit in the beachers one day and right behind home plate for another. On the way home the second day I remember telling my husband this would be one of those days we would remember and talk about the rest of our lives.
Thanks for bringing it back again, :)

It was the first time I took my son to a Cubs game, and for once the Cubs rose to the occasion for me.

And speaking of not rising to the occasion, I was also at Game 1 of the 2003 NLCS, and I remember how the whole ballpark was going berserk when Sosa homered off Urbina with 2 out in the 9th. This would be first if not for what happened in extra innings.

Finally, I was at this game in 1983, when Chuck Rainey came within 1 out of a no-hitter (thanks a lot, Eddie Milner).

What a beautiful memory. One I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.

I was obfuscated by Wrigley memories, but the no-hitter was the best baseball game I’ve ever witnessed in person.

Harden’s first start. It was less than two weeks after the Brewers had gotten CC and I was convinced they were going to move into first place. But Harden gave me hope. That was an incredible game. On top of Harden giving one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. 10 k’s was just amazing. I can’t even imagine what it was like for those who saw Kerry Wood’s 20 K game.

Marmol was in one of his funks and gave up 5 runs in the ninth to tie the game. After 2 runs we were screaming for Lou to change and by the 4th we were screaming for his head. They came close to scoring in the 9th and 10th and blew it both times. Scary stuff. Great game though. Sad someone had to lose but glad it wasn’t the Cubs

May 22, 1994. sat in the RF bleachers with 2 of my uncles. derek may hit a walk-off homer off rod beck in the 11th.

Rain delay, fans packed in like sardines trying not to get wet. I was late but the game was delayed. As I was walking up the ramps the rain stopped and the field was covered in a light fog. I could taste the electricity in the air. Prior pitches a complete game 2 hitter against Maddux. Hands down the best game I have ever seen.

This is the best thread on this site in quite a long time. Thanks for starting it and thanks to everyone sharing their memories. It makes me remember why I am a fan of this team.

I’ve seen a couple mentions of the Cubs – Giants play-in game. I was at the final 2 games of the season in Houston, both of them being absolute nail-biters.

The game on the 26th, I remember the Cubs just hoping against hope for a playoff spot, needing pretty much to win out to have any chance. Cubs go into the bottom of the 9th up 3-1, Beck comes in, proceeds to give up a homer to Bagwell and a double to Alou. The Astrodome is going crazy and you can’t hear yourself think. Two outs later with Alou on third, Dave Clark hits a dribbler to Beck who tries to tag Clark out and misses, Alou appears to score and the ump rules that Clark ran out of the baseline for the 3rd out. Cubs win 3-2, and the boos are even louder than the cheers were. Meanwhile the Giants had won and the Mets had lost (again), meaning the Giants were 1 game up and the Cubs were 1 ahead of the free-falling Mets.

The Sunday game (my birthday!) I remember more just for watching the scoreboard than anything else. The Cubs game ended and the Rockies were in the bottom of the 9th as we were leaving the park. This is back in the day when there were these little hand-held devices that would tell you the score of the other games in progress for a monthly fee (I don’t remember the name of the gadget), and as we’re still making our way to the car my buddy Mark tells us all that the Rockies just beat the Giants. We all went crazy, even though the Cubs lost the game.

Now if only I had tickets to the play-in game…

Even though it didn’t end well, it was a defining moment for me as a Cub fan.

Having moved to Chicago in 2000, I am a relatively new Cubs fan. I scored face value tickets in the 500s ($25!) for game 3. I have never been in a stadium as charged as it was when DeRosa came up to the plate with the based loaded in the bottom of the 5th. Wrigley was rockin! Of course that AB ended up in a double play and the Cubs never really did anything after that.

I stuck around and watched the seats empty and came to the realization that the season was over, all the hopes had to be packed away for next year. It was an abrupt, ugly end to the season and I started to understand what being a Cubs fan was all about.

… which, again, was Z’s no hitter at Miller Park.

My favorite cubs MOMENT, though, was the June 29th 2007 Aramis Ramirez 2-run, walk off homer to beat the Brewers. I had my companies seats (practically on the field) and was less than enthused as Rich Hill had allowed 5 runs in the first and the game hadn’t really been competitive since.

Me and my three friends were playing a version of the cup game… in this particular game’s version, we stuck a dollar in for every at bat, and whoever was holding the cup when a home run was hit took home the pot. All Cubs runs to that point in the game had been of singles, sac flys, wild pitches… no home runs. I believe there was like $60 in the cup at that point.

