The 2022 Cubs haven’t been so good lately, so let’s remember a good game, and a guy, from the past!
The 1952 Cubs got off to a good start, winning eight of their first 12, and the game we’re going to remember was a Wednesday afternoon contest against the Phillies in front of a smallish gathering of 7.221.
They scored seven runs in the third inning — without a home run! — erasing an early 4-0 Phillies lead. Another Cubs run in the seventh made it 8-4, but, as wasn’t uncommon then (or now!), the bullpen (Turk Lown and Dutch Leonard) coughed up that lead and the game went to extra innings tied 8-8.
The teams combined for only one baserunner in the 10th and 11th innings, a two-out walk drawn by Bob Addis in the 10th.
Irving Vaughan of the Tribune describes what happened in the bottom of the 12th:
The finishing touch in the 12th started with an out and the next happening was a single to left by Bob Ramazzotti, his third contribution in the Cubs’ 20 hit total. Gene Hermanski batted for Leonard and was passed by [Howie] Fox. Manager [Phil] Cavarretta tried to pinch hit for the first time, replacing Roy Smalley, who had resumed at short in the fifth because Eddie Miksis had developed leg trouble. The boss popped out, but on Fox’s next pitch, Addis doubled to left center and Ramazzotti scored.
Let’s remember a guy!
Bob Addis was a bit player in Cubs history. His 1952 season, one of just four he played in the major leagues, was his best: .295/.346/.363 (86-for-292) with 13 doubles, two triples, a home run and four stolen bases in 95 games. The following season he was included in a trade to the Pirates that brought Ralph Kiner to the Cubs.
Addis played in the minor leagues until 1956 and then returned to his hometown in Ohio, where he became a longtime high school baseball coach. He was inducted into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1975. Addis died in 2016, aged 91, a bit short of two weeks after the Cubs won the World Series.
The Cubs won this game 9-8 in 12 innings and it happened 70 years ago today, Wednesday, April 30, 1952. At the time the Cubs were 9-4 and half a game out of first place; they were within 3½ games of first on June 13, but a nine-game losing streak took them out of contention. They finished 77-77, the only non-losing Cubs season between 1947 and 1962 (and had to win their last two games to finish at .500).