At this time 21 years ago, the Cubs were in the thick of a pennant race with eyes set on ending the franchise’s historic championship drought.

And the main reason for that was an integral trade that turned the tide for the Cubs.

21 years later, the centerpiece of that trade donned a blue jacket as his name will now be etched in Cubs history forever.

Catch the entire Cubs Hall of Fame pregame ceremony on the Marquee Sports Network app.

On July 23, 2003, GM Jim Hendry pulled off one of the most influential trades in Cubs history.

Aramis Ramírez and Kenny Lofton came to the Cubs with José Hernández, Matt Bruback and Bobby Hill heading back to the Pittsburgh Pirates in return.

It was a trade that changed the trajectory for not only the 2003 Cubs but also the career of Ramírez, who was inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame Sunday.

“I want to thank Jim Hendry,” Ramírez said Sunday afternoon. “He brought me over from Pittsburgh. He believed in me and he trusted in my abilities.”

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At the time of the trade, the 2003 Cubs were 50-49 and sitting in 3rd place, 4.5 games back.

After the trade, the Cubs went 38-25 – a .603 winning percentage.

More importantly, they catapulted up to 1st place and clinched a spot in the postseason.

“I remember Jim Hendry actually coming to me in 2003 saying, ‘Hey, we got a chance to pick up Aramis Ramirez. What do you think?’” Kerry Wood recalled. “I said, ‘we should probably get him yesterday.’

“Obviously from then on, he solidified third base and probably the best third base we had since Ron Santo. You look at his numbers, I think we’re gonna be looking at [Baseball] Hall of Fame here at some point. It’s really impressive what he was able to do for as long as he did it.”

[WATCH: Wood, Ramírez Cubs HOF plaque unveil]

In his 9 seasons with the Cubs, Ramírez hit 239 homers to go along with a .294/.341/.492 slash line (.887 OPS). He made the All-Star team twice and received National League MVP votes 4 different times.

After he was acquired from the Pirates in 2003, Ramírez went on to hit 15 homers and drive in 39 runs in 63 games to help the Cubs win the NL Central.

That trade was exactly the move the Cubs needed and they rode that momentum to within 5 outs of a trip to the World Series.

“The jolt to the clubhouse, the jolt to the standings – we immediately jumped in first place and didn’t look back,” Wood said. “It was such a huge trade for the city of Chicago. We were so on the verge and we’re trying to change the mindset of what it is to be a Cub.

“And those guys coming over, but [Ramírez] specifically coming over, it was a game-changer. Not just for that season but for the future of the Chicago Cubs.”