 As the summer progressed the Cubs spiraled out of contention, playing poorly in August and ending the season with a streak in which they lost 17 of 22 games, ultimately finishing at 81–81, a staggering 22 games behind Philadelphia.Amazingly, the club then had similar, though not as exaggerated, falls in the two subsequent campaigns, despite the acquisition of slugger Dave Kingman.The Cubs were as many as 11 games over .500 in '78 and peaked at 13 over in '79, but still finished with losing records both seasons.