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171-863: The following is a franchise history of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball , a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings. The Chicago National League Ball Club is the only franchise to play continuously in the same city since the formation of the National League in 1876 . They are the earliest formed active professional sports club in North America, predating

342-515: A salary cap in an effort to maintain a level of parity between franchises. Football in England developed a very different system from that in North America, and it has been adopted for football in most other European countries, as well as to many other sports founded in Europe and played across the world. The features of the system are: European football clubs are members both of a league and of

513-715: A 10-man roster and joined the nation's top organized league, which was now allowing entry to professionals. This league, known as the National Association of Base Ball Players , had been primarily dominated by the Atlantics and until very recently before the admitting of the Red Stockings and the White Stockings, had consisted of mostly baseball clubs from the New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. areas. Despite this East Coast dominance, Chicago won

684-404: A Giant hit into a double-- Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble: "Tinker to Evers to Chance." "Gonfalon" is a poetic way of referring to the pennant that both clubs battled for. The expression "Tinker to Evers to Chance" is still used today and means "well-oiled routine" or a "sure thing". Tinker and Evers reportedly could not stand each other and rarely spoke off the field. Evers,

855-490: A cannon barrage for two hours, but their shot could not reach the colonists' cannons at such a height. The British gave up, boarded their ships, and sailed away. This has become known as " Evacuation Day ", which Boston still celebrates each year on March 17. After this, Washington was so impressed that he made Rufus Putnam his chief engineer. After the Revolution, Boston's long seafaring tradition helped make it one of

1026-400: A closed membership system and do not have promotion and relegation . It is organized in a way that assures the teams' continued existence in the league from year to year. On occasion a league may decide to grow by admitting a new expansion team into the league. Most of the teams in the four major North American leagues were created as part of a planned league expansion or through the merger of

1197-651: A club in the top league until a local club plays well enough to be promoted into the Premiership. Famously, the French Ligue 1 lacked a team from Paris, France's capital and largest city, for some years. Likewise, Berlin clubs in the Bundesliga have been rare, due to the richer clubs being all located in the former West Germany. As well as having no right to being in a certain tier, a club also has no territorial rights to its own area. A successful new team in

1368-619: A few differences varying from country to country. A similar situation exists in countries in Central America and the Caribbean, where football and baseball share several close markets. A major factor in the development of the North American closed membership system during the 19th Century was the distances between cities, with some teams separated by half of the North American continent, resulting in high traveling costs. When

1539-714: A geographical location can come to dominate the incumbents. In Munich , for example, TSV 1860 München were initially more successful than the city's current biggest team Bayern München . As of the current 2024–25 season, London has 13 teams in the top four league levels , including seven Premier League teams. Clubs may be sold privately to new owners at any time, but this does not happen often where clubs are based on community membership and agreement. Such clubs require agreement from members who, unlike shareholders of corporations, have priorities other than money when it comes to their football club such as tradition or local identity. For similar reasons, relocation of clubs to other cities

1710-459: A given season compete in a tournament, with the winner being crowned champion of the league for that season. These have their roots in the long travel distances common in US and Canadian sports; to cut down on travel, leagues are typically divided into geographic divisions and feature unbalanced schedules with teams playing more matches against opponents in the same division. Due to this, not all teams face

1881-529: A global leader in higher education and research and the largest biotechnology hub in the world. The city is also a national leader in scientific research, law, medicine, engineering, and business. With nearly 5,000 startup companies, the city is considered a global pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship , and more recently in artificial intelligence . Boston's economy also includes finance , professional and business services, information technology , and government activities. Boston households provide

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2052-640: A governing body. In the case of England, all competitive football clubs are members of The Football Association , while the top 20 teams also are members of the Premier League , a separate organization. The 72 teams in the three levels below the Premier League are members of still another body, the English Football League . The FA operates the national football team and tournaments that involve teams from different leagues (except

2223-548: A heroic series by Cavarretta, lost the 1945 World Series in seven games. Although the Cubs occasionally appeared in post-season series since divisional play began in 1969, they did not win a Pennant or win a World Series again until 2016. The 1945 season actually followed five consecutive losing seasons, as if a curse had already started. From 1940 to 1992 , over 53 seasons, the Cubs posted only 11 winning seasons, and six of them were consecutive from 1967 to 1972 , during which

2394-493: A high ranked club in their native city must buy a local club as it stands and work it up through the divisions, usually by hiring better talent. There have been some cases where existing owners have chosen to relocate out of a difficult market, to better facilities, or to realize the market value of the land that the current stadium is built upon (A famous example being the Relocation of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes ). As in

2565-685: A high-strung, argumentative man, suffered a nervous breakdown in 1911 and rarely played that year. Chance suffered a near-fatal beaning the same year. The trio played together little after that. In 1913, Chance went to manage the New York Yankees and Tinker went to Cincinnati to manage the Reds , and that was the end of one of the most notable infields in baseball. They were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame together in 1946. Tinker and Evers reportedly became amicable in their old age, with

2736-624: A lively port , and the then-town primarily engaged in shipping and fishing during its colonial days. Boston was a primary stop on a Caribbean trade route and imported large amounts of molasses, which led to the creation of Boston baked beans . Boston's economy stagnated in the decades prior to the Revolution. By the mid-18th century, New York City and Philadelphia had surpassed Boston in wealth. During this period, Boston encountered financial difficulties even as other cities in New England grew rapidly. The weather continuing boisterous

2907-545: A major league team, or affiliated with one, and utilized for player development. For example, Major League Baseball operates Minor League Baseball . The minor clubs do not move up or down in the hierarchy by on-field success or failure. Professional ice hockey has a system somewhat similar to baseball's (without as many levels), while the National Basketball Association operates a single NBA G League . The National Football League does not have

3078-514: A mandatory schedule. Gambling and alcohol were also seen as serious problems, with games too often being suspected of being "thrown". As a result, Hulbert spearheaded the formation of a new, stronger, more ethical organization. During the last years of the NA, Hulbert worked behind the scenes, to convince the owners of the St. Louis Browns , Hartford Dark Blues , Philadelphia Athletics , and a few others to join

3249-494: A minor explosion of other openly professional clubs by the late 1860s, each with the singular goal of defeating the Red Stockings, who had accumulated an unparalleled 89-game winning streak. It was common at the time for sportswriters to refer to teams by their uniform colors, and it happens that Chicago's club, which was officially known as The Chicago Base Ball Club, adopted white and were immediately tagged by reporters "White Stockings" (or occasionally "Whites"). On April 29, 1870,

3420-501: A minor league system as of 2024 but it has operated or affiliated with minor leagues in the 1930s , 1940s , 1960s , 1990s , and the early 2000s and invested in one in the late 2000s . Men's soccer has multiple minor leagues. The United Soccer League operates two of these, the second-level USL Championship and the third-level USL League One . Major League Soccer operates the third-level MLS Next Pro , consisting primarily of reserve sides of MLS teams. Another third-level league,

3591-475: A pair of bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon , killing three people and injuring roughly 264. The subsequent search for the bombers led to a lock-down of Boston and surrounding municipalities. The region showed solidarity during this time as symbolized by the slogan Boston Strong . In 2016, Boston briefly shouldered a bid as the U.S. applicant for the 2024 Summer Olympics . The bid