Two outs in the bottom of the ninth, one on, score was 5-4 in favor of the Brewers, and Rami connects to send the ball over the left-center wall. Everyone goes NUTS, we are celebrating wildly, and i look down and realize i have the cash cup. I’m sure i blew it all and more at the bar after, but none the less…

That game took the team to a seven-game win streak and also got them back to .500 for the first time in over a month. That game ended up being one of 17 won in June, the teams best month of the 2007 season, and the month the team really turned it around and made its run to the playoffs. Walking out of Wrigley after that win was one of the best natural highs i’ve ever experienced.

and the Cubs were terrible. But in 1986, my father and my uncle took me, my sister, and my two cousins to a Cubs-Giants game at Wrigley on what was called “Camera Day.” I don’t think they do this anymore, but the first 5,000 or so fans got to walk out on the field and take pictures and get autographs from players. I was 9 years old, but I still remember walking down the dark tunnel down in the right field corner, literally toward the “light at the end of the tunnel.” It was so hot, with very little air. But as a 9-year old kid, to walk through that entrace to the field, and look up and see the ballpark from the outfield grass, and touch the ivy, and have Ryne Sandberg and Rick Sutcliffe walk right past me and stop so I could take their picture, that’s a day that will be with me forever. If I’m sounding like Bob Costas here, I’m sorry, but that’s what that day meant to me, and still means to me now. Sandberg went 3 for 4, Scott Sanderson pitched a great game, and the Cubs won 2-1.

In the years since, I’ve had some great Wrigley moments, but being at the division clincher in 2008 has been my favorite. My and a friend picked up some standing room tickets at the ticket window, and stood at the back of the terrace reserve seats the whole game, and stayed in the park literally until they escorted everyone out about two hours after the game, and we partied at Murphy’s Bleachers the rest of the evening. Even Cardinal fans were taking pictures of the Cubs’ celebration because we all thought we were witnessing the beginning of the end of the 100-year drought.

I have been fortunate enough to see two Cub no-hitters in person. Z’s, in Sept of ’08, and Holtzman’s first no-hitter on August 19, 1969.

Z’s no-hitter was had a bizarre quality to it. Chicago at Houston, in Milwaukee. The hurricane. I woke up Sunday morning, and on a whim went to the Brewers web site to buy tickets. I was shocked to find I could get such good seats (right behind Cubs dugout) – at face value. Z was more dominating in that game than maybe any pitching performance I can remember. Partly because Z was on (really on), partly because the crowd was electric from the 1st inning, and partly because Houston did not want to be there – and played like it. This game was also very special to me because I was able to share it with my son. I will never forget the look in his eyes when he realized what he had seen.

But as dominating and electric as Z’s no hitter was, in my heart the best game was Holtzman’s no-hitter. Lots of reasons, it was that year – 1969 – the feeling for me as a young teenager was unmatched. The Hall Famers in that game. Billy’s catch in the top of the seventh. The bleachers flooding onto the field after Beckert to Banks ended it. I will never forget the details of that game. It was also special to me to see it with by best friend and the person who would eventually be the best man at my wedding – 15 years later.

I have previously captured more detail of this game in this post last August, "It was forty years ago today … and we were on top of the world"

The game was on Wednesday, June 5, 1985 at Wrigley. It was Cubs vs. the Atlanta Braves, and the score was tied 2-2 in the top of the 11th inning with the Braves batting. The Cubs eventually lost in the 11th inning, with Rafael Ramirez hitting a two-run home run off “Smitty” to beat our boys in blue.

I was also lucky enough to have primo seats in the upper deck for the game where Ryno’s number 23 was retired. It was August 28th, 2005. Cubs played the Marlins that day. The Cubs won this game. Z scattered six hits over 8, and the Cubs plated eight in the 7th inning- the final was 14-3.

Two great days at Wrigley, two great days in Cub lore, two great days in my life.

It was my first Cubs game, as a seven-year old. Got to skip school to drive up from Indianapolis. I remember walking up to one of those souvenir trailers and picking up a pennant. Then I remember how Wrigley looked under the lights.

We had seats up the right-field line, and Sandberg (who was and is my favorite player) homered. Unfortunately, Will Clark’s grand slam ruined things that night, but to me, it really didn’t matter. I was hooked anyways.

…a game this year when Aramis hit a walkoff homer in extras to beat the Cardinals. Yeah that was fun and all, but the part that made it memorable for me was throwing back a homerun ball from Greene. Cubs clinching in 08 is a close second.

One more thing checked off my Cubs bucket list.

My first game as a 10 yr. old in April 1961, won by Zimmer on a 10th inn. homer. My birthday, June 8th 1983, Ryno homers in last of 9th to tie, then Moreland singles in winning run later in same inning to win it. June 4th 1968 in Old Busch in about 100% weather. Musial statue unveiling and Al Spangler (of all people) homering off Gibson in the 9th to tie, then Lee Elia (of all people again) singling in the winning run in extra innings. Double header victory in 1963 over Cardinals, as Lou Brock (Cubs) blast a mighty homer off of Broglio (Cards). Ah, what might have been! Also saw Julian Javier w/ a straight steal of home in that DH. As you can see, I was hooked by dramatic wins as a youngster, and have been a die-hard ever since.

