Cubs History: In the 1960s, the team got key contributions from unexpected players

During the 1960s, the Chicago Cubs spent most of the decade in the nether regions of the National League. They started to emerge in the latter part of the decade. During the '60s, most of the positives from the Cubs came from the Big Three of Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ernie Banks. However, occasionally, they got some help from unexpected sources.

Three examples come to mind immediately. They are Dick Ellsworth, Larry Jackson and Adolpho Phillips. Of the three, Jackson had the most prolific career, while Ellsworth was pretty solid himself.

As for Phillips, he flashed some great tools and briefly flourished under the guidance of Cubs manager Leo Durocher. He put together a good season in 1966 and an even better one in 1967, that was pretty much it.

Let's take a look at these three players and their best seasons as a member of the Cubs.

Adolpho Phillips was a 6.0 WAR guy for Chicago in 1967

Adolpho came over to the Cubs on April 21, 1966. Chicago sent a couple of veteran pitchers to Philadelphia in the transaction in Bob Buhl and Larry Jackson. More about Jackson later.

In parts of three seasons, Phillips had a total of 113 plate appearances with the Phillies. Generally speaking, the results were underwhelming. He compiled an OPS of .629 while with the Phillies. His first season with the Cubs was promising.

In Phillips' rookie season of 1966, Adolpho put up a WAR of 3.6. Included in that was 16 home runs and 32 stolen bases. He was a great package of speed and power. And 1967 was even better. Phillips hit 17 home runs en route to 6.0 WAR and an .842 OPS. The peak of Philips Fever hit on June 11, 1967. On that date, Phillips blasted four home runs in a doubleheader sweep over the New York Mets.

After showing great potential, Phillips' descent was rapid. The Panamanian outfielder had a subpar season in 1968 and was traded to the Expos in 1969. He was out of MLB after the 1970 season. He was 28. He spent a few seasons in the Mexican League before calling it a career.

Oh, one footnote to the Phillips-for-Bob Buhl and Larry Jackson trade. The Cubs also got another player in addition to Phillips: a pitcher by the name of Fergie Jenkins.

Larry Jackson was a good pitcher who caught lightning in a bottle in 1964

First of all, Larry Jackson was a very good MLB pitcher. He won 194 games in his big-league career. The fact that he put together a 24-win season in 1964 was amazing, not so much because he didn't have excellent ability, but because the 1964 Cubs team won only 76 games. The right-hander finished second in Cy Young voting that season.

Jackson's 24-win season followed on the heels of a strong 1963 campaign which saw him compile an ERA of 2.55 despite having a win-loss record of 14-18. And, as has already been mentioned, he was a key trade piece that allowed the Cubs to pick up Adolpho Phillips and Fergie Jenkins. He helped the Cubs both on his way in and out of town.

Dick Ellsworth went from being a 20-game loser to a 20-game winner

Dick Ellsworth lost 20 games for a really bad 1962 Cubs team. Of course, part of the reason that Cubs team was bad was Ellsworth himself. He pitched 208.2 innings for that club and put up an ERA of 5.09. And it wasn't a fluke. His peripheral stats were indicative of a guy who had an ERA of over 5.00. That made his 1963 season all the more amazing.

In 1963, Ellsworth got his act together and went 22-10 with an ERA of 2.11. He also pitched 290.2 innings. Following the 1963 season, the left-hander went on to have mediocre seasons in 1964 and 1965, combing for a record of 28-33 with an ERA in the high 3.00s.

Ellsworth again lost 20 games in the 1966 season, going 8-22, though his ERA wasn't terrible at 3.98. Following the 1966 season, he was traded to the Phillies for Ray Culp. You might remember Culp had a decent 1967 season for the Cubs.

Surprisingly, the tall, stylish lefty last pitched in the big leagues in 1971. His career in the majors was over at the age of 31. Hopefully, the 2025 Cubs will get some help from unexpected sources similar to some of those teams from the '60s.