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3762-467: A playoff tournament of the teams that finished third through sixth. In the 2011–12 season, the teams Wolverhampton Wanderers , Blackburn , and Bolton were relegated to the Championship. They were replaced by Reading , Southampton , and West Ham . The two former teams had won automatic promotion, while the latter occupied the last promotion spot when they defeated Cardiff 5–0 on aggregate in

3933-538: A port, manufacturing hub, and center for education and culture. The city also expanded significantly beyond the original peninsula by filling in land and annexing neighboring towns. Boston's many firsts include the United States' first public park ( Boston Common , 1634), the first public school ( Boston Latin School , 1635), and the first subway system ( Tremont Street subway , 1897). Boston has emerged as

4104-565: A project to improve the historic West End neighborhood. Extensive demolition was met with strong public opposition, and thousands of families were displaced. The BRA continued implementing eminent domain projects, including the clearance of the vibrant Scollay Square area for construction of the modernist style Government Center . In 1965, the Columbia Point Health Center opened in the Dorchester neighborhood,

4275-487: A race track in 1870, the White Stockings returned to the downtown for 1871, a decision that would prove fateful. The club arranged with the city to build a ballpark in the northeast corner of the public park then known as Lake Park, later named Grant Park . The venue was dubbed the Union Base-Ball Grounds , and the club was a close contender for the pennant until late in the season. On Sunday, October 8,

4446-621: A racial barrier in professional baseball for the next half-century. A post-season "World's Championship Series" had been held in 1884 between the champions of the League (Providence) and the Association (Metropolitan), and the White Stockings and the Browns arranged to continue that new tradition in 1885. This was the first meeting between Chicago and the St. Louis franchise that would eventually join

4617-460: A record for lowest staff earned run average that still stands today. Reulbach threw a one-hitter in the 1906 World Series, one of a small handful of twirlers to pitch low-hit games in the post-season. Brown acquired his unique and indelicate nickname from having lost most of his index finger in farm machinery when he was a youngster. This gave him the ability to put a natural extra spin on his pitches, which often frustrated opposing batters. In 1907,

4788-667: A rival league. Only one team in the National Hockey League (the Montreal Canadiens ), for example, existed before becoming part of the NHL. The rest of the teams were created ex novo as expansion teams or as charter members of the World Hockey Association , which merged with the NHL in 1979. American and Canadian sports leagues typically have a " playoff " system where the best teams in

4959-402: A standard system of play. Each coach would serve as "head coach" of the Cubs during his tenure there. North American professional sports league organization The term league has many different meanings in different areas around the world, and its use for different concepts can make comparisons confusing. Usually a league is a group of teams that play each other during the season. It

5130-543: A tight pennant race, were tied in the bottom of the ninth inning at the Polo Grounds . The Giants had runners of first and third and two outs when Al Bridwell hit a single to center field, scoring Moose McCormick from third with the Giants' apparent winning run, but the runner on first base, rookie Fred Merkle , went halfway to second and then sprinted to the clubhouse after McCormick touched home plate. As fans swarmed

5301-401: A violent tornado , the city itself has experienced many tornado warnings . Damaging storms are more common to areas north, west, and northwest of the city. See or edit raw graph data . In 2020, Boston was estimated to have 691,531 residents living in 266,724 households —a 12% population increase over 2010. The city is the third-most densely populated large U.S. city of over half

History of the Chicago Cubs - Misplaced Pages Continue

5472-460: A year later Lange retired to become a professional scout. Baseball's popularity in general faded somewhat during the 1890s. In an apparent effort to boost attendance, in 1891 the Colts began splitting their schedule between West Side Park and the recently built South Side Park . In 1892 they played their entire schedule on the south side, but decided to move more toward the city center again. Early in

5643-505: Is 2 °F (−17 °C) on December 30, 1917, while the record warm daily minimum is 83 °F (28 °C) on both August 2, 1975 and July 21, 2019. Boston averages 43.6 in (1,110 mm) of precipitation a year, with 49.2 in (125 cm) of snowfall per season. Most snowfall occurs from mid-November through early April, and snow is rare in May and October. There is also high year-to-year variability in snowfall; for instance,

5814-508: Is July, with a mean temperature of 74.1 °F (23.4 °C). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 29.9 °F (−1.2 °C). Periods exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) in summer and below freezing in winter are not uncommon but tend to be fairly short, with about 13 and 25 days per year seeing each, respectively. Sub- 0 °F (−18 °C) readings usually occur every 3 to 5 years. The most recent sub- 0 °F (−18 °C) reading occurred on February 4, 2023, when

5985-442: Is a single business entity, with each team owner-operator being a league shareholder, and all player contracts are held by the league. Also similar to MLS, MLR uses playing rules set by its sport's international governing body. However, MLR teams do not play competitive matches against teams from other leagues, and there is currently no cup competition in U.S. rugby similar to soccer's U.S. Open Cup. The MLR league structure also follows

6156-476: Is also often used for the name of the governing body that oversees the league, as in America's Major League Baseball or England's Football League. Because most European football clubs participate in different competitions during a season, regular-season home-and-away games are often referred to as league games and the others as non-league or cup games, even though the separate competitions may be organized by

6327-547: Is an intellectual, technological, and political center. However, it has lost some important regional institutions, including the loss to mergers and acquisitions of local financial institutions such as FleetBoston Financial , which was acquired by Charlotte -based Bank of America in 2004. Boston-based department stores Jordan Marsh and Filene's have both merged into the New York City –based Macy's . The 1993 acquisition of The Boston Globe by The New York Times

6498-406: Is generally used to determine membership of leagues. Most commonly, a pre-determined number of teams that finish at the bottom of a league or division are automatically dropped down, or relegated, to a lower level for the next season. They are replaced by teams who are promoted from that lower tier either by finishing with the best records or by winning a playoff. In England, in the 2010–2011 season,

6669-588: Is in Roxbury . Due north of the center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of South Boston is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End Unknown, A local colloquialism Boston has an area of 89.63 sq mi (232.1 km ). Of this area, 48.4 sq mi (125.4 km ), or 54%, of it

6840-463: Is land and 41.2 sq mi (106.7 km ), or 46%, of it is water. The city's elevation, as measured at Logan International Airport , is 19 ft (5.8 m) above sea level . The highest point in Boston is Bellevue Hill at 330 ft (100 m) above sea level, and the lowest point is at sea level. The city is adjacent to Boston Harbor , an arm of Massachusetts Bay , and by extension,

7011-423: Is one of the earliest examples of corporate sponsorship. Wrigley also acquired the services of astute baseball man William Veeck, Sr. , appointing him as club president. Veeck had been a sportswriter, and had criticized Cubs management. In an unusual move, Wrigley challenged Veeck to see if he could do better. It proved to be a good move. With Wrigley's money and Veeck's savvy, the Cubs were soon back in business in

History of the Chicago Cubs - Misplaced Pages Continue

7182-418: Is very rare. This is mostly because virtually all cities and towns in Europe have a football club of some sort, the size and strength of the club usually relative to the town's size and importance. Buying an existing top-flight club and moving it to a new location is problematic, as the supporters of the town's original club are unlikely to switch allegiance to an interloper. This means anyone wanting ownership of

7353-714: Is widely used in football around the world, notably in Africa and Latin America as well as Europe. The most notable variation has developed in Latin America where many countries have two league seasons per year , which scheduling allows because many Latin American nations lack a national cup competition. Another notable variation is the Brazilian system of two parallel league systems each with its own separate promotion and relegation, one national and another on state-level,

