Bob Buhl and Larry Jackson.

That's who the Cubs gave up to get Ferguson Jenkins from the Phillies on April 21, 1966.

As part of the deal, the Cubs also obtained outfielder Adolfo Phillips and first baseman John Herrnstein.

Buhl and Jackson had been reliable hurlers, but at the time of the trade their best days were far behind them. They combined for 47 wins and 53 losses in Philadelphia, and by the end of the decade both were gone from the big leagues.

The Cubs acquired Jenkins because Leo Durocher wanted to get rid of Ernie Banks.

Never a Banks fan during his stay in Chicago, Leo the Lip hoped to pry loose Orlando Cepeda from San Francisco. When the Giants instead dealt Cepeda to St. Louis, Durocher asked Philadelphia about John Herrnstein, a promising first sacker.

The Cubs and Phils closed the deal, with Jenkins as an afterthought. Herrnstein played nine games for the Cubs and was traded to Atlanta less than six weeks later.

Banks stayed on first in Chicago, and Jenkins embarked on one of the great pitching careers in Cubs history.

The acquisition of Fergie Jenkins was one of the steals of the century. Jenkins, a 6' 5", 210-pound righty from Chatham, Ontario, was one of baseball's top control artists.

"What made Fergie so good was that he could locate a pitch anytime he wanted," says Ron Santo.

"He changed speeds better than anyone in the league. He didn't have the greatest fastball in baseball, but he could paint the outside corner."

His debut with the Cubs on April 23, 1966, foreshadowed great things to come.

In relief of starter Bob Hendley, Jenkins shut out the Dodgers for five and two-thirds innings. Jenkins also drove a pair of runs with a home run off Don Sutton in a 2-0 victory.

A good hitter, Fergie belted 13 career homers, including six in 1971.

On an off-day during Spring Training in 1968, Jenkins went horseback riding with team captain Ron Santo, an experienced horseman, and teammates Glenn Beckert, Bill Hands, and Rich Nye. Jenkins' mount took off suddenly and made a sharp turn, sending the pitcher sprawling on the ground.

Santo was in a panic, figuring Jenkins was seriously hurt. When Santo rode over to his fallen teammate, the agonized Jenkins told him what had happened.

"I told him to stay," moaned Fergie, rubbing his leg. "But then he just took off on me. I thought I was under control because I was yelling `Whoa!'"

"You can yell all you want," Santo exploded, "but unless you have the reins, it won't mean a darn thing!"

Santo and the others got Jenkins to a doctor, who advised the big hurler to stay off his feet for a week.

When Leo Durocher learned of the mishap, he threw a tantrum. Durocher was sure that Jenkins would be out for the beginning of the season. Yet 24 hours after the riding accident, Jenkins was back in uniform.

"Somehow, his Canadian blood had overcome the near disaster," recalls Santo. "Fergie did start for us Opening Day that year. He won 20 games for us. He didn't miss a start."

Jenkins began putting up numbers unseen at Wrigley Field since Chicago's glory days prior to World War II. He was 20-13 in 1967, followed by seasons of 20-15, 21-15, 22-16, 24-13, and 20-12.

During those years he completed 140 of his 236 starts, hurled 24 shutouts and won the 1971 N.L. Cy Young Award. He was the bellwether of the Chicago squads of the late '60s and early '70s.

None of this would've happened, however, if Jenkins had his way.

Jenkins thought he worked best in relief. Longtime Philadelphia star Robin Roberts saw Jenkins' true potential, however, and tried to convince the Phillies to convert the young pitcher into a starter.

But Phillies brass also considered Jenkins a relief pitcher and, with young left-hander Darold Knowles blossoming in the Philadelphia bullpen, Fergie was expendable.

In the spring of '67, manager Leo Durocher and pitching coach Joe Becker convinced Jenkins to become a starting pitcher.

The switch gave the Cubs their most reliable right-handed starter since Three-Finger Brown.

"I think it was putting on the Cubs uniform that was always special to me," says Jenkins.

"I always tried to give the best performance I could, because the Cubs were the team that meant the most to me throughout my whole career."

Jenkins was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

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