Exactly one hundred years ago today — July 12, 1910 — one of the most famous poems about the Chicago Cubs :cubs: was published in the New York Evening Mail — Franklin P. Adams’ “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”:
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 a Giant hit into a double—
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”
Al Yellon talks about the poem more on Bleed Cubbie Blue, perhaps the best Chicago Cubs :cubs: blog.
Now I wonder if there’s any poetry about, say, Peter Mordecai Centennial “Three-Finger” Brown…
“Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” (also known as “Gotham’s Woe”) stands up there with “Casey at the Bat.”
At least, I think it does. :party: