- published: 26 Feb 2016
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The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Cubs are one of the two remaining charter members of the National League (the other being the Atlanta Braves). The team is currently owned by a family trust of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts.
The Cubs have not won the World Series in 103 years, a longer championship drought than that of any other major North American professional sports team, and are often referred to as "The Lovable Losers" because of this distinction. They are also known as "The North Siders" because Wrigley Field, their home park since 1916, is located in Chicago's north side Lake View community at 1060 West Addison Street.
The club played its first games in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings and were founded professionally in 1876. This makes the Cubs, along with the Braves who were also founded in 1871, one of the two oldest active teams in major North American sports. Because the Cubs lost two seasons to the Great Chicago Fire, the Braves have played more seasons, although the Cubs hold the record for oldest team still in its original city.
Chicago (i/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.