This is the year for lover of Cubs, baseball

Andy. this is the year! Seventy years ago, I was walking home from St. Mary's School in Des Plaines and stopped to listen to the roar of the crowd being blasted out of a radio by a homeowner. That was the day that the World Series Championship was lost to the Cubs.

Fast forward to the 1990s and I moved to a new home in Mount Prospect and discovered Andy Pafko, who played in the 1945 World Series for the Cubs, was my next door neighbor. Every summer I would sit on his porch and discuss the Cubs' chances for that year.

Andy? Is this the year? "Tom, we'll have to wait and see ... maybe". He always held out hope.

For those fans that don't know, Andy played for the Cubs, Milwaukee and the Dodgers. He went on to manage a farm team and then was a scout. He loved baseball and had a lifetime batting average of .285.

He took me to Wrigley and explained the game to me from a professional point of view. We sat behind home plate and all the scouts from other teams came over and paid their respects. Joe DiMaggio and Hank Williams was his model for excellence in baseball and were his friends.

In my eyes, he was Mr. Baseball. We lost him in 2013. He should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He deserves it for loving the game more than anyone I know. Andy would be impressed by the Joe's and Hank's that the Cubs are blessed with this year. They are awesome.

Andy. This is the year!

Thomas A. Braun

Mount Prospect