Two of the most beloved teams in franchise history will have key contributors honored this summer for inclusion in the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.
During the opening ceremony of the annual Cubs Convention on Friday night in a packed room at the Sheraton Grand Chicago, Chairman Tom Ricketts revealed left-hander Jon Lester and catcher Jody Davis will be inducted into their Hall of Fame. Late broadcaster Vince Lloyd also is being inducted and will receive the “Lifetime Achievement Award,” a new award to honor individuals who made a significant contribution to the organization over their lifetime.
Lester, part of the 10-year reunion celebration for the 2016 World Series title team this weekend, and Davis, the starting backstop for the 1984 squad, both struggled to explain what this recognition means.
The Cubs tried to keep it a surprise, but Lester heard rumblings from family members getting word on social media. Lester, though, didn’t want to believe it until someone from the Cubs told him.
“Right now I don’t have words for it,” Lester said. “Obviously I’m very honored. But I don’t really know how to describe that yet. I think it’s going to take a day or two to kind of really let it soak in and give you a better answer. But right now, obviously, I’m honored. I’m excited I get a cool new jacket. I get to walk on stage with all the great Cubs legends, some that I grew up watching, some that were a little bit before that time, but legends that you hear about.”
Lester, 42, posted a 3.64 ERA in 171 games with the Cubs, with whom he pitched six of his 16 big-league seasons. A World Series champion and one of the Cubs’ best free-agent signings, Lester earned co-MVP of the 2016 National League Championship Series and was a two-time All-Star. He started at least 31 regular-season games in first five seasons in Chicago.
“The biggest thing for me is I want people to know that I was prepared every five days to pitch. That’s it,” Lester said. “I was ready to go, whether I was 100% or not. I knew that I needed to take the ball every five days. … I tried to make those 30 to 35 just to show my teammates that I could. And there was times I probably shouldn’t, but I knew me being on the (injured list) wasn’t going to help anybody.
“I guess that’s what I want at the end of the day. I want my legacy to be with my teammates, not so much my kids or my family or anything like that. I wanted to be with my teammates because I wanted them to know that I was doing everything possible every five days to take the ball for them.”
In his eight seasons with the Cubs, Davis hit 15-plus home runs for five consecutive seasons (1983-87) and led the team in homers from 1983-86 while leading all National League catchers in games played from 1983-86. Among catchers in Cubs history, Davis ranks third in both games caught and home runs.
“It’s really unbelievable,” Davis said. “This is my Hall of Fame. This is as good as I could do and just great teammates. My time here was so unbelievable. Cub fans are so unbelievable. It really hasn’t sunk in yet.”
Davis earned his first of two All-Star Game appearances during the Cubs’ memorable 1984 division-champion season.
“We got really close, but watching the city of Chicago start to believe that we could compete, we could win — that’s the greatest memory that I’ll have of that (’84) team,” Davis, 69, said.
Lloyd, who died in 2003, spent 34 seasons (1950, 1954-86) as a Cubs broadcaster, calling more than 5,000 games. His Cubs broadcasting career started on WGN-TV in 1950, when he broadcast home games with Jack Brickhouse. In 1965, he moved to the radio booth calling play-by-play, doing so for the next 20 years.
“Vince’s dedication to his craft on the radio made him like family to generations of Cubs fans,” Ricketts said in a statement.
The trio will be inducted during a ceremony this season at Wrigley Field at a date to be announced.
