The 1964 Chicago Cubs season was the 93rd season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 89th in the National League and the 49th at Wrigley Field. The Cubs finished eighth in the National League with a record of 76–86, 17 games behind the NL and World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.
Offseason On February 13, Ken Hubbs, who had been the Cubs starting second baseman in 1963, was killed in a plane crash. He was replaced by Joey Amalfitano, who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants a few weeks later.
Notable transactions December 2, 1963: Byron Browne was drafted by the Cubs from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1963 first-year draft.Byron Browne page at Baseball Reference March 29, 1964: Joey Amalfitano was purchased by the Cubs from the San Francisco Giants.Joey Amalfitano page at Baseball Reference Prior to 1964 season: Dick LeMay was traded by the Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals for Lee Gregory.Lee Gregory page at Baseball Reference
Regular season On June 15, the Cubs made one of the most infamous deals in baseball history, remembered today simply as "Brock for Broglio". There were six players involved in all, but the most prominent players involved were pitcher Ernie Broglio, who came to the Cubs from the St. Louis Cardinals, and outfielder Lou Brock, who went to the Cardinals from the Cubs. While Broglio was a serviceable starter for the rest of 1964, he would post ERAs over 6 in each of the next two seasons, and was out of baseball altogether by the end of 1967. Brock went on to star for the Cardinals for the next fifteen years, and eventually be elected to the Hall of Fame. It is to this day often held up as an example of a lopsided trade outcome.
The Cubs in 1963 had been a team that had arrived, finishing over .500 for the first time since 1946.
They had a great nucleus with Hubbs, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, pitchers Dick Ellsworth and Larry Jackson, and Brock. In 1963, the Cubs finished second in the league in ERA and second in giving up the fewest runs, earned runs, and walks.
With Hubbs on the team in 1964, it is highly unlikely the Cubs would have pushed the panic button and traded Brock. With Brock batting first, Hubbs second, followed by Williams, Santo, and Banks in 1964, the Cubs would have fielded a strong lineup, as they had in 1963.
That 1964 lineup featured three future Hall of Famers even without Hubbs and Brock. Left fielder Williams batted .312 that year with 33 homers and 98 RBI, and garnered some MVP votes. Third baseman Santo batted cleanup, with a .313 average, a major league leading 13 triples, a National League high 86 walks, and a league leading .398 on-base percentage. First baseman Banks was fifth in the lineup. He batted only .264 that year, but had 23 homers and 95 RBI.
With the cloud of Hubbs' untimely passing hanging over their heads, however, the Cubs finished ten games under .500.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions May 28, 1964: Chuck Hartenstein was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.Chuck Hartenstein page at Baseball-Reference June 3, 1964: The Cubs traded $40,000 to the Milwaukee Braves for Len Gabrielson. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Merritt Ranew to the Braves on June 8.Len Gabrielson page at Baseball-Reference June 6, 1964: Jim Qualls was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.Jim Qualls page at Baseball-Reference June 15, 1964: Lou Brock, Jack Spring, and Paul Toth were traded by the Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ernie Broglio, Doug Clemens and Bobby Shantz.Ernie Broglio page at Baseball Reference June 19, 1964: Don Kessinger was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.Don Kessinger page at Baseball Reference
Roster 1964 Chicago Cubs Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Head coach
Coaches College of Coaches
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 112 353 84 .238 4 35 1B 157 591 156 .264 23 95 2B 100 324 78 .241 4 27 3B 161 592 185 .313 30 114 SS 129 448 107 .239 12 46 LF 162 645 201 .312 33 98 CF 139 497 120 .241 19 50 RF 89 272 67 .246 5 23
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Jimmy Stewart 132 415 105 .253 3 33 52 215 54 .251 2 14 Doug Clemens 54 140 39 .279 2 12 Jimmie Schaffer 54 122 25 .205 2 9 Ellis Burton 42 105 20 .190 2 7 Leo Burke 59 103 27 .262 1 14 Ron Campbell 26 92 25 .272 1 10 Vic Roznovsky 35 76 15 .197 0 2 Billy Ott 20 39 7 .179 0 1 16 33 3 .091 0 1 John Boccabella 9 23 9 .391 0 6 Don Kessinger 4 12 2 .167 0 0 Don Landrum 11 11 0 .000 0 0 Paul Popovich 1 1 1 1.000 0 0
Pitching = Indicates league leader
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Larry Jackson 40 297.2 24 11 3.14 148 Dick Ellsworth 37 256.2 14 18 3.75 148 36 227.2 15 14 3.83 107 18 100.1 4 7 4.04 46
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Lew Burdette 28 131.0 9 9 4.88 40 Sterling Slaughter 20 51.2 2 4 5.75 32 Fred Norman 8 31.2 0 4 6.54 20 Cal Koonce 6 31.0 3 0 2.03 17 Glen Hobbie 8 27.1 0 3 7.90 14 Paul Toth 4 10.2 0 2 8.44 0 John Flavin 5 4.2 0 1 13.50 5
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Lindy McDaniel 63 1 7 16 3.88 71 Don Elston 48 2 5 1 5.30 26 Wayne Schurr 26 0 0 0 3.72 29 Bobby Shantz 20 0 1 1 5.56 12 Freddie Burdette 18 1 0 0 3.15 4 Lee Gregory 11 0 0 0 3.50 8 Jack Warner 7 0 0 0 2.89 6 Jack Spring 7 0 0 0 6.00 1 Jake Jaeckel 4 1 0 0 0.00 2 Dick Scott 3 0 0 0 12.46 1
Awards and honors Ron Santo, Gold Glove Award
All-Star Game
Billy Williams, Outfield, Starter Dick Ellsworth, Pitcher, Reserve Ron Santo, Third Base, Reserve
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Treasure Valley
Notes
References
1964 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference