{ City Life: sidelight }

Chicago's dueling baseball teams

Until the fall of 2005, when the White Sox won the World Series, Chicago baseball might have seemed an exercise in futility (the Cubs last won the World Series in 1908; the White Sox had last won in 1917)—but to Chicagoans, they were lovable losers.

Both teams loom large on Chicago's cultural landscape. The Cubs rule the North Side from the charming and historic confines of tourist-friendly Wrigley Field, while the White Sox maintain strong ties to the city's working-class culture, especially on the South Side. Be warned. To Chicagoans, it's not kosher to be a fan of both teams.

Perhaps the crosstown rivalry reached its peak in 1906, the year of the only all-Chicago World Series. The struggling White Sox overcame the Cubs. It was a surprising victory, considering that earlier in the season, the team was plagued with players leaving, bad weather, outfield inconsistencies, and injuries. In stepped University of Chicago athletic trainer Hiram "Doc" Connibear. His rigorous exercise regimens gave the team its second wind. "Without him, the Sox could not have won in '06," according to Richard Lindberg, author of the White Sox Encyclopedia.