A World Series tribute to old Chicago Cubs and die-hard fans

Who is this one for? First and foremost the Cubs' World Series championship is for the fans.

That's something team chairman Tom Ricketts acknowledged right away Wednesday night, minutes after the Cubs outlasted the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings to win Game 7 of the World Series.

"The Cubs, as a team, they're a member of your family," Ricketts said. "And like all members of the family, you love them, but sometimes they let you down. Maybe they might let you down for 100 years in a row. And we did. We didn't close the deal. And now, just tell everyone thank you and this is for you."

But this one is for a lot of other people, too, some living and some not.

This one is for Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, who rode the wave in 1969 only to see it come crashing down on him and the Cubs late in the season.

Ernie, who died in 2015, never appeared in a postseason game. And you know exactly what his spirit is saying after the Cubs captured their first World Series since 1908: "Let's win two."

This one is for Ernie's teammate, Ron Santo. One can only imagine Ronnie shouting, "Yes! Yes!" after another third baseman, Kris Bryant, threw to first for the final out.

This one is for Billy Williams, he of the sweet swing and the sweeter disposition. After the Cubs clinched the pennant at Wrigley Field by beating the Dodgers, Billy stood in left field, the field he patrolled for so long, and called it "sacred ground." May Billy see several more of these.

This one is for Jack Brickhouse, who no doubt looked down and gave a big "Hey Hey!" I started thinking about Jack late in the game, remembering it also was in Cleveland where he called the White Sox's pennant clincher in 1959. Nobody saw more bad Cubs baseball than Jack, but he was a ray of sunshine every afternoon.

This one is for Harry Caray, who no doubt is toasting one and bellowing "Holy cow!" I remember Harry's eyes tearing up at the end of one season. He broadcast World Series wins for the Cardinals, but never for the Cubs.

This one is for Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau. Like Brickhouse on TV, they were your Cubs companions on the radio side, with Vince giving it the "Holy mackerel!" after every big play. Lou had ties to both the Cubs and Indians, who honor him with a special place in Progressive Field.

This one is for Phil Cavarretta, the Chicago boy who played on the 1945 pennant winners, the last team before this year's club to make it to the World Series. Phil wore No. 44, a number carried on with honor today by fellow first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

This one is for Gabby Hartnett, whose "homer in the gloamin' " helped the Cubs to the 1938 pennant.

This one is for "Jolly Cholly," Charlie Grimm. The left-handed banjo player played for, managed and broadcast for the Cubs. When the Cubs acquired reliever Justin Grimm, us old-timers told him he had the perfect name for a Cub.

This one is for Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who was welcomed back into the organization and was able to enjoy this World Series run in person. Pure class.

This one is for the Hawk, Sut, the Sarge and Bobby D.

This one is for Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux, a pair of Hall of Fame No. 31s who threw out ceremonial first pitches at Wrigley Field.

This one is for Kerry Wood, who fell short in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS and remains an ambassador for the club. It was good to see him in the clubhouse Wednesday. In all the years I covered Kerry, we never had a bad word between us.

This one is for modern-day warrior Ryan Dempster, the face of the Cubs for much of a decade. Woe to anyone who badmouthed the Cubs when they got down against the Dodgers in the NLCS in Demp's presence. The Cubs traded him in 2012, but you'll never take the Cub out of Dempster, and he's now a special assistant to the team.

This one is for Tom "Otis" Hellmann and Gary Stark, the longtime clubhouse guys. They get to the park before everybody and leave after everybody. It was so good to see them reveling in the clubhouse fun Wednesday night. And here's a tip of the white fishing hat to retired clubhouse man Yosh Kawano.

This one is for the execs who tried but couldn't get it done.

Former GM Jim Hendry and his lieutenants brought in Javier Baez and Willson Contreras, and current team president Theo Epstein makes sure to remind people of that.

Hendry's old boss, Andy MacPhail, remains gracious and kind in his current role with the Phillies.

Dallas Green's 1984 team came within a fingertip of the World Series.

But Tom Ricketts had it right in the first place: This one's for you.

• Follow Bruce's Cubs and baseball reports on Twitter @BruceMiles2112.