7524-508: The Arbella ) and John Cotton (grandfather of Cotton Mather ) had emigrated to New England . The name of the English town ultimately derives from its patron saint, St. Botolph , in whose church John Cotton served as the rector until his emigration with Johnson. In early sources, Lincolnshire's Boston was known as "St. Botolph's town", later contracted to "Boston". Before this renaming,

7695-600: The 1932 World Series , Babe Ruth again torched the North Siders, though this time with his bat, when he led New York in a series in which he hit his famous " called shot " home run in Chicago during Game 3. The Yankees then went on to a four-game sweep of the Northsiders. There were some historic moments for the Cubs as well, as they won the 1935 pennant in thrilling fashion. Billy Herman hit a career best .341 and led

7866-621: The 1945 World Series ) and of their newly hired manager: "From the sublime to last place! Wrigley Field, the ivy of its walls still whispering of past greatness, Watches its Cubs grow less ferocious in '47, '48, '49. New doctor of the cure is smiling Frank Frisch, Veteran of previous baseball transfusions who thinks, It's nice to have the fans with you.' Chicago has a great baseball tradition. The fans remember glorious yesterdays as they wait for brighter tomorrows. And eventually their Cubs will bite again!" Little did anyone realize how long "eventually" would turn out to be. After losing

8037-923: The 2015 season . Another example of a franchised league in European sport is ice hockey 's Kontinental Hockey League , centered mainly in Russia with teams also located in Belarus , China , and Kazakhstan . Rugby union also has a European-based franchised league in the United Rugby Championship (historically the Celtic League, Pro12, and Pro14). It was founded with teams in the Celtic nations of Ireland , Scotland , and Wales , and later added teams outside those nations, first from Italy and then South Africa . The promotion-relegation system

8208-815: The American Revolution occurred in or near Boston. The then-town's mob presence, along with the colonists' growing lack of faith in either Britain or its Parliament , fostered a revolutionary spirit there. When the British parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, a Boston mob ravaged the homes of Andrew Oliver , the official tasked with enforcing the Act, and Thomas Hutchinson , then the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. The British sent two regiments to Boston in 1768 in an attempt to quell

8379-653: The American Revolution , Boston was home to several events that proved central to the revolution and subsequent Revolutionary War , including the Boston Massacre (1770), the Boston Tea Party (1773), Paul Revere's Midnight Ride (1775), the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775), and the Siege of Boston (1775–1776). Following American independence from Great Britain , the city continued to play an important role as

8550-585: The Boston Garden opening in 1928. Logan International Airport opened on September 8, 1923. Boston went into decline by the early to mid-20th century, as factories became old and obsolete and businesses moved out of the region for cheaper labor elsewhere. Boston responded by initiating various urban renewal projects, under the direction of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) established in 1957. In 1958, BRA initiated

8721-577: The Boston Public Library , Trinity Church, single-family homes and wooden/brick multi-family row houses. The South End Historic District is the largest surviving contiguous Victorian-era neighborhood in the US. The geography of downtown and South Boston was particularly affected by the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (which ran from 1991 to 2007, and was known unofficially as the " Big Dig "). That project removed

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8892-602: The Chicago Colts, or more commonly, Anson's Colts. Anson is also given the credit, or the blame, for setting the stage for the longest-lasting version of the " color line " barring African-Americans from major league baseball. In an August 10, 1883, exhibition game against the then-independent Toledo Blue Stockings, who would before the next season join the American Association, Anson refused to field his team as long as Toledo's catcher Moses Walker , who

9063-616: The Chicago White Stockings played their first game against the Union Club of St. Louis, and soundly defeated the Unions 7–1. The White Stockings divided their games between their downtown practice field, Ogden Park , and a larger facility set up at Dexter Park where they hosted games expected to draw larger crowds. After some individually arranged contests, using mostly the same roster, Chicago managed to put together

9234-817: The EFL Cup , operated by the English Football League and open to its own teams and those in the Premier League). In conjunction with FIFA and other countries' governing bodies, it also sets the playing rules and the rules under which teams can sell players' contracts to other clubs. The rules or Laws of the Game are determined by the International Football Association Board . The Premier League negotiates television contracts for its games. However, although

9405-737: The Football Alliance , was then formed in 1889. When the two merged in 1892, it was not on equal terms; rather, most of the Alliance clubs were put in the new Football League Second Division , whose best teams would move up to the First Division in place of its worst teams. Another merger, with the top division of the Southern League in 1920, helped form the Third Division in similar fashion, firmly establishing

9576-413: The Great Chicago Fire erupted on the near south side and swept northward through the downtown. The wooden ballpark was right in the firestorm's path, and the grounds and all the team's equipment and uniforms were consumed. Despite that disaster, the White Stockings played their 1871 season to completion, on the road, in borrowed uniforms. They managed to finish second, just 2 games short of the title that

9747-416: The Massachusetts Bay Colony and was signed by its first governor John Winthrop . Puritan ethics and their focus on education also influenced the early history of the city. America's first public school, Boston Latin School , was founded in Boston in 1635. Boston was the largest town in the Thirteen Colonies until Philadelphia outgrew it in the mid-18th century. Boston's oceanfront location made it

9918-439: The National Independent Soccer Association , is totally independent. None have a promotion/relegation system, although many teams have moved between levels, either by invitation or by choice. To prevent conflicts of interest , most North American sports leagues that operate on the franchise system do not allow individual owners to hold an interest in more than one franchise at once. Most such leagues also use revenue sharing and

10089-457: The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was established in 1876, its founders judged that in order to prosper, they must make baseball's highest level of competition a "closed shop", with a strict limit on the number of teams, and with each member having exclusive local rights. This guarantee of a place in the league year after year would permit each club owner to monopolize fan bases in their respective exclusive territories and give them

10260-427: The North End , and the Seaport . Boston is sometimes called a "city of neighborhoods" because of the profusion of diverse subsections. The city government's Office of Neighborhood Services has officially designated 23 neighborhoods: More than two-thirds of inner Boston's modern land area did not exist when the city was founded. Instead, it was created via the gradual filling in of the surrounding tidal areas over

10431-422: The Philadelphia Athletics . The club continued to play its home games at 23rd Street. With the pieces in place, the Chicago National League Ball Club quickly established themselves as one of the new National League's top teams. Spalding won 47 games that season, and James "Deacon" White and Ross Barnes , also brought in by Hulbert, were major contributors as well, as Barnes hit .429 that season and White, one of

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10602-416: The Professional Women's Hockey League and its de facto predecessor, the Premier Hockey Federation ) or are forced to operate in the pure single-entity model when investors fail to materialize (such as the Stars Football League ). Many North American systems have a secondary or minor league but without promotion and relegation of teams between them. Often a minor league team is partly or wholly owned by

10773-413: The South End , the West End , the Financial District , and Chinatown . After the Great Boston fire of 1872 , workers used building rubble as landfill along the downtown waterfront. During the mid-to-late 19th century, workers filled almost 600 acres (240 ha) of brackish Charles River marshlands west of Boston Common with gravel brought by rail from the hills of Needham Heights. The city annexed

10944-402: The UEFA Champions League , operated by the Union of European Football Associations . A Premier League team might play a league game one week, and an FA Cup game against a team from a lower-level league the next, followed by an EFL Cup game against a team in the EFL, and then a fourth game might be against a team from across Europe in the Champions League. The promotion and relegation system