1 – October 12, 2003 – NLCS Game 5. Could have seen them win the penant. Sat WAY up in the upper deck on the left field side…so much so we couldn’t see Alou fielding his position. When I got up to go to the bathroom in the 5th Lowell hit the two-run shot. I still remember the chants after the Marlin fans were getting on us when the Cubs lost. PRI-OR…PRI-OR…PRI-OR… (didn’t work out so well)

2 – May 30th, 2008 – Went to the game with my brother-in-law who is a big Sox fan. He got the tickets somehow. When the Rockies hung 7 on Lilly through 3 innings I really heard it from him. Cubs mounted a great comeback and won 10-9.

it would have to be the first game of the Cubs-Brewers series in late July 2008 at Miller Park. IIRC, that was the Cubs first game that season against Sabathia. Lilly was pitching for the Cubs. Derrek Lee doubled home the winning runs late, and Marmol survived a shaky ninth for the save.

That game had a little bit of everything. Great pitching, clutch hitting, back-and-forth leads. And the atmosphere was electric. It was packed, and the fans were into every pitch. Probably the closest to a postseason atmosphere I’ve ever seen, much better than the actual postseason atmosphere I witnessed in 2007 in Arizona.

I had tickets for all four games of that Brewers series. I remember saying to a friend after Game 1 that if every game of the series was like that, there was no way I’d survive. Turns out the other three games were Cubs blowouts, and that “Milwaukee Massacre” basically spelled the end of the NL Central race.

Can’t believe I forgot about this one. It won’t go down in Cubs history as one of the best, but it was probably one of the coolest sports moments I’d experienced. Cubs-Sox, 2008. I got first row tickets in the 200 level behind home plate. My buddy (a sox fan) and I got on tv before the game, I still have a link to it. Pretty amazing. The Cubs went down early against a revitalized Contreras when Edmonds starts off the fourth with a home run and a rally is started. Fontenot steps up (his first season in the bigs) and my buddy says “who is this guy?” I respond with "Mikey “Little Babe Ruth” Fontenot. He’s ok, probably a career bench guy. Has some pop but probably hasn’t hit a home run since little league." First pitch, a blast to right field. Crazy. Seemed surreal then, still does now. Cubs score 9 runs in the fourth and chase Contreras. Got on tv that night. Pretty amazing day

This was one of the first years, if not the first year, that Interleague games counted, and the Cubs were playing the White Sox at Wrigley Field. The game went into extra innings, and in either the bottom of the 10th or 11th Brant Brown came up and on the first pitch he drilled it into the bleachers to win the game.

I’ve never seen so many White Sox fans run so fast out of the ballpark. All the way out of the park and all the way home on the South Shore Line people were chanting, “White Sox suck! White Sox suck!” and having a great time. The Cubs went on to sweep the series, creaming the Sox in the final game.

I saw Brant Brown when he was playing for the Schaumburg Flyers in later years, and he told me that he remembered that game well and signed a ball for me.

I can’t remember which year it was, but the Cubs and Brewers were neck and neck for the division and were playing towards the end of the year at Wrigley Field. In the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs were up by one run and brought in Kerry Wood to save it.

Kerry got into a jam, loading the bases (with no outs if I remember correctly), but then he got someone to force out at home and then someone else (possibly Ryan Braun) to pop out to make 2 outs. Then Prince Fielder came up.

Kerry started throwing 98-99 mph fastballs, one after another, which Fielder repeatedly kept fouling back, almost falling down from swinging so hard. After fouling back about ten pitches in a row, the entire crowd got onto its feet and was cheering so loudly that I could hardly hear the broadcasters.

Then, Kerry dropped in his hammer curve right over the plate at around 79mph and Fielder just stood there and froze as he was called out on strikes to end the game. He just dropped his bat in disbelief from how GOOD that pitch was. The Cubs began to celebrate, and Fielder just stood there staring at home plate until he slowly walked away. The Brewers went on a slide after that game and the Cubs went on (of course) to win the division.

When I heard that Kerry Wood was returning from Tommy John surgery to face the Astros, I ran and got tickets from the local department store’s Ticketmaster for myself and two friends. One of them was a White Sox fan but wanted to go to the game as he’d never been to Wrigley Field. As soon as we got there, my Sox fan friend started running his mouth about how the Cubs sucked and about how Wood was going to get shelled.

My other friend went down to get beer just as Wood was coming up to take his first at bat. As the announcer said, “Stepping to the plate, number 34, Kerry Wood!” the crowd went crazy and gave a standing ovation. On the first pitch, Wood crushed the ball into the seats and the ballpark went into absolute hysteria. My friend came running up and yelled through the people jumping around cheering and said, “Who hit a home run?” and I said, “Wood!”

The Cubs went on to cream them and Wood did great that night. The next morning’s headline read “The Comback ‘K’ id”.

1) May 5, 2001. Cubs post back-to-back 8-run innings and clobber the Dodgers 20-1.
2) June 2, 2007. Lou throws his first and most memorable fit (on my birthday) as Cubs manager when Angel Pagan is called out at third.
3) June 29, 2007. The Walk-Off. ‘Nuff Said.
4) June 3, 2003. My first ever seat in the bleachers, Lou Piniella in the visitors dugout, and something fishy in the middle of Sammy’s bat.
5) August 8, 2005. Ryno gets his own flag, I get great seats, and the Cubs clobber the Fish 14-3.

I only get to about three or four games a year if I’m lucky, but somehow, I always luck into some doozies.

