Was 2024 the worst year for Chicago sports? Sun-Times readers weigh in
We asked if 2024 was the worst year for Chicago sports. Here’s what you said, lightly edited for clarity:
“Record-breaking or tying awfulness by five of our six pro teams. White Sox the worst in the modern history of baseball. Bears tie franchise-record longest losing streak. And so on. It pains me as a White Sox fan to say that the only not-awful Chicago pro team in 2024 was the decidedly mediocre Cubs.”
—Roger Deschner
“It's hard to think of a worse sports year collectively for Chicago's teams. ... Bad ownership = bad team. It's that simple.”
—Mark Liptak, 69, Back of the Yards
“In 1969 the White Sox were 68-94, the Bears were 1-13, and the Cubs were in first place most of the year until the Miracle Mets broke their heart.”
—Frank Collins
“2024 revealed that our teams are not cursed by bad luck, but rather bad ownership.”
—Curtis Marquardt
“I remember the fallow teams we had in the 1970s. This season the Cubs had a disappointing finish, but at least they finished above .500. In the mid-1970s, there must have been some years when nobody did that.”
—Craig Barner
“In 2024, one team set a record for horribleness, another was highly inept, and the others were typical Chicago mediocrity. There were some lean years in the 1970s, though. 1975 Records: Blackhawks 32-30-18, White Sox 75-86, Cubs 75-87, Bears 4-10, and Bulls 24-58. Hawks made the playoff, though.”
—Ken Green
“Most losses in baseball history, with the 10th [draft] pick to show for it.”
—Michael Bartello
“I don’t know, but 2025 could be really good if we get the Bears out of the city and move them to Arlington Heights. Let somebody else foot that bill. It’s not as if most Chicagoans can afford to go to a game anyway.”
—Barbara Strangeman
“Probably. Imploded Bears, mid Cubs, pathetic Bulls, rebuild Hawks and the single-A White Sox. The main lesson 2024 taught us about Chicago sports is Jerry Reinsdorf has no interest in winning. He’s a glutton sitting atop his ho-hum sports team empire and should sell his stakes to a Cohen-type investor.”
—Mike Molitor
“1969. Cubs fiasco. Bears 1-13. Blackhawks trade Pierre Pilote, miss playoffs. Bulls, a third-year expansion team, miss playoffs. Sox lose 94 games, look at moving to Milwaukee.”
—Tara Naki
“Wouldn't the correct answer to this question be 'most of the entire history of the Cubs franchise?'"
—Jeremy Scholl