Happy Jody Davis in a champagne filled clubhouse.
And Jody, this is what you've been waiting your whole career for.
I'll tell you what, this is so great.
It's unbelievable.
It's been a while now coming, but I'll tell you what, there's nothing any better.
What was it like to catch Sud Cliff tonight?
A two hitter, probably as good a stuff as he had in a while.
Well, yeah, he had his good stuff.
I haven't caught him that he hadn't had his good stuff.
Maybe he didn't have quite the pop on his fastball, but he changed speeds and his location
was so good that it really didn't matter.
Oh, this is great.
All the work in spring training to be here tonight?
Oh man, all the work the whole year of the spring training, off season, everything makes
it worthwhile right now.
Weren't you the one who said what did the Mets do?
Yeah, what did the Mets do tonight?
It doesn't matter what the Mets did tonight or any other night because that's it.
Chicago's been waiting a long time for this.
Jody, it's just been a magnificent time and everybody came together tonight.
When you came into this ball game, what were you thinking about?
Well, we knew we were right there, we were one away.
With Rick going, we knew if we could get him some runs early, then it would just make us
a lot easier on us.
To put one up in the first three innings and to give him a three run lead right there off
the bat, we knew right then that it was going to be close.
How important is that first game against San Diego and Wrigley Field?
Well, I think they'll all be important then, but right now we're not going to think about
where it's going to go.
We'll have some fun tonight.
Well, Jody, take care and celebrate.
We're going to throw it to Jack Brickhouse.
All right, look who I've got here, a half-ground fellow who's the happiest half-ground man in
the world.
Dallas, congratulations.
I know what this means to you.
Wow, Brick, it's neat to see all these guys enjoy it.
It's neat to have our fans enjoy it.
I know it's neat to have you enjoy it, but golly, that was great that you had a little
share of it and I'm proud of you.
We waited a long time for this one, Dallas.
We all have waited a long time.
Our Cubs fans have waited a long time.
When did you feel like you had really turned this club around?
Well, I really felt after we came out of spring training, we made the match, it was the near
thing.
We came out of spring training, we played pretty good on the coast and came home and
played good.
I felt then that the team had enough stuff to get it done, but we had a breakdown.
Sanderson Roofham broke down.
We had to go out and make some trades.
We got that done.
Our baseball people worked hard all year.
This baseball team is a good baseball team, Jack Brickhouse.
You know that.
There's nothing about that.
There's no question.
Dallas, I know you've got nine million people to say hello to.
Go right ahead.
Here's Larry Ball, by the way.
Larry.
Larry Ball has been through it.
Hey, Harry, come on in here, buddy.
Larry Ball, you've been through it, kid.
A lot of times.
What goes on in your mind right now?
I'm just as happy now as I was when we won it all those years in Philly.
It means a lot.
It really means a lot because when we left spring training, a lot of people were down
on Dallas because they didn't think he was doing the job.
He went out and made a couple of trades.
I'll tell you what.
Everyone in Chicago is happy.
Everybody on this team is happy.
We've got our work ahead of us now.
San Diego is going to be tough, but I'm glad all this magic number stuff is over and we
can get on with what we have to do.
That a boy.
Hey, Steve, you've got Keith Morland there, haven't you?
I do have Keith Morland.
He's been through this before.
What's the difference between 1980 and this year for you, Red?
First of all, Cindy, I told you we'd do it.
I think the thing is different.
In 1980, I was going to establish a winning baseball team.
I came to this team.
I was the first transition that Dallas made.
I came here in 1982.
We didn't play too well for a couple of years and you didn't know what was going to happen.
This year, I wasn't sure I was going to get a chance to play.
Now, just to get the opportunity to be on a ball club as division champion, I thank
the good Lord for that opportunity and love everyone who's got in this room.
It's nothing you can describe, Steve.
Losing is like kissing your sister.
This is the greatest feeling you can have in the world.
We've got two more of these parties I hope to go through.
I've been through this before.
Let's just celebrate tonight and try to take on the pod race.
It's got to be vindication for you because it was a tough two months of the season.
I remember talking to you then.
It was frustrating for you.
All of a sudden, everything came together.
Does it make all the work pay off?
Well, anytime you get, like I said, you've got to feel fortunate.
