UNION – The McHenry County Historical Society has announced its lineup for the 2013 Sampler Lecture Series.

The cost for the entire series is $35 for nonmembers; members pay $30. All programs take place at the society’s museum, 6422 Main St., Union.

• 7 p.m. March 12: “The Next Year that Almost Was: Chicago, Baseball and 1977.” Tim Draper, a history professor at Waubonsee College, presents an American retrospective set to the backdrop of the 1977 baseball season in Chicago, when both the Cubs and White Sox led their divisions late into the season before collapsing. At the intersections of Rust Belt de-industrialization, urban and racial politics, 1960s legacies and popular culture, there were fundamental changes in professional sports in an era of American vulnerability. The program is made possible by a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council. The requested donation is $10.