Chicago Cubs: Five guys you may have forgotten played for them

Chicago Cubs: How many of you are old enough to remember Tony LaRussa in Chicago?

That’s right, Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa once suited up to play for the Cubs. Before he managed, he was a middle infielder in the 60s and early 70s. Let’s just say his playing career is not what got him into Cooperstown. In 132 career games, he hit .199/.292/.250 with no home runs and seven RBIs. He never came close to playing 100+ games in a season.

So what was his Cubs tenure like? He played in one game as a Cub on Opening Day, 1973 at Wrigley Field against the Montreal Expos. He was a pinch-runner in the ninth inning for Ron Santo who reached on an error and eventually scored the game-winning run on a walk-off walk. He never played in an MLB game again after he scored that run. He bounced between the Pirates, White Sox, and Cardinals organizations but never played with their big league clubs.

Not much else to say about him. He would go on to be one of the greatest managers in MLB history and probably does not care to recall his unsuccessful playing career. His one game as a Cub in 1973 is a nice little footnote in team history.