We slap the “rivalry” label on a lot of modern-day sports pairings, but nothing in baseball compares to the 134-year-old standoff between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Since 1885, the two Midwestern teams have met more than 2,300 times in contests heated by passionate fans. In recent years, the old Route 66 rivalry cooled a bit as the Cardinals enjoyed success that downtrodden—and possibly cursed—Cubs fans could only long for. But in 2015, more than a century’s worth of bad blood resurfaced.
Tensions spiked through the regular season as the teams exchanged angry words and bean balls—a throwback to the days of the near riot that occurred when Cubs fans swarmed Cardinals players at Wrigley Field in 1928. The Cards and Cubs then met in the 2015 National League Division Series, the first time they’d played each other in the post-season since they met as the St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Stockings, champions of the American Association and the National League (respectively) in 1885 and 1886. The teams split the ’85 series 3-3-1, and the Browns won in five games in ’86.
This time around, the Cubs knocked off the Cardinals in the NLDS, winning in the playoffs for the first time since they won the World Series in 1908.
Now, with a roster that looks like it could be a legitimate powerhouse, the lovable losers are looking to end the longest championship drought in baseball. But despite their new position as a division underdog, St. Louis still boasts plenty of talent and will look to postpone any celebrations in Wrigleyville. And just like that, the most historic rivalry in the game is once again baseball’s best.