11115-470: The 1876 pennant, which at the time was the game's top prize, Anson led the team to a great amount of success in the early seasons of the National League, winning pennants in 1880 and 1881 as well. The length of the season and long travel times between games at the time was such that most teams got by with two principal starters, and Chicago had two very good ones in Larry Corcoran and Fred Goldsmith . Corcoran, who won 43 games in 1880, threw three no-hitters in

11286-566: The 1893 season they opened " West Side Park II ", a wooden structure that would be their home for the next 23 seasons. Anson's departure led to the team's nickname transitioning through the next few seasons. With the loss of their "Pop" as Anson had become known, at times the media referred to the club as the Remnants or the Orphans . The "Colts" name remained in circulation through the 1905 season, along with Orphans and Remnants, depending on which newspaper or fan one spoke to. The name "Cubs" first appeared in print in 1902 and gained popularity over

11457-468: The 1945 World Series, the Cubs finished 82–71, good for third place in 1946, but did not enter post-season play. The following year, however, the Cubs slumped to 69–85 and sixth place. The Cubs would spend most of the next two decades buried deep in the bottom half of the National League. From 1947 to 1966, the Cubs only managed a .500 record twice. Many of those teams lost over 90 games, and in 1962 and 1966 they lost over 100. All this futility came despite

11628-412: The 1970s, the city's economy had begun to recover after 30 years of economic downturn. A large number of high-rises were constructed in the Financial District and in Boston's Back Bay during this period. This boom continued into the mid-1980s and resumed after a few pauses. Hospitals such as Massachusetts General Hospital , Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , and Brigham and Women's Hospital lead

11799-457: The 19th century, Boston's core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants with their residence yielding lasting cultural change. Italians became the largest inhabitants of the North End , Irish dominated South Boston and Charlestown , and Russian Jews lived in the West End . Irish and Italian immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston's largest religious community, and

11970-406: The 20th century: Horticultural Hall , the Tennis and Racquet Club , Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum , Fenway Studios , Jordan Hall , and the Boston Opera House .  The Longfellow Bridge , built in 1906, was mentioned by Robert McCloskey in Make Way for Ducklings , describing its "salt and pepper shakers" feature. Fenway Park , home of the Boston Red Sox , opened in 1912, with

12141-399: The Atlantic Ocean. Boston is surrounded by the Greater Boston metropolitan region. It is bordered to the east by the town of Winthrop and the Boston Harbor Islands , to the northeast by the cities of Revere , Chelsea and Everett , to the north by the cities of Somerville and Cambridge , to the northwest by Watertown , to the west by the city of Newton and town of Brookline , to

12312-500: The Cubs to 21 straight wins in September, which propelled the club to the 1935 World Series where they fell to Hank Greenberg 's Detroit Tigers in a hard-fought, 6-game series. The 1938 season saw Dizzy Dean lead the team's pitching staff and provided an historic moment when they won a crucial, late-season game with a "walk-off" home run by player-manager Gabby Hartnett, which became known in baseball folklore as " The Homer in

12483-542: The Cubs won 107 games, dominating the National League once again. That year they met Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, beating them 4–1 for the franchise's first World Series championship. At the time a tie was replayed the next day from the beginning but counted in the series score, so officially the series was not a sweep. On September 23, 1908, the Cubs and New York Giants , involved in

12654-560: The Gloamin' ." However, Chicago fell to the Yankees again in the 1938 World Series . By this time, the 'double-Bills' had both died, and the front office, now under P.K. Wrigley , was unable to rekindle the success his father had created, and so the team would slip into its first period of mediocrity. The Cubs enjoyed one more pennant, at the close of another World War, led by outfielder Andy Pafko and infielder Phil Cavarretta . Due to

12825-512: The Irish have played a major role in Boston politics since the early 20th century; prominent figures include the Kennedys , Tip O'Neill , and John F. Fitzgerald . Between 1631 and 1890, the city tripled its area through land reclamation by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps between wharves along the waterfront. Reclamation projects in the middle of the century created significant parts of

12996-579: The John Hancock Tower is the old John Hancock Building with its prominent illuminated beacon , the color of which forecasts the weather. Downtown and its immediate surroundings (including the Financial District, Government Center, and South Boston ) consist largely of low-rise masonry buildings – often federal style and Greek revival – interspersed with modern high-rises. Back Bay includes many prominent landmarks, such as

13167-453: The N.L. in RBI eight times, still the major league record. Anson's influence on the team is likely greater than that of any other single player's influence on any professional sports team, perhaps only rivaled by what Ruth would eventually become to the New York Yankees three decades later. Anson's mark was so deep that by the mid-1890s sportswriters had dropped the White Stockings name in favor of

13338-551: The NABBP championship that year, although the title was disputed by the opposing club, the New York Mutuals . The following season, the time was right for the formation of the very first all-professional league, and thus the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was born, and the White Stockings, financed by businessman William Hulbert , became charter members of the new league. After their experiment with

13509-521: The NL and become known as the St. Louis Cardinals . The two clubs remain perennial rivals . The 1885 Series ended in dispute and with no clear resolution. Both clubs faced each other again in 1886, and this time around there was no question about the outcome, with the Browns winning the Series four games to two. This marked the only AA win in the 19th Century World Series contests. Things changed with time for

13680-515: The NL pennant by two games over the New York Giants. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Browns easily won the first of what would prove to be four consecutive pennants as they dominated the AA. Chicago appeared ready to return to the top in 1885. The "Chicago Stone Wall", the greatest infield of its day, was in place, anchored by Anson and Ned Williamson , who hit 27 home runs in 1884 (25 at home, 2 on

13851-400: The National League, the front office having built a team that would be strong contenders for the next decade. Hack Wilson , Gabby Hartnett , Billy Herman , Rogers Hornsby , and many other stars donned Cub uniforms during that stretch, and they achieved the unusual accomplishment of winning a pennant every three years – 1929, 1932, 1935 and 1938. Unfortunately, their success did not extend to

14022-563: The Native people, as many had died of European diseases brought by early settlers and traders. Archaeological excavations unearthed one of the oldest fishweirs in New England on Boylston Street , which Native people constructed as early as 7,000 years before European arrival in the Western Hemisphere. The first European to live in what would become Boston was a Cambridge -educated Anglican cleric named William Blaxton . He

14193-495: The North American model of one premier league without promotion and relegation. A more rarely seen business model in North America is the pure single- entity league, typified by the two incarnations of the XFL , where there are no individual owners or investors, with all teams centrally owned and operated by the league. Many upstart leagues begin their existence as pure single-entity leagues before they secure investors for teams (such as

14364-536: The North American system due to American influence on the game. In cricket , the Indian Premier League , launched in 2008, also operates on this system. The Super League , which is the top level of rugby league in the United Kingdom and France (and included a Canadian team for several years), was run on a franchise basis from 2009 to 2014 , but returned to a promotion-relegation model with

14535-641: The Pacific islands as a whole (mainly Samoa and Tonga) but is based in New Zealand. Super Rugby also formerly featured franchises in South Africa, Japan, and Argentina. In east Asia, places such as Japan , China , South Korea and Taiwan have a particular differentiation among leagues: "European" sports such as football and rugby use promotion and relegation, while "American" sports such as baseball and basketball use franchising and minor leagues, with

14706-735: The Renew Boston Whole Building Incentive which reduces the cost of living in buildings that are deemed energy efficient. Under the Köppen climate classification , Boston has either a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa ) under the 0 °C (32.0 °F) isotherm or a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa ) under the −3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm. Summers are warm to hot and humid, while winters are cold and stormy, with occasional periods of heavy snow. Spring and fall are usually cool and mild, with varying conditions dependent on wind direction and

