He was just a boy the last time it happened. The year was 1917. The Chicago White Sox were the toast of the town. And, Grandpa, he was a fan. He absolutely loved baseball. I can imagine his excitement at his home town team winning the World Series. I wonder if he ever thought about the fact that the Sox, or the Cubs for that matter would never win a Series again in his lifetime.
My Grandpa's dad was a Chicago cop. I never met my great-grandpa. I wonder if his duties as an officer required him to be a part of the security detail at the world's greatest sporting spectacle - the 1917 World Series. I wonder if he had sercurity duty at the 1919 World Series. That series will forever be remembered as the series that the Chicago White Sox threw, resulting in the banning from baseball for life of 8 players. I wonder if Grandpa's heart broke when the 1959 White Sox couldn't erase the ghosts of 1919.
I remember Grandpa telling me once about watching Babe Ruth play in person. He told me that his favorite ball player to watch was Lou Gehrig. He had even taken home movies of Gehrig and told me that he'd show them to me one day. It never happened. I think he disposed of a lot of his home movies when he moved from his home in Wheaton to his apartment. I'd sure love to see those films now.
Grandpa was a bigger Cub fan than a Sox fan. He loved going to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs play. For a time, he was the Senior Pastor of Addison Street Baptist Church. The church is located just blocks down the street from Wrigley. In the year's he pastored Addison Street, he was able to go to as many games as he wanted for free. Clergy didn't have to pay for ball games back then. It was one of the perks for making so little money. Some of his best visitation with church members happened in the bleachers of Wrigley Field.
One of my favorite childhood memories was when just one day after having my wisdom teeth removed my Grandpa called me to tell me that he had received four box seats to Wrigley Field. He wondered if I'd go with him. The only thing that would have made me leave my bed that day was a chance to see Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson play in person. I was there. And today, it's not seeing my baseball heroes that I remember. It's sitting next to my Grandpa, with his arm around me, and his stories of baseball. I miss those days.
Last night, the Chicago White Sox did it! Led by their feisty manager, Ozzie Guillen, who my Dad took me to see when I was a boy, the Sox erased 88 years of futility. A four game sweep of the Houston Astros and the White Sox are champions of the world.
I'm a Cub fan, but this feels good. Maybe next year the Cubs will make it happen. For now, I'm happy for the City of Chicago.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
Ecclesiastes 3:1
1 comment:
What an exciting time to be a Chicago White Sox fan! I also remember Grandpa's stories. I never saw his movies either and didn't know he had any. If he did they were probably lost when the basement of his house flooded and ruined much of his library along with other items. I loved taking you to several baseball games - let's do it again!!
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