Anytime you get the opportunity to play in the big leagues and then you get the opportunity
to play on a team that's a contender and then get a chance to win like this.
Like I said, at that time, I wanted to go play baseball.
If I'd have known now what I know now, I wouldn't have said a word.
But it ended up just like I couldn't have written it down on a piece of paper and made
it any better.
Well, Keith, congratulations.
Thank you.
Jack Brickhouse is with Ryan Sandberg.
Take it away, Jack.
All right, Ryany boy.
Here's the guy that really crowded around.
It's the one you can breathe in here, Ryan.
What a feeling this has to be for a young guy like you.
Unbelievable.
This is what it's all about, is winning.
And this is what we've been shooting for all year.
And it just seemed like it took a long time to get here.
And it's a great feeling now that everything's happened all right for us.
What were your thoughts on that ninth inning?
Anything at all?
Please hit it to me.
I was ready for the ball hit, just like any other time.
And I was just waiting for that last out.
You know, just feel like a volcano out there, ready to burst in that situation.
At any time this year, did you really feel you were going to have the kind of a season
you're winding up with?
Not really.
I kind of surprised myself this year a little bit.
But you know, I had some success.
And then I got my confidence built up.
And after that, I was expecting a lot of things.
Did you hear all those Cubs fans yelling MVP, MVP the last time you came out?
I heard that.
Great feeling.
A lot of Cubs fans around here.
All right, all right.
Congratulations.
All right, Stevie, what do you got over there, buddy?
Bobby Durnier and a happy Bob Durnier.
It's the first time around for you.
You were there in September with the Phillies, but nothing like all season of contribution,
Bobby.
I'm proud of everybody in here.
And this is it.
This is the best.
Thanks, Vicki, Becky, Casey.
And thanks, everybody in here.
This is great.
These guys are, I'll go to war with them tomorrow.
This is the best.
Is this stuff good for your hair?
I don't know.
Everybody's got it all over them.
I don't care.
I got the worst moss in here, so I don't care.
I think it's terrific.
You had a fine year.
Everybody here is really good.
You're going to be a great player.
I think it's terrific you had a fine year.
Everybody here is really excited and well you should be, Bobby.
Congratulations to you.
Thank you very much.
Stay with us.
We're going to be back in a minute and then we're going to show you a wild scene at Wrigley
Field.
They're going crazy in Chicago.
Be back in a minute.
This is the only place that's going crazy.
They're going crazy at Wrigley Field.
We've got a camera there and we're going to show it all to you.
This is the scene at Wrigley Field.
I think they're going to take that bus.
They're going to take over the bus.
and won maybe the biggest game of the year.
He's my main man.
He's worked off the heart of it, Steve.
And there couldn't have been a greater thrill for me
to see him go out and pitch a game that we needed to win.
He went out and gave us an outstanding effort
and turned us right around.
And when you do something like that,
that just gives you goosebumps inside,
because that's what it's all about.
Three more wins to go.
You got a place on that finger for a ring?
I sure do.
I'll tell you, I was original club.
I know what it is for us to win in Chicago.
There's no greater fans in the world,
and it's the greatest honor in the world to do this
what we're doing right now.
Well, Billy, they're dancing all over town.
Congratulations to you.
It's a pleasure to be associated with you.
Thank you, Steve.
I enjoy it.
We're going to be back in a minute.
Stay tuned.
It is exciting down here.
They continue to go crazy here.
They're going crazy at Wrigley Field, but that's not all.
We take you to the Ultimate Sports Bar and Grill,
where there's a big celebration going on.
I'm here at the Ultimate Sports Bar and Grill.
It's been this way all night long.
It's a historic raving man.
It's a good thing I weighed 220,
otherwise I wouldn't be able to hold on here.
There's a line outside, the fans have been dancing.
It's been absolutely brilliant.
I've got some of the Beecher Bums here.
My name is Harry Hammond.
I like to say hello to the Hottelup Field Beecher Bums.
I'll tell you, I haven't seen anything like this.
The people here are just absolutely wild.
It's been crazy all night long.
We're going to go back to Steve Stone in just a moment.
I don't know what to say.
The beer's been flying for 39 years.
They finally got a winner.