But it was an epic battle of mythical proportions.

Big Red Machine Reds hung 6 on Cubs starter Ray Burris in the 1st (sweatiest Cubs pitcher ever), only for the Cubs to come back with 4 in the first. Seaver was supposed to start, but thankfully had a fever. Cubs tied it in the 9th, tied it again in the 12th, and finally won it in the 13th on, I believe a Davey Rosello single.

The Cubs were nearly out of players so Bobby Murcer had to play INF, 2B when a righty was batting and SS when a lefty was batting. Also Rick Rueschel won the game pitching in relief (his brother Paul had done a good job allowing the Reds to pad their lead earlier), otherwise he might not have won 20 games that year.

Miller Park, on July 28, 2008. Sabathia ends up leaving early, the Cubs and Brewers keeping going back and forth for the lead, and the Cubs finally pull it out for the win. Brewer fans are strangely quiet (since I maintain what they might lack in numbers they make up for in volume).

It also marks my sister’s first attendence at a Cubs game where they win.

Comeback against the Indians only bad part was doing that to Kerry Wood

It was sometime in 07….I think. My husband got some bleacher tickets with a group for work. He came directly from work and I met him at Wrigley.

Not realizing what we are in for he hands me my ticket which looked cooler than normal. We walked in where we got free caps and then got directed out ONTO the field while batting practice was going on! We actually got to sit in the dugout. Then they whisked us away somewhere under the right field grandstands where we had this fancy schmancy dinner. I had no idea such a club even existed. Anyway we are sitting there eating when the host of this event announces that we have a guest speaker….Billy Williams. He told us a few stories, answered questions, signed autographs and posed for pictures. It was great. I was impressed by how humble he was. Then off to the bleachers to watch a game that quite honestly is now a total blur because I was in such shock and all this happened so fast. All I remember of that game is how careful I was not to let anything happen to my autographed cap.

The sad part was that Mr. Casey and I were the probably the only ones in that group that really appreciated all this. Most of those people he works with aren’t really Cub fans. I doubt most of them even knew who Billy Williams was. But for us it was a dream come true.

Mets series in 1984…when I offically fell in love with them at age 11.

8/8/88…Still a great experience with my dad at age 15.

Z No hitter…

8/28/08 – My bday…I am pretty sure that was the A-Ram 3Run Jack to Left Center to win it?

Good Times…cant wait til 2010!

…seeing as how I spend most of my time outside of Wrigley Field, but here’s one game that was pretty exciting on both the inside and outside, setting aside for the moment that the Cubs really sucked at the time…

September 9, 2002. Montreal is in town to take on the Cubs as the Bruce Kimm era is winding down to a merciful end. Cubs take a 1-0 lead into the 5th when Matt Clement gives up a solo home run to future Cub, Michael Barrett (the catcher, not the watcher). Score remains tied until the 7th when Corey Patterson returns the favor with a solo shot to put the Cubs up 2-1. That didn’t last long, as Mr. Tightpants himself, Kyle Farnsworth, gives up the tying run in the 8th. And that’s where things stood until the bottom of the 9th, after a Roosevelt Brown strikeout, when Alex Gonzalez steps up to the plate.

Now to set the scene outside… Most of you may know that around the 7th inning, the charter buses start lining up outside the park on Waveland and Sheffield, ready to pick up their groups after the game. As this was before the bleacher expansion, they double park – one row actually up on the sidewalk, and the second row on the street. After they park, the drivers usually get out, walk around, grab a smoke, etc., leaving their bus doors open assuming good weather.

So here it is, bottom of 9th, score tied 2-2, one out, and Alex Gonzalez digs in against the indomitable Jim Brower. 2-2 count, Brower delivers, Gonzalez swings and BELTED! Deep fly ball to left-center, going going GONE! All the way out onto Waveland Avenue for the walk-off home run!

Again, this was before the bleacher expansion – plus it was a night game – so it was real easy to see the ball coming up up over the crowd and out of the park. Unfortunately AGonz wasn’t the mightiest of sluggers so he didn’t clear the park by much. Sure enough, the ball comes down right amongst the buses parked on Waveland. There were several of us running up towards where it was coming down, and then we all kind of scattered – each of us sure we knew exactly where the ball was going to ricochet and end up. Yeah, right… ;-)

Of course, it’s a crapshoot – with the buses, fans coming and going all around, the ball could go anywhere. All I could tell is that it landed between the two rows of buses and did NOT come out from underneath. So as I come around the side of the closest bus (one of those smaller airport shuttle types), I could tell from looking at the other ballhawks that nobody had it yet. That’s when it hit me – the only place it could be was on the bus!

So I made a dash to the open door, with a couple others right behind me. Guess what – no lights and since it’s a night game, it’s pretty darn dark inside the bus. But the aisle is kinda narrow and I filled it up pretty good so I just crouched down and started waving my hands out in front of me on the floor of the bus, doing my best Ralphie from A Christmas Story impression looking for his glasses in the snow.