14877-722: The U.S., team relocations have been controversial as supporters of the club will protest at its loss. Leagues around the world generally follow one or the other of these systems with some variation. Most sport leagues in Australia are similar to the North American model, using post-season playoffs and no relegation, but without geographical divisions, with the most notable examples being the Australian Football League ( Aussie rules ) and National Rugby League ( rugby league ). Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan uses

15048-428: The White Stockings / Colts. Following Chicago's great run during the 1880s, the on-field fortunes of Anson's Colts dwindled during the mid-1890s, despite the emergence of Bill Lange , who set the club record for steals with 84 in 1897, and was one of the league's best hitters for seven seasons. The club would have to await revival under new leadership, however, for in 1898, Spalding opted not to renew Anson's contract, and

15219-422: The White Stockings in his new league, which would be known as the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs . The National League's formation meant the end of the NA, as its remaining clubs shut down or reverted to amateur or minor status. After the 1875 season ended, Hulbert was principal in the acquisition of several key players, including Boston pitcher Albert Spalding and first baseman Adrian Anson of

15390-615: The act as an attempt to force them to accept the taxes established by the Townshend Acts . The act prompted the Boston Tea Party , where a group of angered Bostonians threw an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company into Boston Harbor . The Boston Tea Party was a key event leading up to the revolution, as the British government responded furiously with the Coercive Acts , demanding compensation for

15561-535: The adjacent towns of South Boston (1804), East Boston (1836), Roxbury (1868), Dorchester (including present-day Mattapan and a portion of South Boston ) (1870), Brighton (including present-day Allston ) (1874), West Roxbury (including present-day Jamaica Plain and Roslindale ) (1874), Charlestown (1874), and Hyde Park (1912). Other proposals were unsuccessful for the annexation of Brookline , Cambridge, and Chelsea . Many architecturally significant buildings were built during these early years of

15732-453: The angry colonists. This did not sit well with the colonists, however. In 1770, during the Boston Massacre , British troops shot into a crowd that had started to violently harass them. The colonists compelled the British to withdraw their troops. The event was widely publicized and fueled a revolutionary movement in America. In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act . Many of the colonists saw

15903-426: The area. Nevertheless, the city experienced conflict starting in 1974 over desegregation busing , which resulted in unrest and violence around public schools throughout the mid-1970s. Boston has also experienced gentrification in the latter half of the 20th century, with housing prices increasing sharply since the 1990s when the city's rent control regime was struck down by statewide ballot proposition . Boston

16074-480: The asset value of their shares in the club collapse. Some leagues offer a " parachute payment " to its relegated teams for the following years in order to protect them from bankruptcy. If a team is promoted back to the higher tier the following year then the parachute payment for the second season is distributed among the teams of the lower division. There is of course a corresponding bonanza for promoted clubs. The league does not choose which cities are to have teams in

16245-469: The baseball wars far behind them. The Cubs fell into a lengthy doldrum after the departure of their stars. In 1916, advertising executive Albert Lasker and his partner Charles Phelps Taft obtained a large block of shares and soon acquired majority ownership of the Cubs. In 1916 Taft was bought out by Charlie Weeghman , who had owned the Chicago Whales of the short-lived Federal League , and

16416-549: The career of "Mr. Cub", Ernie Banks , ended. After the Curse of the Billy Goat , a few years into the post-World War II era, astute observers of the game began to suspect that something had gone wrong with the Cubs franchise, and that it might take them a long time to recover. In his 1950 book The World Series and Highlights of Baseball , LaMont Buchanan wrote the following prose next to photos of Wrigley (apparently taken during

16587-605: The centuries. This was accomplished using earth from the leveling or lowering of Boston's three original hills (the "Trimountain", after which Tremont Street is named), as well as with gravel brought by train from Needham to fill the Back Bay . Christian Science Center , Copley Square , Newbury Street , and New England's two tallest buildings: the John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Center . Near

16758-460: The city government. A climate action plan from 2019 anticipates 2 ft (1 m) to more than 7 ft (2 m) of sea-level rise in Boston by the end of the 21st century. Many older buildings in certain areas of Boston are supported by wooden piles driven into the area's fill; these piles remain sound if submerged in water, but are subject to dry rot if exposed to air for long periods. Groundwater levels have been dropping in many areas of

16929-464: The city often receives sea breezes , especially in the late spring, when water temperatures are still quite cold and temperatures at the coast can be more than 20 °F (11 °C) colder than a few miles inland, sometimes dropping by that amount near midday. Thunderstorms typically occur from May to September; occasionally, they can become severe, with large hail , damaging winds, and heavy downpours. Although downtown Boston has never been struck by

17100-443: The city's economy, and the city's industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. The small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a dense network of railroads furthered the region's industry and commerce. During this period, Boston flourished culturally as well. It

17271-414: The city, due in part to an increase in the amount of rainwater discharged directly into sewers rather than absorbed by the ground. The Boston Groundwater Trust coordinates monitoring groundwater levels throughout the city via a network of public and private monitoring wells. The city developed a climate action plan covering carbon reduction in buildings, transportation, and energy use. The first such plan

17442-787: The club's star infielders, Tinkers, Evers, and Chance, gained even more national acclaim after turning a critical double play against the New York Giants in a July game. The trio was immortalized in Franklin P. Adams ' poem Baseball's Sad Lexicon , which first appeared in the July 18, 1910, edition of the New York Evening Mail : These are the saddest of possible words: "Tinker to Evers to Chance." Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds, Tinker and Evers and Chance. Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble, Making

17613-411: The commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America, led the British army in the siege. On June 17, the British captured Charlestown (now part of Boston) during the Battle of Bunker Hill . The British army outnumbered the militia stationed there, but it was a pyrrhic victory for the British because their army suffered irreplaceable casualties. It was also a testament to the skill and training of

17784-492: The competition only by a vote of current members; typically, a new place is put up for bid by would-be owners. The "franchise system" was introduced in baseball with the formation of the National League in 1876 and later adopted by the other North American leagues. Although member teams are corporate entities separate from their leagues, they operate only under league auspices. North American teams do not play competitive games against outside opponents. The leagues operate in

17955-409: The confidence to invest in infrastructure, such as improved ballparks. This in turn would guarantee the revenues needed to support traveling across the continent. In contrast, the shorter distances between urban areas in England allowed more clubs to develop large fan bases without incurring the same travel costs as in North America. When The Football League, now known as the English Football League ,

18126-664: The destroyed tea from the Bostonians. This angered the colonists further and led to the American Revolutionary War . The war began in the area surrounding Boston with the Battles of Lexington and Concord . Boston itself was besieged for almost a year during the siege of Boston , which began on April 19, 1775. The New England militia impeded the movement of the British Army . Sir William Howe , then

18297-452: The early part of the decade, a record that would stand until being broken by Sandy Koufax in 1965. Goldsmith is one of two pitchers credited with the invention of the curveball . The two were baseball's first true "pitching rotation". In 1882, Hulbert died suddenly, and Al Spalding, who had retired a few years earlier to start Spalding sporting goods, assumed ownership of the club, with Anson acting as first baseman and manager. That season

18468-466: The elevated Central Artery and incorporated new green spaces and open areas. Boston is located within the Boston Basin ecoregion , which is characterized by low and rolling hills with a number of ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. Forests are mainly transition hardwoods such as oak - hickory mixed with white pine . As a coastal city built largely on fill , sea-level rise is of major concern to

