Len & Bob's baseball blog

One of the great friends and assets for the WGN-TV broadcasts, as well as the Cubs Media Relations Department is Ed Hartig, who serves as the Cubs de facto historian. Ed is a font of incredibly interesting and useful information and a tireless digger when it comes to some very minute details. He is a monthly contributor to Vineline and was kind enough to spend a few minutes with us and give us a look into his work.

How did you get into the role of Cubs historian?

The role is unofficial. The Cubs, like most major
league clubs, don’t have an official historian.

About 11-12 years ago, I volunteered to give tours of
Wrigley Field for Cubs Care. A member of the Cubs
publications department went on one of my tours.
Apparently, he liked what I said and asked me if I’d
like to write a history column for Vine Line. I’m
more of a researcher than a writer, but I told him I’d
give it a try. A short time later I was introduced to
Chuck Wasserstrom, who then worked in media relations.
Chuck was responsible for producing the annual Media
Guide. I had done some work with the Baseball
Encyclopedia so Chuck asked if I’d help proof the
history section of the Guide. When it came time to
list me in the credits - Chuck listed me as “Research
Historian”. I guess the unofficial title has stuck.
Chuck also put me in contact with some of the local
beat writers who occasionally would ask me to do
research for them. So I guess Chuck gets the credit
or the blame (depending on your perspective).

A decade later, I’m still writing for Vine Line (with
a lot of help from some very kind editors) and helping
with the Guide.

Are there such things as normal inquiries that you
investigate on a normal basis?

Most normal inquiries are handled in the off-season in
preparation of the Media Guide. Questions like “When
was the last time... “, “What was the most...”, “Who
was the first...” can often be anticipated and
researched in the off-season.

Of course, some things aren’t anticipated. Who would
have guessed that Derrek Lee would be hitting near
.380 in early July? In situations like that, you
simply watch what happens on the field and try to
anticipate what Cubs Media Relations, the announcers
or the writers might find interesting and useful.

I also look ahead on the schedule for possible notes
of interest. When was the last time the Cubs played a
team from Washington, DC? Or is there a possible
match-up of 300 game winners in the next couple days?

This stuff is meant to be fun. Sometimes you come up
with a good note - sometimes you don’t. Luckly for me
the bad ones never reach the air.

What is the oddest request you've gotten?

Several years ago Cubs pitcher Micah Bowie asked me to
help trace his family lineage. There were family
stories that he might be related to James Bowie,
defender of the Alamo and for whom the “Bowie Knife”
was named.

What are the primary assets you use in your research?

First and foremost the computer. Access to mlb.com,
ESPN, the USA Today and out-of-town newspapers is
essential. In addition, over the years I’ve developed
several Cubs databases of statistics, games, players
and ballparks that can be searched in a matter of
moments.

Secondly, I belong to a baseball research group called
the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
which consists of about 7000 baseball fans across the
country. I have a network of SABR friend who have
expertise in almost any subject on baseball -
statistics, uniform numbers, ballparks, collegiate
baseball. I help them with their research; they help
me with mine. Besides being baseball fans, members of
SABR are doctors, lawyers and librarians which opens
up countless other avenues of research.

By the way, one SABR member I knew worked at the Alamo
Museum. He put me in touch with a couple experts on
James Bowie and after a little digging we determined
that Micah Bowie was not a direct descendent of James
Bowie.

Lastly, I have a fairly decent baseball library. I
have several bookshelves filled with Cubs Media
Guides, Sporting News publications, National League
Green Books, baseball cards and magazines. A worn
copy of the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia and several
team media guides sit opened most of the time.