By now, more than a few (drunk) fans had figured out what was going on, had climbed into the bus as well, and were whooping and hollering. Well, the bus was definitely rocking from side-to-side and as a result I could hear something rolling back-n-forth on the floor. I kept inching forward, arms spread wide and low in front of me, using my hips and legs to keep the others behind me. Finally, I heard the ball roll right in front me and I snatched it up. Victory!

After a few more minutes of confusion, we all finally exit the bus, high fives all around. Except for the bus driver – he had come back over from where ever he was and was just standing there, not sure whether he should be yelling at us or running for cover…

Cubs vs. White Sox at Wrigley Field. It was my first Crosstown Classic game, and I come from a family which my mom’s side is split almost evenly. The closer relatives are Cubs fans, and the more distant relatives are Sox fans.

The Sox took the lead, stretching it to 4-1 early on two two-run home runs. I missed the second one as I was getting some food from a snack booth in the lower level at Wrigley. After seeing the home run, I said to a nearby Cubs fan, “The Cubs have to do something in this next inning.”

And they did. In that inning, they went as follows: home run (Edmonds), home run (Fontenot), groundout, walk, single, RBI single, RBI single, RBI single, home run (Ramirez), home run (Edmonds).

With each at bat, Wrigley Field grew louder and louder. I saw Aramis Ramirez’s home run enter the basket near left field. That one had the loudest cheer of any of the plays that inning. The crowd, which had largely been out of it during the first few innings, was following with rapt attention for much of the rest of the game.

And yet, good ol’ Bobby Howry couldn’t close the game. So the Cubs, leading 11-7, summoned Kerry Wood out of the bullpen to finish off the Sox. When Wood headed out to the mound, it felt as if an electric charge went through the fans. We knew he would succeed where Howry had not. Wood took just four pitches to strike out one batter, and the Cubs won.

My family near Elgin was watching, and with every base hit the Cubs put on in that wild inning, they laughed harder and harder. Shortly thereafter, my dad (not a baseball fan at all) looked at the score on WGN, and saw it as Cubs 10, White Sox 5. He called my mom and said, “Wow, he certainly picked the right game to go to.”

First, and still, only game which I went to when I did not go inside the ballpark with anyone. Just me that day.

You meet new people and maybe make a new friend or two…

I did it a few years back when our family was in Chicago for a few days. We’d already gone to a couple of Cubs games and Mrs. Zeke and my daughter decided to go shopping. I decided to hit the redline solo and go to the game.

It was sunny and hot. Mark Prior was starting on the mound in one of his never ending stretches of trying to prove he could still pitch effectively. He couldn’t, the Cubs lost.

I remember Ronnie Cedeno striking out with the tying run at 2nd base. Oh, well. I got to see a game and moved around and sat in quite a few spots in the bleachers, including in the shade under the scoreboard with a nice breeze blowing.

Great view of the city from up there…

• May 26, 1957 – Cubs 7, Braves 5: First trip to the bleachers for me, with plenty of Milwaukee fans rooting for that season’s eventual Series winner. Rookie Dick Drott strikes out 15 Braves (including Aaron three times) to set a Cubs record eventually obliterated by Kerry Wood. Cubs also win a memorable second game that same day in front of a rare full house.

• May 15, 1960 – Cubs 4, Cards 0: If forced at gunpoint to choose one game only, I probably would pick this no-hitter by Don Cardwell. With gift tickets and great seats along third for that day’s doubleheader with St. Louis, I watched the Cubs lose the opener in typical lackluster fashion before Cardwell, in his first game as a Cub, set down the last 26 St. Louis batters in game two. So impressive was his stuff that day that, even as early as the third inning, the crowd seemed completely locked-in and aware of the possibilities. As you probably know, an early and rare video of this game’s final two innings has been preserved by WGN-TV, which in 1960 had just purchased an Ampex recorder. This video, with Brickhouse at the mike, gives you some idea of the incredible atmosphere of the ninth inning, as first George Altman, and finally Walt Moryn fought shadows and sun to make great catches and preserve Cardwell’s gem. And, yeah, that’s me somewhere in the mob scene around Cardwell and Vince Lloyd out near the mound, seconds after the game ended.

• September 24, 1984 – Cubs 4, Pirates 1: After a sober Chinese lunch with my boss to discuss poor September sales, I decide to take corrective action by calling on a few old customers in western PA. After booking two days of appointments, I barely make it to Newark Airport for a late-afternoon flight on People Express to Pittsburgh. Stuck in the tunnel driving to the game, I enter a near-empty Three Rivers Stadium in the top of the second with the Cubs up 1-0. With pockets of Cubs fans huddled along the first base side to share a game-long celebration, Sutcliffe is almost perfect, going all the way and giving up no walks and two hits. To borrow a phrase from an ex-President: "Our long national nightmare was over." Thank you, Dallas Green. Two days later, I came back from Pittsburgh with a $75,000 order from Westinghouse, ready to enjoy the ultimate matchup with Detroit that surely would follow.

