Bleed Cubbie Blue · Apr 16, 2022
Today in Cubs history: Burt Hooton throws a no-hitter
Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty ImagesThe 1972 baseball season began in an unprecedented way. A players’ strike cancelled the first 86 games of the season and so it began about a week late. Instead of having an Opening Day celebration — because no one knew when the season would begin until a day or two before — the Cubs opened the year on a Saturday at Wrigley Field, April 15, and posted an ugly 4-2 loss to a terrible Phillies team in front of just 17,401 on a 47-degree day.
The next day, Sunday, April 16, was even colder, 40 degrees, with drizzle falling most of the morning. You wouldn’t have blamed Cubs management if they had postponed the game that afternoon.