The DUROCHER: Leo Ernest Durocher (July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by a manager. A controversial and outspoken character, Durocher's career was dogged by clashes with authority, umpires (his 95 career ejections as a manager trailed only McGraw when he retired, and still rank fourth on the all-time list), and the press.Durocher returned to the managerial ranks in 1966 with the Chicago Cubs. For the past four seasons, the Cubs had tried an experiment called the "College of Coaches," in which they were led by a "head coach" rather than a manager. However, at his first press conference, Durocher formally announced an end to the experiment by saying:"If no announcement has been made about what my title is, I'm making it here and now. I'm the manager. I'm not a head coach. I'm the manager."
FRANK CHANCE a.k.a. The PEERLESS LEADER: Frank Leroy Chance (September 9, 1876 – September 15, 1924) was a Major League Baseball player at the turn of the 20th century. Performing the roles of first baseman and manager, Chance led the Chicago Cubs to four National League championships in the span of five years (1906–1910) and earned the nickname "The Peerless Leader".Born in Fresno, California, Chance began his career in 1898 with the Chicago Cubs and played irregularly until 1902. In 1903 he asserted himself with a .327 batting average, 67 stolen bases and 81 RBI in 441 at-bats. Chance was the first player ever ejected from a World Series game, doing so in Game 3 of the 1910 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics.Chance took over as Chicago's manager in 1905, taking the helm of a very good team. Although his playing time decreased towards the end of the decade, as a manager he proved inspirational. The Cubs won the NL pennant in 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1910, and won the World Series in 1907 and 1908. He left the Cubs after the 1912 season to manage the Yankess.
WILLIAM HULBERT: William Ambrose Hulbert (October 23, 1832 – April 10, 1882) was one of the founders of the National League, recognized as baseball's first major league, and was also the president of the Chicago White Stockings franchise.In his tenure as president from 1877 to his death in 1882, Hulbert ruled with an iron fist and took steps to insure league integrity and compliance with league rules.His first major act was expelling the New York and Philadelphia clubs from the league for failure to complete their 1876 schedules as required. While losing clubs in the two most populous cities in the United States was a serious blow, the expulsion sent a clear message that the lax adherence to league rules that had plagued the National Association would not be tolerated. Also in response to the New York/Philadelphia scheduling problem, Hulbert ended the practice of clubs determining their schedules through the club secretaries by declaring that the league itself would establish the schedule. Hulbert also instituted the practice of the league hiring of umpires to bolster public perceptions of league integrity.
HARRY CARAY: Harry Caray, born Harry Christopher Carabina, (March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) was an American baseball broadcaster on radio and television. He covered four Major League Baseball teams, beginning with a long tenure calling the games of the St. Louis Cardinals, then the Oakland Athletics (for one year) and the Chicago White Sox (for eleven years), before ending his career as the announcer for the Chicago Cubs.Caray increased his renown after joining the North Side Cubs following the 1981 Season. In contrast to the "Sports Vision" concept, the Cubs' own television outlet,WGN TV, had become among the first of the Cable Television Superstations, offering their programming to providers across the United States for free, and Caray became as famous nationwide as he'd long been on the South Side and, previously, in St. Louis.The seventh-inning stretch routine became Caray's best-remembered trademark; after his death, the Cubs began a practice of inviting guest celebrities, local and national, to lead the singing Caray-style. The use of "guest conductors" continues to this day.
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