Cubs fever strikes in Batavia

It was some sort of strange virus. My temperature was 101. All I wanted to do was sit and watch TV for long periods of time - nine innings, to be exact.

Could it be that I had Cubs fever, something I hadn't suffered since 2009?

I have been a Cubs fan my entire life, living through the ups and downs of winning and losing. I spent many fun afternoons in Wrigley Field, sometimes sitting behind the Cubs dugout, close enough to hear Ron Santo whistle while he worked.

When I was in high school, I wrote the "Bulldog Barks" column about activities at the high school for the Batavia Herald. (Mayor) Jeff Schielke wrote a column about Batavia sports. During the summer months we could write about summer activities. On more than one occasion, we wrote across our columns about the Cubs, since the park district and area churches offered trips to Wrigley Field to see the team play.

"I grew up a Cubs fan because most of my friends were Cubs fans," said Schielke. "But I haven't really been following them in recent years."

Schielke commented on how many people have hoped to see the Cubs win the World Series in their lifetime - a dream that eluded many.

My grandparents would never miss a game on WGN. However, they were not fans of Jack Brickhouse, so they would watch the games with sound off and listen to the commentary on the radio.

Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke was a Brickhouse fan.

"I worked with Brian Henry at WGSB Radio doing color for high school sports," said Schielke, "Jack and Nelda Brickhouse owned WGSB and one time, Jack was at the station and invited Brian and me to come to Wrigley Field and watch the game from the press booth. It was a small, open-air space. Jack had all of his information on paper and when the wind would blow, the papers flew everywhere. We were scrambling to pick up the papers for him."

He also got to see the politics of the press booth.

Andy Frain ushers would come up to the booth with notes from fans requesting a photo with Jack or an autograph.

"He'd look at the request and decide whether or not to see them," added Schielke. "His auto mechanic made it in because he knew he would always need him to keep his car in running order."

My friends and I would send notes to the booth using our finest cursive writing to fool him into thinking we were adults. No wonder my request for an autograph was always denied. He must have known that my grandfather turned down the volume on him daily.

Local barber Craig Foltos has a photo on the wall of his shop that shows his Little League team standing with Ken Hubbs, the second baseman who played for the Cubs from 1961 to 1963. Hubbs led all National League rookies in games, hits, doubles, triples, runs and batting average. For those accomplishments, he was named the Rookie of the Year in 1962.

"I don't know who had the connection to Ken Hubbs, but he came to a youth baseball night at the Moose and gave a talk," said Foltos. "Then he stayed for pictures with all the teams. To have the Rookie of the Year out here in Batavia was pretty exciting."

A year later, Hubbs would tragically lose his life in an airplane crash.

"That was so hard because we all felt like we had this connection to him." said Foltos.

Foltos remembers going to Wrigley Field when he was a kid.

"We didn't have a lot of money, so we would bring our own popcorn and other snacks," he said. "And we would go for doubleheaders to get our money's worth."

Foltos recalled a quote by the late Tribune columnist Steve Daly.

"He wrote that 'sports should be the coffee break of life,'" said Foltos. "It's great to hear people talking about the Cubs and getting excited about the team."

Yup, it's definitely Cubs fever and it's definitely contagious.