Chicago Cubs 2003

Nola McConnan

Out of stock

Watercolor Painting

Nola McConnan

This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

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$695.00 USD - Price includes framing as well as fast, free shipping with UPS

This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

At the core of the framed piece is the actual piece of original artwork as painted by the artist on textured 100% rag, water-marked watercolor paper. In many cases the original artwork has handwritten notes in pencil from the artist (be sure to “See the actual artwork without the frame” elsewhere in this website). Simply put, this is beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork.

The outer mat is a rich textured black acid-free mat with a decorative inset white v-groove, while the inner mat is a complimentary colored acid-free mat reflecting one of the team’s primary colors. The website image of this framed piece shows the mat color that we suggest (Medium Blue), but since each piece is custom framed, we are happy to use whatever color mat you wish (depending on availability) – our standard mat colors are:

Light Blue / Dark Blue / Brown / Maroon (close to brown) / White / Silver / Gold / Yellow (bright yellow) / Green (dark green) / Orange / Purple / Red (bright red, somewhat close to PMS 186)

Beneath the artwork is a silver plate with black text describing the original artwork. The text for this piece will read:

This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 2003 Chicago Cubs uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Chicago Cubs uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Chicago Cubs products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Nola McConnan for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd.

Beneath the silver plate is a 3” x 9” reproduction of a well known, best-selling print that celebrates the history of the team. The print beautifully illustrates the chronological evolution of the team’s uniform and shows you how the original art was used in the creation of this print. If you look closely, you will see that the print features the actual artwork being offered for sale. The 3” x 9” print looks like this:

The piece is framed with an extremely high quality framing glass. We have used this glass style for many years with excellent results. We package every piece very carefully in a double layer of bubble wrap and a rigid double-wall cardboard package to avoid breakage at any point during the shipping process, but if damage does occur, we will gladly repair, replace or refund. Please note that all of our products come with a 90 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Each framed piece also comes with a two page letter signed by Scott Sillcox describing the history behind the art. If there was an extra-special story about your piece of art, that story will be included in the letter. When you receive your framed piece, you should find the letter lightly attached to the front of the framed piece.

If you have any questions, at any time, about the actual artwork or about any of the artist’s handwritten notes on the artwork, I would love to tell you about them. Simply email me, Scott Sillcox, at scott@heritagesportsart.com and I will tell you everything I can about your original piece of art. The artists and I spent well over ten years of our lives creating these pieces of original artwork, and in many cases there are stories I can tell you about your actual piece of artwork that might add an extra element of interest in your one-of-a-kind purchase.

Please note that all reproduction rights for this original work are retained in perpetuity by Major League Baseball unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by MLB. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

In 2003 the Cubs hired former Giants skipper Dusty Baker to be their manager following a disappointing 2002 season where they posted a 67-95 record. Baker took over for Bruce Kimm, who took over for Dan Baylor after he was fired mid-way through the 2002 season.On the north side of Chicago the 2003 season opened with renewed hopes that the club would be able to end their 95-year World Series drought.  The Wrigley Field fans had good reason to get excited about the season: they had a new manager, while on the field the team added 1B Eric Karos, SS Alex Gonzalez and OF Kenny Lofton to become much stronger defensively and they had Kerry Wood and Mark Prior who were quickly establishing themselves as the best starting pitching duo in the NL.RF Sammy Sosas year began with a milestone watch, as the Cubs slugger needed just one homer to reach 500 for his career. Sosa would achieve that goal on the 4th day of the season going deep, on the road, in the Cincinnati Reds new ballpark. Shortly after he hit #500 Sammy began to struggle and in May was placed on the disabled list. Sammy would go on to hit a respectable .279, 40 homers and 103 RBI, but his season would not be remembered for those numbers. Sosa, trying to get himself out of his slump, began using a corked bat. And in an inter-league game versus Tampa Bay his bat exploded while at the plate and his cheating was exposed - he was later suspended.Despite this embarrassing moment, the Cubs won the NL Central with an 88-74 record. This would be the Cubs fourth trip to the postseason since 1945 when they played in the World Series (the three other playoff appearances since 1945 were in 1984, 1989 and 1998).The Cubbies faced the perennial NL East Champion Atlanta Braves in the NLDS and knocked them off 3 games to 2 in a hard fought best of 5 series.In the NLCS their opponents were the Florida Marlins, who won the NL Wild Card berth. The Cubs held a 3 games to 2 lead in the best-of-seven series going into game 6 at Wrigley Field. In the top of the 8th inning of game 6, the Cubs were leading 3-0 with one out and a man on 2nd, when the Marlins Luis Castillos fly ball to left appeared about to become the innings 2nd out. Moises Alou of the Cubs drifted to the stands and reached up to catch the ball when a Cub fan named Steve Bartman knocked the ball away, leaving Alou empty handed and incredibly angry. The floodgates were now open - Castillo would walk, which was followed by an Ivan Rodriguez single that put the Marlins on the board. Things would only get worse as SS Alex Gonzalez booted a double play ball and the Marlins went on to score 8 runs in the infamous 8th inning to force a 7th game by virtue of a dramatic 8-3 win.Not even Kerry Wood could save the Cubs in Game 7 as the Cubs ace was shaky.  The Marlins took the game by a 9-6 score to go on to the World Series, leaving Cubs fans with heartbreak like they had never suffered before. To this day you could ask even a casual Cubs fan who Steve Bartman is and they will know exactly who you're talking about. After that game, Bartman became a nation-wide celebrity for all the wrong reasons, and after some Chicago fans threatened Bartmans safety, some Floridians offered him an opportunity to relocate to Florida. Such is baseball, and moreover, such is the history of the Cubs, who remain without a World Series title since they last won in 1908 (their only other World Series win was in 1907).In 2003 the Cubs wore an alternate dark blue jersey that was worn both on the road and at Wrigley Field. The traditional Cubs logo is found on the upper right of the front of the jersey and in a rather unique move, a National League patch is on the right sleeve.This jersey is what is referred to nowadays as a 3rd jersey. A 3rd jersey is a concept that became commonplace in baseball and hockey in the 1990's, and in the 2000s in the NFL. Most 3rd jerseys are worn occasionally at home as well as on the road, giving a team a third option as to what uniform to wear. And of course, the addition of a third jersey adds to the options fans can buy, thereby increasing apparel revenues and ultimately benefiting the team. More recently, baseball and hockey teams have begun adding 4th and even 5th jerseys to their roster of uniform possibilities, a bit of a frightening trend to those who like to be able to tell the home team from the road team by seeing the teams uniforms.

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