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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

List Of Chicago Cubs Opening Day Starting Pitchers

The Chicago Cubs are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Chicago that plays in the National League Central division. In the history of the franchise, it has also played under the names Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Colts and Chicago Orphans. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The Cubs have used 68 different starting pitchers on Opening Day since they first became a Major League team in 1876. The Cubs have a record of 74 wins, 60 losses and 2 ties in their Opening Day games.

The Cubs have played in seven different home ball parks. They have played at their current home, Wrigley Field, since 1916. They have a record of 22 wins, 21 losses and 1 tie in Opening Day games at Wrigley Field. They had an Opening Day record of six wins, one loss and one tie at their other home ball parks, for a total home record in Opening Day games of 28 wins, 22 losses and 2 ties. Their record in Opening Day away games is 46 wins and 38 losses.

Ferguson Jenkins holds the Cubs record for most Opening Day starts with seven, in which his record was two wins, two losses and three no decisions. Carlos Zambrano has made six Opening Day starts. Larry Corcoran, Clark Griffith, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Charlie Root and Rick Sutcliffe have each made five Opening Day starts for the Cubs. Orval Overall, Lon Warneke, Bob Rush, Larry Jackson and Rick Reuschel each made four Opening Day starts for the Cubs, and Bill Hutchison, Jon Lieber, Ray Burris, Claude Passeau, Jack Taylor and Hippo Vaughn each made three such starts.

Five Cubs' Opening Day starting pitchers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Griffith, Alexander, Jenkins, Al Spalding and John Clarkson. In addition, 300–game winner Greg Maddux was the Cubs' Opening Day starting pitcher in 1992. The Cubs have won the modern World Series championship three times,in 1907, 1908 and 2016. Overall was the Cubs' Opening Day starting pitcher both seasons of 1907 and 1908 and the Cubs won both of those Opening Day games. Don Cardwell was the Cubs' Opening Day starting pitcher against the Houston Colt .45s on April 10, 1962, the first game in Houston's history. The Cubs lost the game by a score of 11–2.

Key

Season Each year is linked to an article about that particular Cubs season.
W Win
L Loss
T Tie game
ND (W) No decision by starting pitcher; Cubs won game
ND (L) No decision by starting pitcher; Cubs lost game
(W) Cubs won game; no information on starting pitcher's decision
(L) Cubs lost game; no information on starting pitcher's decision
Final score Game score with Cubs runs listed first
Location Stadium in italics for home game
(#) Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Cubs
* Advanced to the post-season
** National League Champions
World Series Champions

