The fall of 1965 brought an end to the 20th consecutive season of the Chicago Cubs failing to win the National League pennant. In those 20 seasons, the team had finished at .500 once (77-77 in 1952) and with a winning season once (82-80 in 1963).
Team owner P.K. Wrigley decided to shake things up by hiring one of the more controversial managing figures of the mid-20th Century, Leo Durocher. (Incidentally, Durocher was supposedly going to be hired by the Cardinals after the 1964 season, but the Cardinals surprised everyone by winning the pennant.