Fundraising campaign leads to front row Cubs tickets for Elgin veteran, 97
Jim Schlegel of Elgin is 97, served at Pearl Harbor, saw the Cubs play in 1945 World Series Game 7 and is “the BIGGEST Cubs fan” ever.
So said his granddaughter Helen Schlegel of Niles, whose GoFundMe plea was titled 'Get My Grandpa to the World Series.' She was on her way to her $10,000 goal when the campaign caught the eye of Marcus Lemonis of CNBC's 'The Profit.'
Lemonis used Twitter to get in touch and ended up giving Jim and his son - Helen's dad - two front-row tickets to Friday's game at Wrigley Field.
Helen Schlegel sent a thank you video of her Cubs cap-wearing grandfather via Twitter: “I appreciate your generosity and hope we bring in a winner. Thank you!” Jim Schlegel said. The $11,921 raised (as of Tuesday night) will be donated to the Purple Heart Foundation, Helen Schlegel wrote in an update to donors.
- Diane Dungey
Testing the field
CLEVELAND - Just before 3 o'clock Eastern on Tuesday afternoon, roughly five hours before the start of the World Series here, former major league lefties Dan Plesac and Al Leiter played catch in right-center at Progressive Field.
Plesac only pitched in one postseason game, the NLDS for Arizona in 1999, while Leiter pitched seven times in three World Series, winning rings with Toronto in 1993 and Florida in 1997. The Marlins beat Cleveland in that World Series.
Plesac and Leiter here are on assignment for the MLB Network.
- Barry Rozner
Hey, W man
“The W Man” guaranteed a shutout win Saturday as the Chicago Cubs faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League championship series - and it came true.
Now the mascot from Naperville sports management firm Game Day USA is making his presence felt in Cleveland as the beloved Cubbies take on the Indians at Progressive Field.
Dressed like a superhero in blue with a “W” banner across his chest, The W Man is once again guaranteeing a Cubs victory - this time in the entire World Series.
The company says fans spotting The W Man can take a picture with him before the big game and tag him on social media using the hashtags #WMAN and #GAMEDAYUSA.
- Marie Wilson
Kids for Cubbies
Talk about starting out on the right foot. Twins Alexander and Anthony Bruton from Round Lake Beach were born April 19 at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, just as the Cubs historic season was getting started.
This month, parents Robert and Alma Bruton brought the new generation of fans to a Baby Homecoming at Condell where they reconnected with nurses and physicians and were given “Born to Fly the W” Cubs Onesies.
As a partner with the Cubs, Advocate Health Care has distributed about 3,000 Onesies to babies in its 12 hospitals. That includes about 200 potential future Bleacher Bums at Condell.