I don't know if we can last much longer.
We've got another night of this and none of us will have lasted through it.
It's a victory for America.
Simply a victory for America.
That sums it up, don't you think?
Let's see if we can talk to a few more people.
Yeah!
You happy?
Yeah, it's a great time.
We're about to go on.
Okay, hey, we've got ourselves quite a group here.
Andy McKenna, the chairman of the board.
Here's Stan Cook, who represents the Tribune Company,
which owns the Cubs.
Here's Harry Carey.
Turn around there, Stan.
Let him take a look at that happy owner's face, will you?
And Andy, congratulations.
You're the guy who picked Dallas Green and Dallas is the guy
who put the Rockland together.
Here's John Madigan, the executive vice president of Tribune Company.
And here's Harry Carey.
Hey, can I tell you something, Harry?
I don't know about you, but I've been waiting 39 years for this,
which is better than half of my life.
Yeah, but you could have been there and you went over to do the Sox game.
I was shut out.
That's why you were doing the Cardinals.
You were the hated enemy from the South yourself.
Now, here we are together, and isn't that great about the game of baseball?
It's terrific.
And I said it couldn't happen to nicer people
and a more deserving company than Tribune Company.
And you know, Andy McKenna is the first guy I knew.
When I saw that you made him president of the Cubs,
I knew you were on the right track.
And from that point on, the graph just went up.
Well, Andy.
The guy who cleaned the scoots,
dollars green, dollars green, got the rest of them.
And here we are.
I hope we get loaded tonight.
Stan Cook, John Madigan, what are your thoughts right now?
You know, after all, you're kind of new at being owners of baseball teams.
I'm new at this.
Yeah, we sure are.
I can't describe it, Jack.
It's just an unbelievable scene.
It's just great for everybody.
Well, the guy who cleaned scoots is going to get some business
and I got the first championship cap.
Cubs 1984 champion.
Well, let's make that say world champion.
Right, absolutely.
Listen, congratulations on the super job you've done this year, pal.
Jack, always a pleasure.
And all of you guys.
That WGN crew is the greatest.
Now let's go back to Steve.
I think he's got Ron Say over there.
Ron, after all you've been through this year with all the injuries,
it's going to make you feel great.
Well, I feel great.
I'm sure everybody feels great.
You know, I'd just like to say thanks to our new management
that's been here for three years.
Plus Dallas for getting a lot of ball players over here in a short period of time.
Those moves turned everything around for us.
We came together as a ball club with GEL.
Congratulations to the city of Chicago, all the cup fans across the country,
all the people that supported us all year at Wrigley Field.
It's been fantastic.
And I'm happy that we lifted the burden off the 69 ball club.
I'm sure those guys will rest in peace from now on.
Congratulations, Ron.
You did a great job.
And put that ghost of 69 to rest.
We're going to be back after this word.
This Cubs clincher celebration is brought to you by your Chicagoland Priceless Plymouth Dealers,
another team that just clinched their best year ever.
Their stars include Jerry Lane.
That's our Cubs in there, fantastic.
Gary Eisenstein.
Okay, Cubs, let's go for it.
Ron Foreman.
Chicago Cubs, we're proud of you.
Lou DeLeo.
Cubs will be more than 84.
John Capone.
Cubs win, Cubs win.
And your Chicagoland Chrysler Plymouth Dealers want to say...
Go Cubs!
This is WGN Television, Channel 9, Chicago.
This Cubs clincher celebration is brought to you by your Chicagoland Chrysler Plymouth Dealers,
another team that just clinched their best year ever.
Their stars include Alan Gaines.
Go Cubs, next World Champs.
Dan Roach.
Cubs are going all the way.
Bill Hager.
Keep it going, Cubs.
Steve Sagan.
Way to go, Cubs.
Frank Mancari.
Cubs win, Cubs win.
And your Chicagoland Chrysler Plymouth Dealers want to say...
Keep going, Cubs!
Well, Harry, I guess a bet's a bet, and here it is finally.
Boy, this is terrible.
Oh, that's not that bad.
A cigar?
No, come on.
How can you smoke these things?
I do think I got the better end of the deal, though.
I will tell you that.
What do you think?
Well, I think I got the better half of the deal all the way around, Steve.
