The 1906 Chicago Cubs rank as one of the best all-around teams ever. Their record of 116-36 is the highest percentage in baseball history.

The Cubs' trio of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance is the most celebrated double play combination in history. Cub fans loved the hard-nose playing infielders, and flocked to the ballpark daily.

First baseman Frank Chance, who was also the team manager, ruled with an 'iron hand.' He allowed none of his players to shake hands with opposing players, and imposed a fine of $10 if any of his players so much as greeted the opposition with a 'Hi, how are you.' Boxing heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan once called Chance, "The greatest amateur brawler in the world."

The Cubs' pitching mound master was Mordecai 'Three Finger' Brown, who went 26-6 in 1906 and captured the attention of the nation with a stingy 1.04 ERA. In fact: the team's ERA of 1.76 was the first below 2.00 since the mound's distance was moved back to the 60' 6" that is still in use. The Cubs starting rotation included Jack Pfiester, 20-8, 1.51 ERA, and Ed Reulbach 19-4, 1.65 ERA. This trio of pitchers finished the year #s 1, 2 and 3 in ERA in the NL. Overall, the Cubs scored 80 more runs than its nearest rival and allowed 89 fewer. Completing the starting rotation were Carl Lundgren 17-6, 2.21 ERA and Jack Taylor 12-3, 1.83 ERA.

Frank Schulte's seven home runs led the Cubs, which hit 20 as a team. Third baseman Harry Steinbach hit .327 and led the Cubs with 83 RBIs. The 'heavy hitting' of Schulte, Steinbach and Chance helped the Cubs to top the league in batting average and slugging percentage, and the team ranked number one in fielding percentage also. However, it was the team's pitching, which was second to none, that was the sole focus of the country's news-media. Baseballhistorian.com