18639-478: The entire 1909 season. Kling temporarily retired to play professional pocket billiards , but his primary reason for not playing was most likely a contract dispute. His absence obviously hurt the stability of the pitching staff, as when he returned in 1910 the Cubs won the pennant again, although the veteran club was unable to defeat the young Philadelphia Athletics in the Fall Classic. During that 1910 season,

18810-411: The excellent play of shortstop Ernie Banks , who became known as "Mr. Cub". Finding help for Banks, however, turned out to be the team's downfall. Players such as Hank Sauer and Ralph Kiner found only temporary homes in Chicago during the early 1950s, and Phil Cavarretta 's numbers tailed off late in his career. Incidentally, Cavarretta, who played 20 seasons for the Cubs and had been player/manager,

18981-422: The field, Evers retrieved the ball and touched second. A forceout was called at second base and, since there were two outs, this ending the inning, negating McCormick's score from third. As the crowd was swarming the field and the players had decamped to their respective clubhouses, the umpires were unable to resume play and the game was declared a tie. The game went down in history as " Merkle's Boner ". Because of

19152-567: The field. Anson relented and the game went on with Walker in the Toledo lineup, but in an 1884 game against Toledo, by now affiliated with the AA and playing as the Mudhens, Anson held his line and insisted that the arrangements for the game include a provision excluding black players from both teams' lineups. By the 1897 season, the leagues adopted an agreement that neither they nor their minor-league affiliates would admit black players, establishing

19323-541: The first Community Health Center in the United States. It mostly served the massive Columbia Point public housing complex adjoining it, which was built in 1953. The health center is still in operation and was rededicated in 1990 as the Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center. The Columbia Point complex itself was redeveloped and revitalized from 1984 to 1990 into a mixed-income residential development called Harbor Point Apartments. By

19494-461: The first wave of European immigrants . Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period, especially following the Great Famine ; by 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston . In the latter half of the 19th century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, Germans , Lebanese , Syrians, French Canadians , and Russian and Polish Jews settling there. By the end of

19665-461: The fortifications and dozens of cannons on Dorchester Heights that Henry Knox had laboriously brought through the snow from Fort Ticonderoga . The astonished British awoke the next morning to see a large array of cannons bearing down on them. General Howe is believed to have said that the Americans had done more in one night than his army could have done in six months. The British Army attempted

19836-461: The game with two box seat tickets, one for him and one for his goat. They paraded around for a few innings, but ultimately Wrigley demanded the goat leave the park due to complaints about its unpleasant odor . Upon his ejection, an angry Sianis uttered, "the Cubs, they ain't gonna win no more", and his family said he then sent a telegram to the Cubs owner saying that they would never win another Pennant or World Series. The Cubs lost game 4, and despite

20007-558: The highest average rate of philanthropy in the nation, and the city's businesses and institutions rank among the top in the nation for environmental sustainability and new investment. Isaac Johnson , in one of his last official acts as the leader of the Charlestown community before he died on September 30, 1630, named the then-new settlement across the river "Boston". The settlement's name came from Johnson's hometown of Boston, Lincolnshire , from which he, his wife (namesake of

20178-451: The last great bare-handed catchers, led the league in RBI. The White Stockings cruised through the National League's inaugural season of 1876, winning the league's first championship. Near the end of the season, Mutual of New York and Athletic of Philadelphia, who were remnants of the NA, dropped out of contention and refused to play the remainder of their respective schedules. Hulbert flexed his executive muscle, expelling both franchises from

20349-430: The league. Despite Hulbert's attempt to make Chicago the overpowering team that Boston had been during the NA years, the next season found Chicago finishing a disappointing 5th in the 6 team league, behind a resurgent Boston entry (another NA carryover) in the 60-game season. In 1878, the club arranged with the city to build a new Lake Park ballpark in essentially the same place as the 1871 ballpark. Chicago improved over

20520-536: The majors' best record at 84–45 that year, and faced the Boston Red Sox . Babe Ruth won two games in the series, including a 1–0 complete-game shutout in the opener to start off what would be a six-game Boston triumph. Ruth was sold to the Yankees a year later, starting the Red Sox' own tale of futility which lasted for 86 years. The 1918 Series was poorly attended and there were rumblings that it

20691-536: The militia, as their stubborn defense made it difficult for the British to capture Charlestown without suffering further irreplaceable casualties. Several weeks later, George Washington took over the militia after the Continental Congress established the Continental Army to unify the revolutionary effort. Both sides faced difficulties and supply shortages in the siege, and the fighting

20862-471: The modern "lively ball" era began. This change hurt more than it helped, as the club finished 22 games off the pace. For 1885, the city reclaimed its lakefront land, and the club went looking for a new home. They found a lot available on the near west side and began building, finally opening " West Side Park I " in June. The White Stockings, despite being vagabonds for their first two months, played strong and won

21033-440: The most dominant baseball teams of all time. By 1905 the Cubs were owned by Charles Murphy, who purchased the franchise for $ 125,000, equivalent to $ 4.24 million in 2023. Chance took over as manager for the ailing Frank Selee in that year, and the Cubs responded by winning four pennants and two World Series titles over a five-year span. Their record of 116 victories (in a 154-game season) in 1906 has not been broken, though it

21204-634: The nation in medical innovation and patient care. Schools such as the Boston Architectural College , Boston College , Boston University , the Harvard Medical School , Tufts University School of Medicine , Northeastern University , Massachusetts College of Art and Design , Wentworth Institute of Technology , Berklee College of Music , the Boston Conservatory , and many others attract students to

21375-572: The nation's busiest ports for both domestic and international trade. Boston's harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 (adopted during the Napoleonic Wars ) and the War of 1812 . Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Boston's merchants had found alternatives for their capital investments in the meantime. Manufacturing became an important component of

21546-444: The national league would be the dominating competition in which a club might participate, there are many non-league fixtures a club might play in a given year. In European football there are national cup competitions, which are single elimination knock-out tournaments, are played every year and all the clubs in the league participate. Also, the best performing clubs from the previous year may participate in pan-European tournaments such as

21717-453: The next day and night, giving the enemy time to improve their works, to bring up their cannon, and to put themselves in such a state of defence, that I could promise myself little success in attacking them under all the disadvantages I had to encounter. William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe , in a letter to William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth , about the British army's decision to leave Boston, dated March 21, 1776. Many crucial events of

21888-561: The next four seasons, the Boston Red Stockings dominated the National Association and hoarded the game's best stars, even those under contract with other teams. Hulbert, the White Stockings club president, was disgusted by the lack of enforceable contracts (the most famous of these "contract jumpers" or "revolvers" was Davy Force ) as well as the monopoly of the Boston club and the league's inability to enforce

22059-571: The next four years, before becoming the primary nickname in 1906 and acknowledged by the team itself in its 1907 World Series programs; the Cub-in-the-C logo first appeared on uniforms in 1908 and the name "Cubs" the following year. With the purchase of the Cubs in 1906 by Charles Murphy , some local newspapers began calling the team " Murphy's Spuds ", or just "the Spuds ". That playful nickname eventually faded. The old name, Chicago White Stockings,

22230-412: The next two seasons as the schedules grew to around 75 or more games. In 1880 the White Stockings won 67 and lost 17, for an all-time NL record .798 winning percentage. Adrian Anson, the team's best player and perhaps the greatest ballplayer in the early era of professional baseball, became the club's captain, and was so much identified as the face of the club he became better known as Cap Anson . After

