Andrean's Cunningham authors book on his beloved Cubs and their 'Curse'

MERRILLVILLE | Carson Cunningham understands the pain. He's wrestled with it his entire life. He is not alone. Fans of the Cubs have been let down by their beloved National League franchise for a century.

But Cunningham, the boys basketball coach at Andrean, found a release for his Cubbies agony. The DePaul professor wrote his second sports book -- "Before the Curse: The Chicago Cubs Glory Years" -- published by the University of Illinois Press.

The tome, which deals with the Northsiders from 1870 through 1945, hits book stores this week.

"I always liked the Cubs growing up, but as we all know it's sometimes painful," Cunningham said. "It's a tradition passed down from generation to generation. My dad gave it to me.

"And it is painful at times."

The Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908. It is the longest losing streak in professional sports. Cunningham's book, however, deals with the team when it was the best of the best.

"I can't believe they were ever any good," said Andrean senior guard Michael Kauffman, a die-hard White Sox fan. "Are you sure they were good once? It sounds like a pretty interesting subject. There's no way they can go 110 years without winning.

"You would think by stupid luck they would win just once. They've had a lot of bad luck. It's almost unbelievable."

Frank Provenzano, the 59ers assistant coach and another Sox fan in the program, said he and Cunningham rarely talk baseball.

Perhaps for a reason.

"I feel sorry for him," Provenzano said. "I don't believe in curses. I think they've just had real bad management for the past 100 years or so."

Cunningham and Purdue professor Randy Roberts co-authored the book. They did research for two years, traveling to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

They also spent hours going through old articles from newspapers and magazines at the Chicago Historical Society.

"We got totally immersed in the history of the Cubs," Cunningham said. "I can't even begin to figure out how many hours I put into this, but it was fun. There are a lot of great stories here."

Cunningham has two dozen historic articles in the book. He writes engaging introductions to each chapter to set each story up and give context to fans of this age.

He was captivated by the stories of Albert Spalding, Mike "King" Kelly and Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, among others.

"He was an Indiana kid who had his hand mangled in a farming accident," Cunningham said. "But he didn't quit. He found a way to develop an almost unhittable pitch with his malformation. What an inspirational story."

Cunningham was also thrilled to learn more about the famous Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance double-play combination that took the Cubs to three consecutive World Series, winning in 1907 and 1908.

Joe Tinker to Johnny Evers to Frank Chance won a lot of games for those great teams.

"It was amazing to learn they didn't even like each other," Cunningham said. "They'd go months without speaking to each other, but on the field they were great."

The Cubs have not been to a World Series since 1945, when the "Curse of the Billy Goat" was supposedly put on the team by tavern owner Billy Sianis when the Cubs forced him to leave Wrigley Field in a World Series game against Detroit because they didn't want Sianis' goat inside the stadium.

Cunningham, however, is pretty sure of his beliefs.

"I don't believe in a curse," he said. "We were just having fun with the title."

The top 59er has his team ranked No. 4 in the state's Class 3A poll. He is excited about what the program he played for might be able to do come March. This is his first priority these days.

He is also excited about the arrival of the curse-breaking Theo Epstein as president of baseball operations. Epstein ended the "Curse of the Bambino" and brought two World Series championships to long-suffering Red Sox fans.

Cunningham hopes a new face leading Cubs Nation will be good for him and all the others, too.

"I've been working on this book the past two summers so I haven't watched too much baseball," Cunningham said. "I've been more interested in baseball history. The Cubs haven't been very good the last two years, so I don't think I've missed much.

"If they get it rolling I will start watching again. And we're planning on a second part to this book. It will be 1945 to the present. It would be great to have the final chapter be on them winning a World Series finally.

"That's a book I really want to write."