• August 29, 1989 – Cubs 10, Astros 9: On vacation with my two young daughters to visit my Dad, he surprised us with tickets to this day game with Houston as the pennant race with the Mets shaped up. Taking the L down from Linden, my daughters at ages seven and five were excited to see their first big league game. But by the bottom of the sixth, with the score 9-0 Houston, they started asking me why we should stay. I told them to ask Grandpa. Predictably, he said the magic words: "The game’s never over until the last man is out." And so it happened – two in the sixth, three in the seventh and four in the eighth tied the game. When Dwight Smith singled home the winner in the tenth, Wrigley exploded as I caught sight of my Dad speechless with tears in his eyes.

… and it’s hard to pick between them, they’re all special for different reasons:

9/24/84: the Cubs division clincher in Pittsburgh. Yes, I was there. Special because it was the first title of any kind in 39 years.

9/30/84: last regular season game vs. Cardinals. Stirring last of the 9th comeback win, then players came out for a “victory lap” — the first time any of us could remember seeing that.

9/28/98: wild-card game. First (and only) time the Cubs have ever won a winner-take-all game at Wrigley Field.

9/14/08: Z’s no-hitter. The atmosphere was electric and special. Unforgettable.

This is not a remotely significant game but it was the one when I realized I was crazy about the Cubs and so was everyone else. The Cubs were 1/2 game behind the Pirates and playing them at Wrigley Memorial Weekend. They were down by a few runs when Jerry Morales hit a bases clearing double in the 6th to put them ahead. Crowd went nuts. The Cubs won 6-3 and NO ONE WOULD leave until the flags where changed to reflect that the Cubs were now in first place. After the Cubs flag was put in the top position everyone streamed out of the park shouting " We’re Number One" It was less than 2 months into the season ( which would of course end very badly). To make it more fun my “guest” that day was my sister’s boyfriend a die-hard Sox fan who was the only one sitting when Morales hit the double. I had been a HUGE fan for about 5 years by then but somehow that game is the one when I understood how much I loved them.

Maddux’s #300 which was not a particularly great game but for which I flew 3000 miles to see would probably be 2nd.

Edited the post to fix the huge type that was in the original.

Hadn’t been done before, don’t think it’s been done since.

That was the night the Cubs clinched the NL Central while in Cincinnati. The Cubs beat the Reds but had to wait for the Padres to beat the Brewers before officially clinching. I remember seeing on the scoreboard at Great American Ballpark that the Padres took the lead over Milwaukee shortly before the Cubs finished off Cincinnati.

Sosa drove in all 6 runs in a Cubs victory. The big blow was number 63, a grand slam in the 8th. Sammy got a standing O during every at bat and the crowd went bonkers over the salami. Pads management shot off fireworks.

And the Pads players whined about it afterward. They said it felt like a road game.

Every Pads game is a road game.

It was my birthday. Andre Dawson homered and rookies Jerome Walton and Joe Girardi each got two hits. But new reliever Mitch Williams provided the most excitement. The Wild Thing loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth and then struck out the sides for a 5-4 win over the Phillies.

Ernie Banks homers in his first two at bats, driving in five runs. After the end of the third inning (when he’d hit the second home run), as Ernie ran across the diamond to take up his position at first base, the crowd slowly came to its feet and gave him a standing ovation. Ernie, classy guy that he is, just touched his cap to acknowledge the crowd, and then started throwing grounders to his infielders to warm them up for the fourth inning at bat of the Phillies. This is still one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life.

Ferguson Jenkins gives us a three run shot to Don Mone (Money’s second dinger of the game) in the top of the ninth. Phil Regan finishes the ninth, pitches the 10th and gives up a run to give the Phils a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the eleventh. With one out in the Cubs’ at bat, we get a single (I think it was Hundley). Willie Smith comes in to pinch hit. He blasts one into the right center bleachers and we all go batshit crazy. We walked around Wrigley for quite some time afterwards, with many of the standing room only fans, just celebrating. We were in first place and wouldn’t give it up until deep into the season, on September 9th. It was a wonderful summer, but that first game was the ignition.

-2003 NLCS Game 7: My dad went to 3 games this particular postseason. He took the family sans me to Game 4 of the NLDS against the Braves. I was talked into going to my senior Homecoming, so I took 5+ “bathroom breaks” to catch the Cubs lose that game. My dad also went to Game 1 of the NLCS. I was hoping that since I went to 6 or 7 games in 2003 and was 6 or 7-0 that I would bring some good luck. We know how this one went. First and only time I ever saw tears in my dad’s eyes and the first time I ever cried at Wrigley. We weaved through the vendors trying to unload NLCS Champion shirts. I still regret I didn’t buy a couple.

-Sammy passes Maris: Ring a bell? We got the tickets in the first place and got there 2 hours before so I could get my Beanie Baby. This barnburner featured Sammy Sosa hitting 61 and 62 to pass Roger Maris. What people forget that it was Gracie the Swan Beanie Baby day and who hit the walk off homer: Mark Grace.

I’ve saved all my scorecards from the past decade, so there’s more I could look up. The other one I remember being just weird was when Joe Girardi came out of the Cubs dugout to tell everyone to go home because Darryl Kile from St. Louis Cardinals died earlier that morning in his hotel room.

