Of all the wonderful, emotional stories about family and tradition surrounding the Chicago Cubs history World Series victory, this one makes me choke up the most. Last night for Game 7, Wayne Williams drove from his home in North Carolina to his father’s grave in Indiana. He listened to the game’s final calls in the cemetery next to his late dad, honoring a father-son pack to listen to the games together, despite his father passing away in 1980 at the age of 53. via WHTR:
“I talked it out with my boys forever. I let them know that I told my dad – we had a pact. When the Cubs – not if, when – the Cubs got into the World Series, we would make sure we listen to the games together,” Williams said.
Look, dad, here’s your son, keeping his part of the bargain.
Williams set up camp in the military section of Greenwood Forest Lawn Cemetery after an all-day drive from North Carolina.
His dad died at age 53 in 1980. A Navy veteran.
“World War II, he was a signalman,” Williams said. “He was at Normandy, D-Day +8. He had not turned 18 yet.”
It may have been the Navy that made his dad a Cubs fan.
“I think it was because when he was at boot camp at Great Lakes. He probably went to some games, because Wrigley’s brought the guys out there for these things and it was the closest thing to big-time baseball he’d ever seen,” Williams said.
His dad was a loyal Cubs fan.
If you’re not crying after watching Williams gush about his dad as a Cubs fan, you don’t have a soul. It’s about as beautiful of a sports moment as it gets.
[protected-iframe id=”6ef2dec13b11326e09f051545139a903-97886205-93351060″ info=”//player.ooyala.com/static/v4/stable/4.6.9/skin-plugin/iframe.html?ec=45NTU4NzE6ThlhGvw5VE_DGR-qCXhPPi&pbid=d61aae005ea24888be90b593a0483d70&pcode=F3aWYyOjVCeVkayB8rPH2I21_VDj” width=”640″ height=”480″ frameborder=”0″]