Pitchers

African-American man wearing a blue shirt and a white sportsjacket riding on a blue vehicle.
Ferguson Jenkins made seven Opening Day starts for the Cubs.
White man with beard and mustache standing on a baseball field with his hand in his mouth, wearing a white Cubs uniform with blue pinstripes and no cap.
Rick Sutcliffe made five Opening Day starts for the Cubs.
A pitcher finishing his delivery. Pitcher appears to be throwing on the sidelines.
Grover Cleveland Alexander made five Opening Day starts for the Cubs.
Baseball card showing a head shot of a man facing forward wearing a white hat with a "C" on it. The card says "Cubs" in the upper right corner and says "Ed Reulbach of the Chicago Nationals" on the bottom.
Ed Reulbach was the Cubs' Opening Day starting pitcher in 1911.
Baseball card showing a head shot of a man facing forward wearing a white hat with a "C" on it. The card says "Cubs" in the upper right corner and says "Orval Overall of the Chicago Nationals" on the bottom.
Orval Overall made four Opening Day starts for the Cubs.
White man in medium shot. Man has receding hairline and mustache. He is wearing a collared shirt and a button down sweater or pinstriped jacket.
John Clarkson made two Opening Day starts for the Cubs.
Baseball card with photo of full shot of man standing wearing a baseball uniform. The cap is dark and the shirt says "Indianapolis". Near the top of the photo are the words "Old Judge Cigarettes" and near the bottom are the words :CORCORAN, P, Indianapolis. At the bottom of the card beneath the photo it states "GOODWIN & CO. New York.
Larry Corcoran made five Opening Day starts for the Cubs.
Closeup sketch of man with dark hair and a handlebar mustache. Man's head is turned 3/4 towards the camera and he is wearing a jacket and collar.
Fred Goldsmith was the Cubs' Opening Day starting pitcher in 1883.
Season Pitcher Decision Final
score
Opponent Location Ref(s)
1876** Al Spalding (W) 4–0 Louisville Grays Louisville Baseball Park
1877 George Bradley (W) 6–5 Hartford Dark Blues 23rd Street Grounds
1878 Terry Larkin (W) 5–4 Indianapolis Blues South Street Park
1879 Terry Larkin (2) (W) 4–3 Syracuse Stars Lake Front Park
1880** Larry Corcoran (W) 4–3 Cincinnati Reds Bank Street Grounds
1881** Larry Corcoran (2) (W) 8–5 Cleveland Spiders Lake Front Park
1882** Larry Corcoran (3) L 5–7 Buffalo Bisons Riverside Grounds
1883 Fred Goldsmith (W) 7–4 Detroit Wolverines Recreation Park
1884 Larry Corcoran (4) (L) 3–15 New York Gothams Polo Grounds
1885** Larry Corcoran (5) L 2–3 St. Louis Maroons Union Grounds
1886** John Clarkson (W) 6–5 Kansas City Cowboys Association Park
1887 John Clarkson (2) (L) 2–6 Pittsburgh Pirates Recreation Park
1888 George Van Haltren W 5–4 Indianapolis Hoosiers Seventh Street Park
1889 Bill Hutchison (L) 5–8 Pittsburgh Pirates Recreation Park
1890 Bill Hutchison (2) (W) 5–4 Cincinnati Reds League Park
1891 Pat Luby (W) 7–6 Pittsburgh Pirates Exposition Park
1892 Ad Gumbert (W) 14–10 St. Louis Browns Sportsman's Park
1893 Willie McGill (L) 1–10 Cincinnati Reds League Park
1894 Bill Hutchison (3) (L) 6–10 Cincinnati Reds League Park
1895 Clark Griffith (W) 10–7 St. Louis Browns Robison Field
1896 Danny Friend (W) 4–2 Louisville Colonels Eclipse Park
1897 Clark Griffith (2) L 7–8 Cincinnati Reds League Park
1898 Clark Griffith (3) (W) 2–1 St. Louis Browns Robison Field
1899 Clark Griffith (4) (W) 15–1 Louisville Colonels Eclipse Park
1900 Clark Griffith (5) (W) 13–10 Cincinnati Reds League Park
1901 Jack Taylor (W) 8–7 St. Louis Cardinals Robison Field
1902 Jack Taylor (2) W 6–1 Cincinnati Reds Palace of the Fans
1903 Jack Taylor (3) L 1–2 St. Louis Cardinals Robison Field
1904 Jake Weimer (L) 2–3 Cincinnati Reds Palace of the Fans
1905 Carl Lundgren (W) 6–1 St. Louis Cardinals Robison Field
1906** Carl Lundgren (2) (W) 7–2 Cincinnati Reds Palace of the Fans
1907 Orval Overall (W) 6–1 St. Louis Cardinals West Side Park II
1908 Orval Overall (2) (W) 6–5 Cincinnati Reds Palace of the Fans
1909 Orval Overall (3) (W) 3–1 St. Louis Cardinals West Side Park II