Harry, it's been quite a year, but right now we got to leave here,
and we got to go to Wrigley Field.
The celebration continues.
It's a mob scene.
Tell my clientele on Rush Street I'm thinking of them.
The sign above Wrigley Field says,
Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, 1984 National League East Champions,
and across the street the sign says, the sign of good taste,
and tonight it is the sign of victorious Cubs and their crazed Cubs fans.
They are out here in numbers.
Oh, how the faithful, the numbers of the faithful have swelled.
And tonight, 39 years after the Cubs seized defeat, I think,
as the saying goes, out of the jaws of victory,
they seized victory out of the jaws of victory,
out of the jaws of a five-game losing streak that they won.
These people are here to tell me that they won.
At Wrigley Field, it is now going to be called Wrigley Sanctuary, I believe,
because these people, for 39 years, have worshipped the Cubs.
Now they're going to idolize the Cubs.
There's just not going to be any controlling these fans for a while.
Come on, Tom, and Samuels.
Go, Cubbies!
How long have you been at Cubs, man?
Eleven years.
You think they're going to win the pennant?
Hell yeah, yeah!
You don't even have a teensy-weensy bit of doubt.
No way! Pound 3 sucks! Tiger sucks!
Any doubts are all that they're going to go to school for.
Go, Cubbies!
All right, here we go now with two of the brightest young stars
on the entire Cubs scene, the South Side of Chicago
and the North Shore of Chicago.
Here's Steve Trout, who grew up on the South Side.
Here is Scott Sanderson, and they must be dancing in the streets
in Northbrook tonight.
Well, I hope they're having fun, because we're having fun here.
We worked awful hard.
You're Northsiders and you're Northsiders right on!
All right, Stevie, congratulations on that job.
You turned in batteries.
Thanks, Jack. It's a great feeling.
It's a great feeling.
I like seeing your shirt there real wet with champagne, too.
Listen, how would you like that?
Now, your dad, Dizzy Trout, took one away from the Cubs
and helped beat him in a World Series in 1945 when he pitched for Detroit.
He was one of the great stars.
Would you like to get a couple of those wins back in the World Series?
Hey, Jack, what do you think? Of course.
I'd love to do that.
I've got a feeling that we're going to be there,
but we've got a tough team and we're ready to play,
and it's looking good right now.
Well, I'm looking at two young fellow who will be in that World Series
when the Chicago Cubs get in.
Scott, have you been told what your plans might be in the playoff?
No, I haven't.
I'm sure we all know that Rick's going to open up in pitch,
and he might get a couple of shots in there.
I don't really care, Jack, as long as I can help out this team anywhere.
I'm sure Steve feels the same way.
We struggled through a long season together.
It's no time to worry about yourself.
We got a lot of fun left to go here for Chicago.
The word with you was, Steve, of course,
you had to do a little adjusting in your thinking.
Now, if you want to back up and go a little goofy tonight,
nobody blames you, I'll tell you.
Yeah, right.
Oh, no, I don't blame anybody for it.
They say a lot of things, but I know one thing.
I go out there and I work hard and I go out there to pitch well, and that's it.
Give them that handsome face in that camera right there.
That's it.
What do you got over there, Stevie?
Jack, I've got Thad Bosley.
Thad, you went down, you didn't quit.
It had to be a great feeling for you here tonight.
Yeah, they say, quitters win in the end,
so I think it's true this time, you know.
I didn't give up.
I kept fighting.
Had a good year down in the triple-A.
Coach bought me up.
I helped him win a couple of games, and here I am, and I'm glad to be a part of it.
You got sent down.
You really got no chance in spring training.
It must have been a big temptation for you to just hang it up.
Yeah, a couple of times, you know, I wanted to give up,
but my father told me to hang in there,
and I had a lot of people praying for me and believing in me,
and I'm here today, and I just feel great.
We're on nationally. I know your father's watching.
Yeah, dad.
I know you see me down in Little Rock.
I want to say hello, and thanks for the faith.
And Thad, they couldn't have done it without the bench.
Good luck to you.
You did a great job.
Thank you, Steve, son.
Stay with us, because we're going to be back after this word.
This Cubs clincher celebration is brought to you by your Chicagoland Chrysler Plymouth Dealers,
another team that just clinched their best year ever.
