• National Major League Baseball catcher and manager who played nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He is widely considered to have been the greatest National League catcher in the first half of the 20th century.
  
  
• On September 28, 1938, with the Cubs trailing Pittsburgh by a half a game, he experienced the highlight of his career. The lightless Wrigley Field was growing dark in a hard-fought game with the Pirates, the score tied 5-5; if it had become too dark, the game would have had to be replayed from the beginning. With two out in the bottom of the ninth, two strikes on him, and the umpires ready to end the game, Hartnett launched a shot into the gloom which would be remembered as his 'Homer in the Gloamin'. The Cubs were now in first place, culminating a 19-3-1 September run, and the pennant was clinched three days later.
  
  
• His bat and catcher's mask were the first artifacts sent to the newly constructed Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.

• Mark Grace was never a flashy power hitter, and was often overlooked on Cubs teams that included Sammy Sosa, Andre Dawson and Ryne Sandberg. However, Grace was a consistent, steady hitter, compiling almost 2,500 hits and more than 500 doubles during his 16-year career. He had a career on-base percentage of .383 and collected four Gold Glove Awards.

• Grace holds the distinction of collecting the most hits (1,754) in the decade of the 1990s. Currently Grace and Pete Rose are the only major league baseball players to lead a decade in hits and not be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Grace also had the most doubles in the 1990s with 364 and the most sacrifice flies with 73.  He was the last Cub to have hit for the cycle, doing so on Sunday, May 9, 1993.

• Many of you will remember Mark Grace's infamous 2003 interview with Jim Rome on ESPN's "Rome is Burning" program in which he defined the off-color term "slumpbuster" for a national audience.

Second Base: Ryne Sandberg

• Nicknamed "Ryno", is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball who spent nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named after relief pitcher Ryne Duren, and is recognized as one of the best second basemen of all time.
  
  
• Sandberg established himself as a perennial All-Star and Gold Glove candidate, making 10 consecutive All-Star appearances and winning 9 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1983 to 1991. His career .989 fielding percentage is a major league record at second base.
  
  
• In 1990, Sandberg led the National League in home runs – a rarity for a second baseman – with 40.
  
  
• In 1992, Sandberg became the highest paid player in baseball at the time, signing a $28.4 million four year extension worth $7.1 million a season.
  
  
• Sandberg now manages the Cub Class A affiliate Peoria Chiefs.

• A former third baseman who played almost his entire career with the Chicago Cubs, Santo was named a National League All-Star 9 times during his 15 seasons of play (1960 - 1974), and won five consecutive Gold Glove awards for fielding excellence (1964-1968).
  
  
• During his 14-season run with the Cubs, Santo hit 337 home runs; he was the first third baseman to hit over 300 home runs and win five Gold Gloves.
  
  
• During "Ron Santo Day" at Wrigley Field on August 28, 1971, he revealed his struggle with diabetes. He was diagnosed at the age of 18, and was given a life expectancy of 25 years. Santo has had both his legs amputated below the knee as a result of his diabetes.
  
  
• Ron Santo joined the Cubs' broadcast booth in 1990 as the WGN color commentator. In Chicago, Santo is well-loved for his unabashed broadcast enthusiasm.

• Played his entire career with the Chicago Cubs (1953–1971). Banks is a member of the Hall of Fame. His nickname is Mr. Cub.
  
  
• Banks signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1950 and then the Major Leagues in 1953 with the Cubs as their first black player. He played for the Cubs his entire career, starting at shortstop and moving to first base in 1962.
  
  
• Banks became well known for his catch phrase of, "It's a beautiful day for a ballgame... Let's play two!” expressing his pure love for the game of baseball.
  
  
• In 1955, he set the record for grand slams in a single season with five, a record that stood for over thirty years.
  
  
• Banks won the National League MVP Award twice, in 1958 and 1959, despite the fact that the Cubs were not pennant contenders.

• After years as a respected right fielder, he emerged during the 1998 season as one of baseball's greatest. Both Sosa and Mark McGwire passed Roger Maris's single season home run mark of 61 home runs that had stood since 1961.
  
  
• In 2001, he hit 64 home runs, becoming the first player to hit 60 home runs in three seasons in his career.
  
  
• In recognition of his accomplishments as a hitter, Sosa won the Silver Slugger award in 1995 and in 1998 through 2002.
  
  
• On June 3, 2003, Sosa was ejected from a Chicago Cubs-Tampa Bay Devil Rays game in the first inning when umpires discovered he had been using a corked bat.
  
  
• While playing for the Rangers on June 20, 2007 against the Cubs Sosa hit his 600th home run, becoming the 5th player in professional baseball to achieve that mark.

• Center fielder in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1934. He is best known for his record-setting 191-RBI season of 1930.
  
  
• Wilson was a true rags-to-riches story. He grew up in the Pennsylvania steel mill town of Ellwood City. Although only 5'6" tall, he weighed 195 pounds, mostly muscle, and had an 18" neck but only size-6 shoes. One sports writer wrote that he was “built along the lines of a beer keg, and not wholly unfamiliar with its contents”.
  
  
• Wilson eclipsed the 100-RBI mark in 6 seasons. He set the National League single-season record for home runs with 56 in 1930, a record that stood until 1998 when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both surpassed it, with 70 and 66 respectively.
  
  
• In addition to hitting 56 home runs, leading the league with 105 walks, and boasting a batting average of .356, he drove in 191 runs, a mark that remains one of the most untouchable MLB records.

• A highly competitive player on talented Chicago Cubs teams that never reached the post-season, he finally realized his dream of playing in the post-season late in his career with the Oakland Athletics.
  
  
• Williams was selected as the Rookie of the Year in 1961 and set a National League record for consecutive games played with 1,117 between 1962-1971.
  
  
• From 1961 to 1973, Williams annually hit at least twenty home runs and was responsible for eighty-four or more RBIs.
  
  
• After accumulating a lifetime .290 BA with 426 homers and 1475 RBI, Billy Williams was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1999, he was named as a finalist to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

• Due to a farm-machinery accident in his youth, Brown lost parts of two fingers on his right hand and acquired his nickname as a result.
  
  
• The manner in which he had to grip the ball resulted in an unusual amount of spin, an effective curveball, and deceptive fast balls and change-ups. Extra topspin made it difficult for batters to connect.
  
  
• He played for the Chicago Cubs from 1904 until 1912. During this stretch, he won 20 or more games six times and was part of two World Series championships.
  
  
• Brown finished his career with a 239-130 record, 1375 strikeouts, and a 2.06 ERA, the third best in Major League Baseball history.
  
  
• He was selected posthumously to the Hall of Fame in 1949 and in 1999, 83 years after his last game and 51 years after his death, he was named as a finalist to the All-Century Team.