French Lick Resort embraces Cubs
connection
West Baden Springs Hotel has a deep history with The Cubs. The last time
the Cubs went to the World Series was in 1945 and the last time they won the
World Series was in 1908, the same year they held Spring Training on the
western portion of grounds of the West Baden Springs Hotel. The mineral springs are said to have been a part of the Cubs success. The first time they came to the resort for Spring Training, the team went by another name; The Chicago Colts. It would be nearly a decade before the nickname "The Cubs" is formally embraced by the team.
They trained in the area in 1907 and 1908
winning the World Series at the end of both of those seasons and apparently
West Baden’s Sprudel water served them well with back-to-back World Series wins.
From 1906-1911 the team stopped in West Baden to train and after the 1911
season, the Cubs did not train in the area again until 1943. In 1943 they
trained on the 18th Fairway of the Valley course at French Lick
Springs Hotel (which required moving 24 trees) after travel restrictions were
mandated by the U.S. Government due to WWII.