22401-419: The official name from the "Town of Boston" to the "City of Boston", and on March 19, 1822, the people of Boston accepted the charter incorporating the city. At the time Boston was chartered as a city, the population was about 46,226, while the area of the city was only 4.8 sq mi (12 km ). In the 1820s, Boston's population grew rapidly, and the city's ethnic composition changed dramatically with

22572-525: The position of the jet stream . Prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore minimize the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. However, in winter, areas near the immediate coast often see more rain than snow, as warm air is sometimes drawn off the Atlantic. The city lies at the border between USDA plant hardiness zones 6b (away from the coastline) and 7a (close to the coastline). The hottest month

22743-479: The post-season, as they fell to their American League rivals each time, often in humiliating fashion. One example was in game 4 of the 1929 World Series when the Cubs, leading 8–0 at the time, yielded 10 runs to the Philadelphia Athletics in the seventh inning. A key play in that inning was center fielder Hack Wilson losing a fly ball in the sun, resulting in a 3-run inside-the-park homer. In

22914-675: The principle of promotion and relegation. Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States . The city serves as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the Northeastern United States . It has an area of 48.4 sq mi (125 km ) and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 census , making it

23085-612: The pyramid structure normally found in football, but instead follows the tradition of Australian sports having a franchise model and a post-season playoff system. This model better suits a country with a few important central locations where a sport needs to ensure there is a team playing with no risk of relegation. Likewise, the American franchise model is used by rugby union's Super Rugby , which features 12 non-European franchises. Australia and New Zealand have five franchises each; one franchise represents Fiji but currently plays most of its "home" games in Australia; and one franchise represents

23256-517: The road), a record which would stand until being broken by Babe Ruth in 1919. King Kelly was the best catcher in the league and Corcoran was primary pitcher, but John Clarkson , a product of an Anson scouting trip, would lead Chicago to yet another pennant. Much has been written about Old Hoss Radbourn 's record 60 victories for the Providence Grays of 1884, but Clarkson won an amazing 53 games in 1885, despite being second to Corcoran in

23427-520: The rotation. Anson considered the 1885–86 teams the best he managed. During this period, Anson became the first ballplayer credited with achieving 3,000 hits. Anson's actual number of hits varies depending on the source. MLB itself recognizes Anson as having over 3,000 hits. His run producing prowess led the Chicago Tribune to propose a new stat, runs-batted-in . It would take years to become official , but research would reveal that Anson led

23598-438: The same governing body. Also, there is a rugby football code called rugby league , which is distinct from rugby union . Professional sports leagues in North America comprise a stipulated number of teams, known as franchises, which field one team each. The franchises have territorial rights, usually exclusive territories large enough to cover major metropolitan areas, so that they have no local rivals. New teams may enter

23769-445: The same opponents, and some teams may not meet during a regular season at all. This results in teams with identical records that have faced different opponents differing numbers of times, making team records alone an imperfect measure of league supremacy. Major League Rugby , which began play in 2018 as the second attempt to launch a professional rugby union competition in the U.S., has a business structure identical to that of MLS. It

23940-469: The same teams play both leagues each year. The European model is also used in Europe even when the sports were founded in America, showing that the league system adopted is not determined by the sport itself, but more on the tradition of sports organization in that region. Sports such as basketball in Spain and Lithuania use promotion and relegation . In the same vein, Australia's A-League Men does not use

24111-466: The semifinals, and defeated Blackpool 2–1 at the final in Wembley Stadium. The system originated in England in 1888 when twelve clubs decided to create a professional Football League . It then expanded by merging with the Football Alliance in 1892, with the majority of the Alliance teams occupying the lower Second Division , due to the divergent strengths of the teams. As this differential

24282-595: The settlement on the peninsula had been known as "Shawmut" by William Blaxton and "Tremontaine" by the Puritan settlers he had invited. Prior to European colonization , the region surrounding present-day Boston was inhabited by the Massachusett people who had small, seasonal communities. When a group of settlers led by John Winthrop arrived in 1630, the Shawmut Peninsula was nearly empty of

24453-606: The southwest by the town of Dedham and small portions of Needham and Canton , and to the southeast by the town of Milton , and the city of Quincy . The Charles River separates Boston's Allston-Brighton , Fenway-Kenmore and Back Bay neighborhoods from Watertown and Cambridge, and most of Boston from its own Charlestown neighborhood. The Neponset River forms the boundary between Boston's southern neighborhoods and Quincy and Milton . The Mystic River separates Charlestown from Chelsea and Everett, and Chelsea Creek and Boston Harbor separate East Boston from Downtown ,

24624-621: The team now known as the Atlanta Braves by one year. In their early history, they were called in the press the White Stockings, Orphans, Infants, Remnants and Colts before officially becoming "Cubs" in 1907. The success and fame won by the Brooklyn Atlantics , organized baseball's first true dynasty, and the Cincinnati Red Stockings (c. 1867–1870) baseball's first openly all- professional team , led to

24795-433: The team to John Hart in 1902. Oddly, the team Spalding put together before he left was one of his grandest accomplishments. Joe Tinker ( shortstop ), Johnny Evers ( second baseman ), and Frank Chance ( first baseman ) were three Hall-of-Fame Cubs infielders who played together from 1903 to 1912. They, along with third baseman Harry Steinfeldt and catcher Johnny Kling , formed the infield on what would become one of

24966-489: The teams Birmingham City , Blackpool and West Ham United were relegated from the Premier League to the Football League Championship , the second level of English football. They were replaced by the top two teams from the second level, Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City , both of which won automatic promotion, as well as Swansea City (a Welsh club that plays in the English system), which won

25137-509: The temperature dipped down to −10 °F (−23 °C); this was the lowest temperature reading in the city since 1957. In addition, several decades may pass between 100 °F (38 °C) readings; the last such reading occurred on July 24, 2022. The city's average window for freezing temperatures is November 9 through April 5. Official temperature records have ranged from −18 °F (−28 °C) on February 9, 1934, up to 104 °F (40 °C) on July 4, 1911. The record cold daily maximum

25308-472: The third-largest city in the Northeast after New York City and Philadelphia . The larger Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area has a population of 4.9 million as of 2023, making it the largest in New England and the eleventh-largest in the country . Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers. The city was named after Boston, Lincolnshire , England. During

25479-511: The tie, the Giants and Cubs ended up tied for first place. The Giants lost the league's first one-game playoff, and the Cubs went on to the World Series, where they defeated the Tigers once again, this time four games to one, for their second consecutive World Series championship. It would be their last World Series victory for 108 years. Some experts believe the Cubs could have been in the Series for five straight seasons had Johnny Kling not sat out

25650-499: The top division. For example, Leeds , the fourth-biggest city in England, saw their team, Leeds United , relegated from the Premier League to the Championship in 2004, and went without top-flight football for 16 seasons before United returned to the Premier League in 2020. During this period, United were relegated again to the third-tier League One in 2007 and returned to the Championship in 2010. Any city that loses all of its Premier League clubs to relegation will continue to be without

25821-516: The two games. The White Stockings slipped a bit in 1883, finishing four games behind Boston. For 1884, the club made a ground rules change at their home ballpark. Its dimensions, especially right field, were very cozy, perhaps less than 200 feet (61 m) from home plate. Fly balls hit over the right field fence were previously ruled doubles, but in 1884 they were to be ruled as home runs. The batters began aiming for right field, and set some very dubious home run records that would last for decades until

