West Baden Springs Resort Hotel, West Baden Springs, Indiana

The 1907 Chicago Cubs began their quest for a World Championship by traveling to the fabulous West Baden Springs Resort Hotel, West Baden Springs, Indiana, for preseason training.  Would the legendary “Sprudel Water” work its magic for the Cubs? 

The following is a condensed excerpt from The Best Team Ever, a Novel of America, Chicago and the 1907 Cubs.

West Baden Springs, a small, sleepy town buried in Southern Indiana’s Valley of Lost Rivers, hosted this world-class resort hotel.  Rich folks came from all over the country to “take the waters.”  Three dollars a night for the room, meals and amenities at the West Baden Springs Resort Hotel was more than the Waldorf-Astoria charged!  The hotel possessed many charms beyond the vast dome over its lobby and dining area.  Each of its 500 rooms had hot and cold water, steam heat and a telephone.  The hotel grounds boasted sunken gardens, an opera house, a tenpin house, billiards, a large indoor swimming pool and a series of sulphuric mineral springs, including the world-renowned Spring No. 7. And a one-third-mile long, double-decked bicycle and pony track.  The track encircled an uncovered ballfield, which is another reason why the Cubs began their Practice Season there. 

But the crowds came to West Baden Springs Resort for the natural springs and  the bottled spring water.  The general wisdom held that the ballplayers, fat and out of shape after a winter of drinking and sloth, would benefit by taking the waters and cleansing their systems.  Trainer Jack McCormick called it “the water cure.”

To learn more about The West Baden Hotel – and the 1907 Chicago Cubs– get your copy of The Best Team Ever, a Novel of America, Chicago and the 1907 Cubs today!