Backing Up the Truck: Don Kessinger

And then there were none.

On October 28, 1975, the Cubs traded the last remaining member of the 1969 Cubs.  Shortstop Don Kessinger was traded to the Cardinals, with pitcher Mike Garmen coming to the Cubs.

 

Kessinger was 32-years-old in his last season with the Cubs and played in 154 games.  He hit .243, which was just 10 points below his career average.  It didn't seem like he had lost it, like some of the other '69 Cubs.  But the team was going young and off he went to St. Louis.

The Tribune article on the trade mentions in the first paragraph that he was the last of the '69 Cubs.  For the writer and the fans, an era of Cubs history had come to a close.  It was an exciting era, but also unfulfilling and disappointing.