The Cubs’ first game back in Turner Field since celebrating their NLDS victory there the year before, and everyone was expecting fireworks. Big Z gave up a lead-off homer to Chipper in the 2nd, and that looked to be about it for any offense. Zambrano and Horacio Ramirez both pitched gems, and exited after 7 innings with the score still 1-0 Braves. So I was hoping the Cubs could put something together in the 8th, with Alou, Ramirez, and Lee facing Chris Reitsma. Alas, they sat down in order.

Then came the 9th. Braves closer John Smoltz still held the record for most saves in a season (55 in 2002), and had blown only 4 in 49 attempts the year before. He was riding a streak, too – something like 25 saves in a row going back to the previous year, and he had shut down the Mets the night before. So when Todd Hollandsworth delivered a pinch-hit long ball over the short porch in RF to tie it up with 2 out, we Cubs fans erupted. Chants of “Let’s go Cubs” rained down on the field, just like October, 2003 all over again.

The game stayed tied at 1-1 until the 15th, when Tom Goodwin sacrificed Lee home, and then Joe Borowski nailed down the save (after allowing two baserunners) by inducing a 6-3 groundout from…Chipper Jones. A fitting way to end an epic early-season matchup between two teams that had faced each other in the post-season only 6 months before. Cubs win 2-1 in 15 leading to big smiles from the Cubs fans as we filed out after 4 and 1/2 hours of baseball. The shuttle bus ride back to the bar was raucous, and the few remaining Braves fans were meek, defeated once again by the Ursus Colossi from the North.

Of course, we all know what happened in the rest of 2004, but for that one night, it was the 2003 NL Central Champion Cubs all over again. It was glorious.

I am guessing game 6 of the 2003 LCS followed by all 6 post season losses in 07 & 08.

Ive been a Cubs fan for 40 years and Ive seen more than 20 games, including some memorable moments, that I cant really pick one. But here they are in chronilogical order:
Juy, 1971-Ernie Banks hits his last Wrigley Field HR
Sept. 2, 1972-Milt Pappas pitches a no-hitter against San Diego, just missing a perfect game
Sept. 1977-Bruce Sutter strikes out 9 in a row, including 3 in one inning on 9 pitches
June 1984-Rick Sutcliffe pitches a shut out in his first game as a Cub in Wrigley Field, the day after the “Sandberg” game
1995- Andre Dawson is honored in his last appearance at Wrigley Field as a player with Florida

June 15, 1998-Sammy Sosa hits 3 HRs in the last game I ever attended with my father and the first with my nephew

These are my favorite moments, though I usually enjoy every game I see in Wrigley Field

Mrs. Zeke and I were in Toronto in 1981 and had tickets to see the Blue Jays play Milwaukee. Remember, the Brewers were in the AL back then. The Jays were playing in the old Exhibition Stadium. It was a multi-purpose, astroturf facility designed for football, so the baseball layout was an afterthought.

It poured rain for about 24 hours prior to the 1pm start. It finally let up about 2pm. We thought “no-way does this game get played”. If it was a grass field, we’d have been right.

Once the rain stopped, they rolled out these two Zamboni-looking devices that literally vacuumed the water up off the turf. When the tank was full on each unit, they would roll out to the base of the RF wall (where there were no seats because of the baseball-football alignment) and shot all the water in the reservoir OVER the wall like a water cannon. Come to think about it, there was no warning track either.

After about 45 minutes of this, the field was ready to go. They took the little tarps off the base “sandboxes”, batters box and the pitcher’s mound and away we went.

I think the Blue Jays won.

The only other thing of note about the game was the Blue Jay’s 3rd baseman back then. He made a bit of a name for himself in another sport a few years later: Danny Ainge.

I’ve been to many Cubs games, but my most memorable was when I was working a game for ESPN – it was October 3, 2003 and it was Game 3 vs. Atlanta. Prior was pitching. I was in the ESPN truck for the entire game, but in the top of the 9th, the producer looked at me and say “Go” (I had that look on my face that said I REALLY wanted to be in the stadium) – I ran into the stadium and stood on the arm rests of a chair in the very back of the 3rd base side, and it was absolutely electric! No one had left and every fan was on their feet and they were hanging on every pitch. Everyone held their breath each time Prior got ready. When it was a ball, there was a collective “uhh” in the stadium, but when it was a strike, it was as if it was the final strike of the game each time. And when that final pitch was thrown, we again held our breath – it was a popfly. And as you can imagine, the place erupted when the ball was caught. An absolutely magical game.

other than that i guess one of the bazillion no hit bids by lilly in sept against the brewers. the brewers fans were extra a-holeish

We had to drive back to Michigan and were going to have to leave in about the 5th inning, but when I noted to Mrs. Zeke that Lilly still hadn’t given up a hit, she said “We stay.”… and so we did. Shivering and chattering all the while.

7/31/1999: My first Cubs game ever vs Mets. Sosa hits two home runs, Gary Gaetti hits a grand slam and Cubs win 17-10!!! I’ve been to 77 Cubs games since and have never seen that much offense since.

