Cubs players, left to right, Ron Cey, Rick Sutcliffe, Jody Davis, Ryne Sandberg and Leon Durham celebrate after the Cubs clinched the National League Eastern Division championship on Sept. 25, 1984.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
Rick Sutcliffe remembers walking down to the bullpen at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh and spotting a family of four in Cubs gear holding a sign that said 39 years of suffering were enough.
‘‘I had no clue,’’ he said, thinking back to Sept. 24, 1984. ‘‘I didn’t read the paper.’’
Sutcliffe had joined the Cubs via trade in June of that year. And he wouldn’t find out that the sign was a reference to the Cubs’ 39-year playoff drought until after his pregame bullpen session, when he carried on a tradition he learned from Don Drysdale. After warming up, Sutcliffe always would find a kid to give the ball to.
He called over the father and son from earlier, handed the kid the ball and asked the dad about their sign.
Against the Pirates that night, the Cubs had a chance to etch their names into Chicago sports history. With a victory, they would clinch the National League East and a playoff berth.
Caught up on the historical significance of the game, Sutcliffe turned to the kid and told him, ‘‘You might want to hold on to that ball.’’
The Cubs were so confident in Sutcliffe finishing the game that closer Lee Smith said he never even warmed up. He had pitched the day before, and manager Jim Frey was trying to give him a day off.
‘‘And I’m like, ‘Hey, man, I’m with the Cubs. We haven’t been in the World Series for 100 years,’ ’’ Smith recalled. ‘‘ ‘Put me in, I don’t care.’ ’’
That wouldn’t be necessary.
Sutcliffe was cruising. By the time he reached the ninth inning, he only had allowed two hits, both to Joe Orsulak. The Cubs led 4-1.
‘‘People don’t know, [but] I told Sutcliffe when we went out there for the bottom of the ninth that I wanted to catch out No. 3,’’ catcher Jody Davis said.
In other words, the last out had to be a strikeout.
Of course, Orsulak’s turn in the batting order came up with two outs.
Sutcliffe jumped ahead in the count, getting Orsulak to chase a slider for strike two. Then he and Davis had the rest of the at-bat mapped out in their heads. Sutcliffe would throw a fastball outside to set up a slider for another whiff.
‘‘I throw that fastball about a foot outside,’’ Sutcliffe said, ‘‘and that freaking umpire …’’
He rung up Orsulak. Game over.
‘‘The party was on,’’ Davis said.
In the bullpen, the relievers had a bet going on who was going to get onto the field first for the celebration.
‘‘They were making a bet that I’m going to be the last guy to show,’’ Smith said.
He beat the bullpen catcher, who was collecting all the gear the pitchers had abandoned in their excitement.
The Cubs carried the celebration from the field into the clubhouse. They then were ushered back out the tunnel to watch the videoboard at Three Rivers Stadium, which played a feed of the celebration back in Wrigleyville.
‘‘It was just a giant street party,’’ Davis said. ‘‘I’ll never forget the party that they’re having in the streets at Wrigley. And, of course, for us, it’s Monday night in Pittsburgh. There’s nothing open.
‘‘We didn’t get invited to our own party.’’
Sutcliffe’s favorite part came days later, when the team got back to the Wrigley Field clubhouse. He said the team was greeted by Cubs legends Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins and Ron Santo.
Santo grabbed hold of Sutcliffe and, with tears in his eyes, thanked him.
‘‘You did what we weren’t able to do,’’ Sutcliffe remembers Santo saying. ‘‘These Cub fans deserve to be in the playoffs.’’