1910** Orval Overall (4) (L) 0–1 Cincinnati Reds Palace of the Fans
1911 Ed Reulbach T 3–3 St. Louis Cardinals West Side Park II
1912 King Cole (L) 6–10 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1913 Jimmy Lavender (L) 3–5 St. Louis Cardinals West Side Park II
1914 Larry Cheney (L) 1–10 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1915 Hippo Vaughn (W) 7–2 St. Louis Cardinals West Side Park II
1916 George McConnell (W) 7–1 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1917 Hippo Vaughn (2) (W) 5–3 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1918** Grover Cleveland Alexander (L) 2–4 St. Louis Cardinals Robison Field
1919 Hippo Vaughn (3) (W) 5–1 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1920 Grover Cleveland Alexander (2) (L) 3–7 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1921 Grover Cleveland Alexander (3) W 5–2 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
1922 Grover Cleveland Alexander (4) W 7–3 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1923 Tiny Osborne L 2–3 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1924 Vic Aldridge L 5–6 St. Louis Cardinals Sportsman's Park
1925 Grover Cleveland Alexander (5) W 8–2 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1926 Wilbur Cooper ND (L) 6–7 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1927 Charley Root W 10–1 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
1928 Charley Root (2) L 1–5 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1929** Charley Root (3) L 3–4 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1930 Sheriff Blake W 9–8 St. Louis Cardinals Sportsman's Park
1931 Charley Root (4) W 6–2 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1932** Charley Root (5) (L) 4–5 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1933 Lon Warneke W 3–0 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
1934 Lon Warneke (2) W 6–0 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1935** Lon Warneke (3) W 4–3 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
1936 Lon Warneke (4) W 12–7 St. Louis Cardinals Sportsman's Park
1937 Larry French (L) 0–5 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1938** Clay Bryant ND (W) 3–2 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1939 Bill Lee W 4–2 St. Louis Cardinals Sportsman's Park
1940 Bill Lee (2) (L) 1–2 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1941 Claude Passeau W 7–4 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1942 Claude Passeau (2) W 5–4 St. Louis Cardinals Sportsman's Park
1943 Paul Derringer (L) 0–6 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1944 Hank Wyse W 3–0 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1945** Paul Derringer (2) W 3–2 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
1946 Claude Passeau (3) ND (W) 4–3 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1947 Hank Borowy (L) 0–1 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1948 Russ Meyer (L) 2–3 Pittsburgh Pirates Forbes Field
1949 Dutch Leonard (L) 9–6 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1950 Johnny Schmitz ND (W) 9–6 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1951 Frank Hiller ND (W) 8–3 Cincinnati Reds Wrigley Field
1952 Paul Minner ND (W) 6–5 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1953 Bob Rush W 3–2 Cincinnati Reds Wrigley Field
1954 Paul Minner (2) W 13–4 St. Louis Cardinals Sportsman's Park
1955 Bob Rush (2) ND (W) 7–5 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1956 Bob Rush (3) L 0–6 Milwaukee Braves County Stadium
1957 Bob Rush (4) L 1–4 Milwaukee Braves Wrigley Field
1958 Jim Brosnan W 4–0 St. Louis Cardinals Sportsman's Park
1959 Bob Anderson W 6–2 Los Angeles Dodgers Wrigley Field
1960 Bob Anderson (2) ND (L) 2–3 Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
1961 Glen Hobbie L 1–7 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1962 Don Cardwell L 2–11 Houston Colt .45s Colt Stadium
1963 Larry Jackson L 1–5 Los Angeles Dodgers Wrigley Field