25992-498: The wartime travel restrictions, the first three games were played in Detroit, where the Cubs won two of them, and the last four were to be played at Wrigley. The Cubs won Game 1 9–0 and Claude Passeau tossed a one hitter in Game 3 to give the Northsiders a 2–1 advantage as the series shifted to Wrigley Field. In Game 4, the Curse of the Billy Goat was laid upon the Cubs when Philip K. Wrigley ejected Billy Sianis, who had come to

26163-467: The winter of 2011–12 saw only 9.3 in (23.6 cm) of accumulating snow, but the previous winter, the corresponding figure was 81.0 in (2.06 m). The city's coastal location on the North Atlantic makes the city very prone to nor'easters , which can produce large amounts of snow and rain. Fog is fairly common, particularly in spring and early summer. Due to its coastal location,

26334-490: Was "fixed", but with America's energy focused on World War I, nothing came of these suspicions. Following the 1919 Black Sox Scandal , which led to yet another "curse" on the south side of Chicago, baseball in the city fell into very dark times and Lasker worked to create a new governing authority for Major League Baseball that led to Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis becoming the first Commissioner of Baseball . By then, Weeghman

26505-736: Was admired for its rarefied literary life and generous artistic patronage . Members of old Boston families—eventually dubbed the Boston Brahmins —came to be regarded as the nation's social and cultural elites. They are often associated with the American upper class , Harvard University , and the Episcopal Church . Boston was a prominent port of the Atlantic slave trade in the New England Colonies , but

26676-486: Was adopted in 1900 by the new American Base Ball League entry on Chicago's south side, initially as a minor league entry. The AL turned major in 1901, and the south siders' adopted nickname was soon shortened by the press to Chicago White Sox . After the formation of the American League, Al Spalding gave up ownership of the club to concentrate on touring the country to promote his sporting goods company, selling

26847-561: Was also the first for the American Association , the self-proclaimed "beer and whiskey league", which began play as a second "major league". The AA offered alcohol and Sunday games, moves which forced the more traditional NL into changes that likely would not have been made had Hulbert lived. Chicago played an (unauthorized) two-game post-season series against the AA champions, the Cincinnati Reds . Each team won one of

27018-438: Was black, was in the lineup; Anson claimed that Walker was ineligible to play, because the rules then in effect permitted only gentlemen to play, and Walker as a black person was incapable of satisfying the definition of a "gentlem[a]n". The umpires disagreed and threatened both to grant the Blue Stockings a victory by forfeit and to deprive Anson and his team of their share of the day's ticket sales unless Anson and his team took

27189-470: Was commissioned in 2007, with updates released in 2011, 2014, and 2019. This plan includes the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance, which requires the city's larger buildings to disclose their yearly energy and water use statistics and to partake in an energy assessment every five years. A separate initiative, Resilient Boston Harbor, lays out neighborhood-specific recommendations for coastal resilience . In 2013, Mayor Thomas Menino introduced

27360-511: Was fired during spring training of 1954 after admitting the team was unlikely to finish above 5th place (they finished 7th). One of Wrigley's attempts to right the ship actually set the team further back. In December 1960, he announced the Cubs would no longer have a manager. Instead, an eight-member " College of Coaches " would run the club. The eight men would rotate all the way through the Cubs organization, so that every player from Class D (equivalent to today's Rookie Leagues) on up would learn

27531-431: Was founded in 1888, it was not intended to be a rival of The Football Association but rather the top competition within it. The new league was not universally accepted as England's top-calibre competition right away. To help win fans of clubs outside The Football League, a system was established in which the worst teams at the end of each season would need to win re-election against any clubs wishing to join. A rival league,

27702-433: Was limited to small-scale raids and skirmishes. The narrow Boston Neck, which at that time was only about a hundred feet wide, impeded Washington's ability to invade Boston, and a long stalemate ensued. A young officer, Rufus Putnam , came up with a plan to make portable fortifications out of wood that could be erected on the frozen ground under cover of darkness. Putnam supervised this effort, which successfully installed both

27873-504: Was out of the picture. His lunch counter business fell on hard times after the war, and he was forced to sell more and more stock to Lasker's friend, chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. By 1918, Weeghman had sold his remaining stock to Wrigley. In 1921, Wrigley bought Lasker's controlling stake as well. After buying the rest of Lasker's shares, Wrigley changed the name of the team's home ballpark to Wrigley Field in 1925 in order to generate more exposure for his brand of chewing gum. This

28044-443: Was overcome over the next five years, the winners of the Second Division went into a playoff with the worst placed team in the First Division , and if they won, were promoted into the top tier. The first club to achieve promotion was Sheffield United , which replaced the relegated Accrington F.C. Relegation often has devastating financial consequences for club owners who not only lose TV, sponsorship and gate income but may also see

28215-421: Was proprietor of a popular chain of lunch counters. Weeghman and Lasker moved the Cubs to the Whales' old home, Weeghman Park , in 1916. The club was soon playing competitively again, and won the NL pennant in the war-shortened season of 1918, where they played a part in another team's curse, Curse of the Bambino . In the 1918 World Series , the North Siders, led by pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander , posted

28386-494: Was reversed in 2013 when it was resold to Boston businessman John W. Henry . In 2016, it was announced General Electric would be moving its corporate headquarters from Connecticut to the Seaport District in Boston, joining many other companies in this rapidly developing neighborhood. The city also saw the completion of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, known as the Big Dig , in 2007 after many delays and cost overruns. On April 15, 2013, two Chechen Islamist brothers detonated

28557-414: Was soon overtaken by Salem, Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island . Boston eventually became a center of the American abolitionist movement . The city reacted largely negatively to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 , contributing to President Franklin Pierce 's attempt to make an example of Boston after Anthony Burns 's attempt to escape to freedom. In 1822, the citizens of Boston voted to change

28728-487: Was supported by the mayor and a coalition of business leaders and local philanthropists, but was eventually dropped due to public opposition. The USOC then selected Los Angeles to be the American candidate with Los Angeles ultimately securing the right to host the 2028 Summer Olympics . Nevertheless, Boston is one of eleven U.S. cities which will host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup , with games taking place at Gillette Stadium . The geographical center of Boston

28899-447: Was the person most directly responsible for the foundation of Boston by Puritan colonists in 1630. This occurred after Blaxton invited one of their leaders, Isaac Johnson , to cross Back Bay from the failing colony of Charlestown and share the peninsula. The Puritans made the crossing in September 1630. Puritan influence on Boston began even before the settlement was founded with the 1629 Cambridge Agreement . This document created

29070-463: Was tied by the Seattle Mariners in 2001 in a 162-game season. The 1906 Cubs still hold the record for best winning percentage of the modern era, with a .763 mark. However, they lost the 1906 World Series to their crosstown rival White Sox. The Cubs again relied on dominant pitching during this period, featuring hurlers such as Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown , Jack Taylor , Ed Reulbach , Jack Pfiester and Orval Overall . The Cubs' pitchers posted

29241-423: Was won by Philadelphia. Despite the strong finish, the club was compelled to drop out of the league during the city's recovery period until ultimately being revived in 1874, and moving into the newly built 23rd Street Grounds on the near south side. Although the original Red Stockings had disbanded after 1870, many of the players became members of a new club wearing similar uniforms, but now based in Boston . Over

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