Ed Hartig '87: Cubs Historian
A life-long baseball fan and Historian for the Chicago Cubs, Ed Hartig '87 (pictured next to long-time Lewis Athletic Director and Coach Paul Ruddy) is proud to have witnessed his favorite team make history with the first World Series Win since 1908.
Ed worked with the Baseball Encyclopedia while at Lewis, spending a lot of time pouring through micro-film and completing data entry. Between the data from the Baseball Encyclopedia and his personal collection of baseball books, media guides, scorecards, photographs, and newspapers, Ed had built a quite extensive baseball library before the age of 20.
“I was comfortable using computers, I had the necessary historical data and was a life-long Cubs fan; I was off to a good start,” says Ed.
A few years later, a friend of Ed’s who worked for the Chicago Cubs began calling him to fact-check an article or ask his opinion on a story. After nearly five years, this friendly favor turned into an opportunity to write for the team’s monthly magazine called “Vine Line” and proofing the historical records for the team’s annual media guide as a Freelance Researcher/Writer. He started giving tours of Wrigley Field for the team’s charity and then began working for the team with local and national media.
Now after years of working for the Cubs, Ed is beyond thrilled to be a part of this very special piece of history for Chicago.
“Over 45 years of emotions and thoughts rushed through my head when the Cubs finally won the World Series,” says Ed. “I remembered the first time my father took me to Wrigley Field; all the losing seasons, the near misses, and the seasons that ended almost as soon as they started.”
Ed was able to share this extraordinary experience with his daughter, who went to several of the games with him this past season. She rode with him on one of the lead trolleys for the parade and rally that drew in over 5 million fans. “Riding along Lake Shore Drive and seeing all of the fans –hundreds deep, holding up signs of loved ones who were not with us to celebrate –really showed me how special this team is to its fans, including me,” he says.
Ed’s only disappointment is that his mother will not be around to see him receive his World Series ring, having recently passed away.
Besides serving as the Historian for the Chicago Cubs, Ed has also worked for the Nielsen Company as a Principal Data Scientist since 2005, supporting the company’s consumer package goods services. In this position, he is able to research the “why” behind what people buy. Previously, he worked at Nalco Chemical Company as Research and Development Statistician for nearly 16 years.
Ed was first exposed to Lewis when he began attending baseball, basketball and soccer games while his sister, Patti Hartig ’80, was a student at the university. Following in his sister’s footsteps, he too attended Lewis and gained experience that propelled his career.
“I have been working in a field that is related to my major for over 25 years,” says Ed. “My classroom experience was invaluable to my career.”
Ed admired the willingness of professors like Ms. Margaret Juraco, Br. Thomas Dupre, Dr. Paul Kaiser, Dr. Steven Berger, and many others to work one-on-one with students in and out of the classroom. One very important thing Ed learned at Lewis was self-confidence.
“I learned to have the ability to understand my strengths and to recognize that there are others willing to share their experience and knowledge, if you are willing to listen,” he says.
Ed graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Lewis and then went on to receive his master’s degree in Applied Probability/Statistics at Northern Illinois University. During his last year at Lewis, Ed helped form the Women’s Soccer team and then served as the first Assistant Coach in 1986 and 1988, while he began graduate school. He now lives in Bolingbrook with his wife, Gail, and their two children, Alex and Maddie. In his spare time, he spends time coaching soccer for his daughter’s travel team.
March 2017
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