Mesa, AZ (Sports Network) - The Chicago Cubs announced on Wednesday that the team will retire the number 31 worn by both Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux, early in the upcoming season.
The ceremony is slated to take place on May 3 at Wrigley Field, and will be the fifth number honored by the club for a former player, after Ron Santo (10), Ernie Banks (14), Ryne Sandberg (23) and Billy Williams (26). Chicago also honors the MLB edict which has taken Jackie Robinson's 42 out of circulation for all teams.
Jenkins pitched for the Cubs from 1966-73 and the final two years of his Hall of Fame career in 1982-83. Like Sandberg, he began his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, but enjoyed the prime of his career in Chicago.
He won 20-or-more games in six consecutive years from 1967-72, winning a Cy Young in 1971, and still holds the club's strikeout record with 2,038. The 66- year-old Canadian posted an overall record of 284-226 with a 3.34 ERA in 664 games (594 starts) for the Phillies, Cubs, Rangers and Red Sox over 19 major- league seasons.
Maddux spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Cubs (1986-92), posting his best campaign in his final year there in 1992, going 20-11 with a 2.18 ERA and winning his first of four consecutive Cy Youngs as the NL's best hurler.
After a wildly successful 11-season stint with Atlanta, the 42-year-old returned to Chicago in 2004-06. During his second tenure, Maddux posted both his 300th career victory and his 3,000th career strikeout.
In 23 pro seasons with four teams, Maddux went 355-227 with a 3.16 ERA and 3,357 total strikeouts.
