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Chicago Cubs: The disastrous ‘College of Coaches’ merry-go-round of 1961

By Logan Whaley

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 28: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white) General view of the stadium light banks during game two of a doubleheader between the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs on June 28, 2011 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Giants won 6-3. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 28: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white) General view of the stadium light banks during game two of a doubleheader between the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs on June 28, 2011 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Giants won 6-3. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Cubs Logo (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

At the helm of what would become one of the worst decisions in the annals of Chicago, Cubs lore rests the choice of P.K. Wrigley and his ‘College of Coaches.’

Imagine for a moment the 2016 Chicago Cubs. A team of destiny. A team that won 103 regular-season games. One that dug deep in a deficit and climbed out of a hole to win a World Series championship. A team with that perfect blend of leadership and talent.

Now, circumvent your idea of time to travel back nearly 60 years to 1961. A year of desolate misery. A year which will, unbeknownst to a population of Cubs fans, be the year for the ‘College of Coaches’. An idea which began in 1961 from Wrigley himself lasted four years, until 1965.

A team without a manager is terrible. A team with 12 total “managers” is one-hundred percent worse. Going back to the 2016 world champion Cubs team, what would it have been like had Theo Epstein decided to move away from Joe Maddon? The idea in itself is lunacy, and, well, it is one of those moments in baseball history that is not talked about as much as it should.

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