Naperville school celebrates Cubs with great-great granddaughter of 1908 catcher

Mya Zatloukal doesn't know much about her great-great-grandfather, but a poetry assignment helped her realize he was part of something very special.

For weeks, every fifth-grader at May Watts Elementary School in Naperville worked on the assignment, called “Where I'm From.” They had to research their ancestry and write something that reflected their personal history.

“Mya comes up to me one day, shortly before these things are due, and she explains to me that her great-great-grandfather was a catcher for the Cubs when they played (and won) the 1908 World Series,” said Mya's teacher, Ann Covert.

That catcher, Johnny Kling, was a Kansas City native who was part of the Cubs dynasty from 1906 to 1910. He was the starting catcher in the final game of the 1908 World Series and known for his ability to throw out players attempting to steal bases. He also was Mya's mother's great-grandfather.

“They thought it was really cool,” Mya said of her classmates' reactions. “They were like, ‘You're famous.'”

On Thursday, several teachers sporting Cubs gear gathered in Covert's room after school to take a photograph with Mya.

“This was just really fun,” Covert said. “We just felt like, my goodness, what a cool connection for May Watts, to have this little girl in our room. She certainly needed to put Johnny Kling in her poem.”