Their stars include Jerry Lane.
That's our Cubs in there. Fantastic.
Gary Eisenstein.
Okay, Cubs, let's go for it.
Ron Foreman.
Chicago Cubs, we're proud of you.
Lou DeLeo.
Cubs will be more than 84.
John Capone.
Cubs win, Cubs win.
And your Chicagoland Chrysler Plymouth Dealers want to say...
Go, Cubs!
I looked all over for Harry Carrey, and it's a shame that he's not here,
because right now we're going to the place that he loves the most, Rush Street.
See ya!
You think it was a control ride outside?
We got a control ride inside here, too.
We're in a place called Shenanigans.
This is on Division Street, and I guess this is...
All right.
I get the impression that the fans are a little happy here.
This is probably the wettest report I'll ever give to you.
Not a bad vintage, actually.
Okay, they're going crazy here.
All along Division Street tonight,
proud to say, as you can see,
thick stands, sweaty deep.
I believe, you might say,
they've had a few cups of coffee
outside this bar.
The crowd, 20, 30 deep,
blocking a part of Division Street here between State Street and Dearborn.
The streets are full of champagne wielders and dancers and magicians
and somebody who's carrying a San Diego Padres voodoo doll
with some pins inviting everybody to stick pins in it.
I don't know whether you can hear me, because I can't hear myself.
I guess they want to say something.
I guess from this point, it's on to the playoffs,
and then, what the heck, on to the World Series.
This is Larry Roddick someplace in limbo.
All right, who do you love?
It's quite a scene down here.
Everybody is just walking around.
It's been a phenomenal year for everyone concerned.
The Cubs brass is down here.
Jim Fry walking around, everybody doing interviews.
Never seen too much like it.
I've been in three or four of these celebrations myself.
Ron Say said he's been in about 15 of these celebrations.
But for a club that wasn't supposed to be anywhere near first place,
this has got to be some night.
Everybody in Chicago is really enjoying what's going on here.
Everybody here feeling much the same way.
I think for the first time in a long time,
everybody kind of going out to one another,
parting, just shaking hands and congratulating one another.
It's a wonderful night for Chicago and a wonderful night for the Cubs.
Jack Brickhouse right now is with the man of the hour, Rick Sutcliffe.
Who else could we possibly get better than Rick Sutcliffe?
And here he is. Congratulations, Red Baron.
Well, thank you. I really don't know how to describe it.
I've got so many people to thank.
There's 28 ball players here that have played their butts off all year.
And Dallas Green brought me over here when I was on a last place ball club.
So I really don't know where to start. I don't think we have enough time.
Let's talk about tonight's game.
It looked to me from the very first pitch like you had it.
For once in my life, I was right.
I had real good location, and I had a lot of incentive.
We knew what was out there. We didn't care what happened in New York.
We wanted to win it ourselves, and it's been a great year.
This ball game right now seems like a lot more important than any of the others,
but we had to win 90-some ball games to get here,
so tonight's just kind of icing on the cake.
The way you fielded that position tonight on a couple of those hot shots,
it looked like you were going for the gold glove, not to say young.
Well, I had to because I wouldn't have been able to stick around
had those balls hit me.
I didn't have a good fastball night.
I got my breaking stuff over,
and maybe I'm saving that good fastball for the playoffs.
Well, anyway, Rick, let me ask you this.
You have a delivery that's a little unusual.
You cut that ball behind you.
It's what they call the wrist wrap, wrap around, nothing?
I wish I didn't, but...
Is that a natural thing with you, or does somebody teach you that?
No, it's always been that way,
and there's been a lot of people try to keep me from doing it,
but I just haven't been able to correct it yet.
Why do you hide that ball a long time that way?
That's what they say, and if that's the way...
If that's the reason they're not hitting it,
then I better keep doing it.
All right, whatever you're doing, don't stop now.
Congratulations, Rick Sutcliffe.
Now, what do you got over there, Stoney?
Warren Brewster is with me,
and, Warren, you've been in a few of these before,
but right now you're going to get some champagne
over your head from Rick Borty.
How sweet it is.
What does it feel like?
I'll tell you, I've done this a few times before,
and this is most gratifying
because when you come from fifth place out of nowhere
and you're going to pin it, that's...