1964 Larry Jackson (2) W 8–4 Pittsburgh Pirates Forbes Field
1965 Larry Jackson (3) T 10–10 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
1966 Larry Jackson (4) L 1–9 San Francisco Giants Candlestick Park
1967 Ferguson Jenkins W 4–2 Philadelphia Phillies Wrigley Field
1968 Joe Niekro L 4–9 Cincinnati Reds Crosley Field
1969 Ferguson Jenkins (2) ND (W) 7–6 Philadelphia Phillies Wrigley Field
1970 Ferguson Jenkins (3) L 0–2 Philadelphia Phillies Connie Mack Stadium
1971 Ferguson Jenkins (4) W 2–1 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
1972 Ferguson Jenkins (5) ND (L) 2–4 Philadelphia Phillies Wrigley Field
1973 Ferguson Jenkins (6) ND (W) 3–2 Montreal Expos Wrigley Field
1974 Bill Bonham W 2–0 Philadelphia Phillies Wrigley Field
1975 Bill Bonham (2) ND (L) 4–8 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1976 Ray Burris L 0–5 St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium
1977 Ray Burris (2) L 3–5 New York Mets Wrigley Field
1978 Rick Reuschel L 0–1 Pittsburgh Pirates Three Rivers Stadium
1979 Rick Reuschel (2) L 6–10 New York Mets Wrigley Field
1980 Rick Reuschel (3) L 2–5 New York Mets Shea Stadium
1981 Rick Reuschel (4) L 0–2 New York Mets Wrigley Field
1982 Doug Bird W 3–2 Cincinnati Reds Riverfront Stadium
1983 Ferguson Jenkins (7) L 0–3 Montreal Expos Wrigley Field
1984* Dick Ruthven W 5–3 San Francisco Giants Candlestick Park
1985 Rick Sutcliffe W 2–1 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
1986 Rick Sutcliffe (2) L 1–2 St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium
1987 Rick Sutcliffe (3) L 3–9 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
1988 Rick Sutcliffe (4) ND (W) 10–9 Atlanta Braves Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
1989* Rick Sutcliffe (5) W 5–4 Philadelphia Phillies Wrigley Field
1990 Mike Bielecki ND (W) 2–1 Philadelphia Phillies Wrigley Field
1991 Danny Jackson L 1–4 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
1992 Greg Maddux W 4–3 Philadelphia Phillies Veterans Stadium
1993 Mike Morgan L 0–1 Atlanta Braves Wrigley Field
1994 Mike Morgan (2) L 8–12 New York Mets Wrigley Field
1995 Jim Bullinger W 7–1 Cincinnati Reds Riverfront Stadium
1996 Jaime Navarro W 5–4 San Diego Padres Wrigley Field
1997 Terry Mulholland L 2–4 Florida Marlins Pro Player Stadium
1998* Kevin Tapani L 6–11 Florida Marlins Pro Player Stadium
1999 Steve Trachsel L 2–4 Houston Astros Astrodome
2000 Jon Lieber W 5–3 New York Mets Tokyo Dome
2001 Jon Lieber (2) ND (L) 4–5 Montreal Expos Wrigley Field
2002 Jon Lieber (3) ND (L) 4–5 Cincinnati Reds Cinergy Field
2003* Kerry Wood W 15–2 New York Mets Shea Stadium
2004 Kerry Wood (2) W 7–4 Cincinnati Reds Great American Ball Park
2005 Carlos Zambrano ND (W) 16–6 Arizona Diamondbacks Bank One Ballpark
2006 Carlos Zambrano (2) ND (W) 16–7 Cincinnati Reds Great American Ball Park
2007* Carlos Zambrano (3) L 1–5 Cincinnati Reds Great American Ball Park
2008* Carlos Zambrano (4) ND (L) 3–4 Milwaukee Brewers Wrigley Field
2009 Carlos Zambrano (5) W 4–2 Houston Astros Minute Maid Park
2010 Carlos Zambrano (6) L 5–16 Atlanta Braves Turner Field
2011 Ryan Dempster L 3–6 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
2012 Ryan Dempster (2) ND 1–2 Washington Nationals Wrigley Field
2013 Jeff Samardzija W 3–1 Pittsburgh Pirates PNC Park
2014 Jeff Samardzija (2) ND (L) 0–1 Pittsburgh Pirates PNC Park
2015* Jon Lester L 0–3 St. Louis Cardinals Wrigley Field
2016 Jake Arrieta W 9–0 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Angel Stadium
2017* Jon Lester (2) ND (L) 3–4 St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium
2018 Jon Lester (3) ND (W) 8–4 Miami Marlins Marlins Park
2019 Jon Lester (4) W 12–4 Texas Rangers Globe Life Park in Arlington
2020 Kyle Hendricks W 3–0 Milwaukee Brewers Wrigley Field
2021 Kyle Hendricks (2) L 3–5 Pittsburgh Pirates Wrigley Field
2022 Kyle Hendricks (3) ND (W) 5–4 Milwaukee Brewers Wrigley Field
2023 Marcus Stroman W 4–0 Milwaukee Brewers Wrigley Field
2024 Justin Steele ND (L) 3–4 Texas Rangers Globe Life Field