9/3/2003: My first Cubs-Cardinals game and it was a thriller. This was the 4th game of a 5 game set at Wrigley. I only went to two Cubs games that year with my mom on a travel bus from Iowa. I remember the Cubs down 6 nothing going to the bottom of the 6th when my mom sitting next to me referenced a Cubs loss we went to earlier in the year asked: “Well this game really sucked TOO huh?” I replied: “It ain’t over yet.” Knowing it’s a Cubs-Cardinals game.
Shortly after, Alou drives in a run then Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer to bring the score 6 to 3 and that’s when I started to believe they could come back.
An inning later Moises Alou hit a two-run HR followed by Alex Gonzales’s solo shot to bring the score to 7-6. I believe the power of Ditka influenced the 7th inning rally with his 7th inning stretch.
The Cubs completed the comeback in the 8th with Mark Grudzielanek tripling the tying run home and Moises Alou completing his 5 for 5 day with the go-ahead single. (The previous day the Cubs-Cards played a double-header with Alou getting tossed in the night-cap by spitting on the umpire disputing a close call. The missed call was a ball hit down the line that got called foul but was really fair after replay with would have given the Cubs a couple runs).
Joe Borowski got the save and Cubs win 8-7.

6/28/2006: My little brother’s first Cubs game and his favorite player is Derrek Lee who was still struggling after coming off the DL with the wrist injury. Cubs were winless at home the whole month. Derrek Lee comes up in the 8th with a runner on and the Cubs down by 2 to Milwaukee. Lee cranks one into the left-center bleachers to tie it, then the Cubs win 6-3 making it the only home win in June 2006.

3/31/2008: If you enlarge my BCB photo at the top right, you’ll see me in the bleachers at the Fukudome game vs. Milwaukee. It was my first bleacher game and before that day, I don’t think I ever got as excited as I did when Fukudome hit the miracle game-tying home run in the 9th inning. My body would have imploded from excitment if it was a walk-off home run. I know the Cubs lost but getting to be a part of the big dance on Fukudome’s home run was priceless.

9/18/2008: Earlier in this game, the bus tour guide from my bus was sitting next to me and asked how excited I get during a Cubs game knowing I go to games frequently. I said: “You’ll see.” Jim Edmonds hit a home run later and he said: “That’s enough excitement from you for one game.”
Later, the Cubs trailed Milwaukee 6-2 going to the bottom of the 9th and the bus tour guide asked me what I thought was going to happen. I said confidently: “All we need is a grand slam!” The Cubs got to two out and nobody on. ARam got a double on a missed fly ball by Ryan Braun. Jim Edmonds singled ARam home. DeRosa got Edmonds to third on a hit-and-run single. GeoSoto came up and got a cookie on the first pitch for a no-doubt-about-it HR to left field and it was the Fukudome game all over again.
After the home run I leaned over to the tour guide man and asked: “Was that enough excitement for you?” He just laughed. Cubs win 7 to 6 in 12 innings. Man do I miss the playoff atmosphere.

Not for any sort of play-off implications, but for the company. I was trying to woo a girl, and I purchased two very expensive tickets to this game, 3 rows behind the Cubs dugout to try and impress her. Long story short: she stood me up.

I had this spare seat, and no one to use it, so I asked a regular at the bar if he wanted to go. This fellow was a little elderly, but he used to be a baseball writer, so he had some great stories. He told a few as the Cubs began methodically shellacking the Braves, and then kind of nodded off. I was happy with the game in general, so I drank my beer and generally kept my seat and my smile.

Until the Braves brought Ray King into the game. The situation was 1st and 2nd, 2 outs in the 8th, with Tom Goodwin in scoring position. King checked him and he faked toward 3rd base. King spun and wound like he was going to try to pick him off but, luckily for him, did not throw to 2nd, as there was no one there to receive the ball. There’s no way the 35-year-old Goodwin was going to run on King, and he should have known it, but he still almost sailed one into CF anyway.

I stood up and shouted, “That’s Tom Goodwin, you fat idiot! Did you even graduate high school? Sheesh!” and sat back down. This woke my companion up, and he looked at me and said, “This whole game I was wondering if you were a real Cubs fan. Now I know you are.”

…followed closely by the day before.

Also, 1989 playoffs – my first live post season games.

I was in the Army and stationed in Savannah, GA me and 2 friends drove to Chicago overnight. We bought obstucted view tickets and moved down after an inning or two. Fred McGriff hit a home run. I called my dad, in Mississippi a die hard Cubs fan, who didn’t know I was even in Chicago. I asked if he had just seen that home run, He said he had. My answer was, “Me too, except I am at Wrigly right now” I will never foget his response “You asshole” Then we laughed. I bought him a collared polo shirt. I swear he wore it a thousand times till he passed in 2004

Heart of a playoff push, three hour rain delay, under the pouring rain in the final few innings, great pitching match-up, a Sosa home run to put us ahead 2-1 for good, and finishing with the muddy last few pitches from Mark Guthrie to the Diamondbacks.

What a game! No scorecard survived that one :P