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Top 50 Chicago Cubs

When it comes to iconic sports teams in North America, few can come close to the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs first came into existence in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings would join the National League in 1876.  Before 1900, Chicago was one of the most successful teams.  Led by Cap Anson, Chicago would win the National League Pennant in 1876, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1885 & 1886.  They would go through a couple of name changes to the Colts, Orphans and would officially adopt the name of the Cubs in 1903.

The Cubs did well in the first decade of the 1900s where with stars like Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, Frank Chance, and Three Finger Brown and would win the World Series in 1907 and 1908.  That would begin the longest championship drought in sports.

You know the story.  The alleged curse of the goat.  Steve Bartman. 

It would take until 2016 when they would win the World Series again, although they did win the National League Pennant multiple times between them (1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938 & 1945).  They also had Hall of Famers at that time, like Ernie Banks and Ryne Sandberg.

As of this writing, three World Series Championships is not very many for a team that has been around since the beginning, but again, how many organizations are as well known as the Cubbies!


Not too many!

This list is up to the end of the 2023 season.

Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.

39. Larry Corcoran

39. Larry Corcoran
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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A member of Cap Anson's dominant Chicago White Stockings teams of the 1880s, Larry Corcoran had five seasons where he was a pivotal contributor to the team.  From 1880 to 1884, Corcoran won 170 Games and was rare that he was a switch-pitcher, meaning he could alternate throwing arms.  Corcoran made history in 1882 when he became the first pitcher to throw a second no-hitter in his career, which was the same season where he led the National League in ERA, WHIP, and H/9/.  Like so many of his era, the heavy workload took its toll, and he had a…
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40. Andy Pafko

40. Andy Pafko
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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Andy Pako first broke into the Cubs roster in 1943, and in 1945 he had 159 Hits and was part of the Chicago's National League Pennant winning club.  Pafko’s playing time did not reduce when the rest of the big leaguers came home from the War, and he would be named an All-Star four years in a row (1947 to 1950).  In three of those years, he batted over .300, and he had a pair of 30 Home Run seasons.  Overall, he accumulated 1,048 Hits, and he would bat .294 with 126 Home Runs for the club.The Cubs selected Pafko…
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41. Bill Dahlen

41. Bill Dahlen
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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Bill Dahlen played his first eight seasons in Chicago, which is where the legend of “Bad Bill” began.  As a member of the Colts/Orphans, Dahlen proved to be a very good hitter who had three .300 seasons and was .299 overall for Chicago.  Dahlen would collect 1,170 Hits with 561 RBI for the team with a 34.0 bWAR.
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42. Heinie Zimmerman

42. Heinie Zimmerman
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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Heinie Zimmerman was a member of the Chicago Cubs World Series Champions in 1907 and 1908, but this was early in his career, and he didn't play much for the Cubs at the time. Instead, he would come into his own in the early 1910s, and in 1912 specifically, he would win the Triple Crown with a stellar .372 Batting Average.  Zimmerman would also lead the National League in Hits (207), Doubles (41), and Slugging Percentage (.571) but amazingly only finished sixth in MVP voting.  Zimmerman would have two other .300 seasons, and overall as a Cub, he would bat…
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43. Kiki Cuyler

43. Kiki Cuyler
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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While Kiki Cuyler’s best years in baseball were as a Pittsburgh Pirate, he actually spent more time with the Chicago Cubs.  Playing 949 Games for Cubs, Cuyler would have five seasons where he batted over .300, two of which would see him exceed .350.  Cuyler's first three years in Chicago (1928-30) would see him lead the National League in Stolen Bases, and he would also finish first in Doubles in 1934.  Overall, he batted .325 with 1,199 Hits for the Cubs, and he would be chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968 when he was voted in by…
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44. Andre Dawson

44. Andre Dawson
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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The story of Andre Dawson has long been told when it comes in relation to the Chicago Cubs.  It was the year of "Collusion," and Dawson and his agent agreed to a blank amount in front of the Cubs management.  The Cubs would sign him for a half a million dollars, a bargain in every stretch of the word.  "The Hawk" would then proceed to have the best season of his career where he blasted a league-leading 49 Home Runs, and 137 Runs Batted In and would win the National League MVP Award.  Dawson never had a year like that…
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45. Ed Reulbach

45. Ed Reulbach
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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A Pitcher for the back-to-back World Series Championship teams in 1907 and 1908, Ed Reulbach was the beneficiary of playing for some potent Cubs teams.  It certainly didn't hurt his winning percentage as he would lead the National League three years in a row in that category (1906-08), and he had at least 17 Wins in his first five years.  The success of his team didn't mean that he didn't help his cause as he had an ERA under 2.00 in four of those years, all of which were good enough for a top six finish.  Reulbach would also lead…
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46. Kerry Wood

46. Kerry Wood
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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Kerry Wood may not have had the career in the majors that he was pegged to have when he was a 21-year old flamethrower, but this was still a strong run for the Strikeout master.  For the Cubs, Wood became a two-time All-Star (2003 & 2008) and would lead the National League in Strikeouts in 2003.  He would throw for 1,470 Strikeouts over 1,278 Innings for 80 Wins.
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47. Derrek Lee

47. Derrek Lee
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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A World Series Champion with the Florida Marlins in 2003, Derrek Lee was one of the many players who was jettisoned off in their fire sale.  Lee would play for the Cubs for six and a half seasons, where he had 1,046 for the team with a beautiful Slash Line of .298/.378/.524 and was a two-time All-Star.  He will always be remembered for his spectacular 2005 season, where he won the Batting Title (.335), Slugging Title (.662), and OPS Title (1.080), and he would have career highs in Home Runs (46).  He would finish third in MVP voting that year,…
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48. Kyle Hendricks

48. Kyle Hendricks
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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Kyle Hendricks was drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2011, but while he was still in the minors, he was packaged to the Cubs for Ryan Dempster.  Hendricks made his debut for the Cubs in July of 2014, finishing the year 7-2 with a 2.46 ERA and a seventh-place finish for the Rookie of the Year. Hendricks entered 2015 as a permanent member of the rotation and was decent (8-7) and helped the Cubs make the playoffs, but he was fantastic in 2016, where he went 16-8 and led the NL in ERA (2.13) and ERA+ (196).  Finishing third in…
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49. Rick Sutcliffe

49. Rick Sutcliffe
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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There have been a lot of unlikely Cy Young winners over the years, but perhaps nobody more shocking than Rick Sutcliffe, who won the NL version of 1984.  This is not because he wasn't a good Pitcher or a flash in the pan but because he never arrived in the National League until June 13.
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50. Jake Arrieta

50. Jake Arrieta
Top 50 Chicago Cubs
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It is safe to say that midway through the 2013 season that when the Baltimore Orioles traded Jake Arrieta (with Pedro Strop) for Steve Clevenger and Scott Feldman that the Cubs got the better end of the deal.
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