Today in Cubs History: 12-14
12-14-2000 - Signed Tom Gordon as a free agent.
12-14-1998 - Traded Brant Brown to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Received Jon Lieber.
12-14-1990 - Traded Greg Smith to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Jose Vizcaino.
12-14-1987 - Signed Vance Law as a free agent.
12-14-1948 - Traded Hank Borowy and Eddie Waitkus to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received Monk Dubiel and Dutch Leonard.
Brant Brown gave a key contribution to the 1998 Cubs, it's a shame he'll be remembered for one play occuring on the 90th anniversary of Merkle's Boner, and for being on the wrong end of a very good Cubs trade.
Eddie Waitkus is the real person whose life served as the premise for the classic movie "The Natural". A solid first-baseman for the post-War Cubs, Waitkus was traded to Philadelphia after the 1948 season. A young, mentally-ill woman who had been his fan while he played for Chicago became so distraught at his departure that after a game in 1949, she waited for Waitkus in his hotel room, and when he arrived she shot him in the chest with a 22 caliber rifle. Waitkus survived to play several more years, but he was never quite the same as a person or a player. For more on Waitkus, go here or here
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