The Cubs have retired five jersey numbers. All of them are for members of baseball’s Hall of Fame, and all are among the greatest to have ever worn a Cubs uniform: Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux. No. 31 is retired for both Jenkins and Maddux. While Greg had his best seasons elsewhere, his 33.7 career bWAR rank 11th in Cubs history (eighth post-1900) and he’s certainly one of the greatest Cubs ever.
What do all those players have in common, other than the criteria above? That’s right — not one of them ever played in a World Series for the team, all of them became Cubs after 1950, and just two (Sandberg and Maddux) even played in a postseason game for the team.