You're really doing something.
Well, you hurt your arm.
Did you ever think you'd have a chance to be in one of these again?
To tell you the truth, I never thought at times I'd pitch again.
And, you know, you just...
When people take care of you like Dallas Green
has taken care of me through my whole career,
you don't quit on them, you just come back
and you keep driving
and you do what you got to do to get yourself healthy.
And Dallas and I have gone around and around before,
and it's something that you just...
I don't quit.
There's no way. No way in the world I quit.
Middlemen don't get a lot of recognition.
Is it frustrating at times?
Well, it's frustrating with this ball club,
with the pitching staff we have,
with the starters we have, I never get to pitch.
But, we won, so
that's all that counts. That's the main thing.
It's a lot easier to take when you're winning.
Anybody you want to say hello to?
Oh, I'd love to say hello to my wife. I love you, baby.
Good luck. Congratulations.
It's been wonderful. Thank you.
You need three more victories to get that pin in, you know.
Exactly. Yeah. And then four in the World Series,
we can go home for the winner.
The ring will look good on you.
Thank you, sir.
Jack Brickhouse is with Lee Smith.
They wouldn't have been here without 33 saves from Lee.
Number one man in saves on the ball club,
number two in the league, Lee Smith.
Hey, Smithy, nice going, baby.
Oh, thanks, Jack. I'm telling you, it's really been good,
you know, with the ball club.
At the late, you know, I have been struggling
with throwing the ball, and the ball club is coming back
especially with my turning point, I think,
over at the, against St. Louis, you know,
the ball club came back twice for me, you know.
And I think that the key, my most valuable player
has always been Keith Vordermy,
because when we went to the West Coast, he picked the ball club up
by playing first base when Durham was on the disabled list.
But right now, man, there's nothing right now
that can express my feelings and everything.
I was wondering when I was walking in there,
how am I going to react, you know, when I get in there
and I get in there, and the guys fry my afro,
you know, with champagne and everything,
I think I had the same idea about the champagne
and the hair of Karen. Let's drink it.
Alright, let me ask you one question now.
Lee and I were on the Cub Caravan
that toured Indiana and also Illinois
in January.
Now, while we were touring and meeting all those
Cub fans and all those wonderful cities,
did you really deep down in your heart
think the Cubs had a shot at first place?
Well, you know what the thing, I was thinking, at the ball club
that we had right there, and I said, I think we're going to,
we'll do good if we can maybe come in third place, you know.
But no, it's that acquisition
that Dallas has made, you know.
I'm the guy, man, I'm afro, come on.
That was Durham,
Durham, Patterson,
a couple of your real close friends.
You really need those guys.
Alright, come on, man.
Come on, riding the afro, man.
I'm afro ready.
Would you think it might be a good idea
to get rid of this interview right now and give it back
to Stoney Garn, Stoney?
I'm with Tony Garofalo. Keith Morland
just walked by and said, Tony and Yosh
don't know what it's like. What's it like?
I just can't believe it.
I'm in a state of shock. It's just unbelievable.
Well, it seems that the players drink champagne,
but the trainers drink Budweiser. Is there any truth to that?
The only reason I'm drinking Budweiser,
there's no champagne left.
It's all on the floor.
When you were holding this team together, Tony,
did you think it was going to happen?
I don't know. I just,
you know, I knew we had
the people to do it.
But it just seemed so far away,
and it didn't really hit me until
yesterday when we took that double header,
and then I knew it was ours.
I don't think anybody realizes just how hard
a trainer works. You're here four hours before
most people get here. You leave
well after they leave, and at this
point, with the work you've put in,
this must feel like the best moment of your life.
I told my wife last night,
last night, the first night, I got a decent
night rest in about two months.
And this is just unbelievable.
I can't believe it. All the hard work and
the long hours that we put in
pays off for this kind of stuff. It's just unbelievable.
Congratulations, Tony. Thank you, Steve.
Take care.
Well, that's it. The Cubs win 4-1.
Don't look for any magic numbers
because there aren't any. But stay
tuned for the news. There's going to be more highlights,
more excitement. You're going to see it all
on Channel 9. Have a good night.
And we'll see you next time.