Temperatures dipped low the night the Cubs lost Game 4 of the World Series. But Tommy Warner and his wife, Stella, were able to stay warm thanks to the kindness of two Naperville residents who gave the Texas couple a blanket to ward off the chill.
Warner wants to find a way to thank them again, but he doesn’t remember their names.
“They were such good people,” said Tommy Warner, 81, of Austin, Texas. “I just want to thank them again and share a photo we took with them.”
A lifelong resident of Texas, Warner grew up a fan of the Cubs after buying a book on baseball in the spring of 1945. Although the book was more about the 1944 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, a photo of the Cubs and the famous ivy-covered wall caught the eye of a 10-year-old Warner.
There was something appealing about that image, and he began to follow the Cubs, he said. Of course, that year the team went on to the World Series, only to lose in Game 7 to the Detroit Tigers. But Warner was hooked on the team and became a devoted fan despite the proximity of teams closer to his hometown.
He turned Stella into a fan as well and promised her that if the Cubs ever made it to the World Series again, they would go, Warner said.
“I suffered with them all those years and didn’t think they would go back (to the World Series) in my lifetime,” he said. “I never took that promise too seriously.”
But after the Cubs took the National League pennant, Warner said they talked about what fun it would be to go. Warner’s son and daughter-in-law made the dream come true, securing airline tickets, a motel room near Wrigley Field and — as a surprise — tickets to rooftop seats just outside the park.
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That was not the only surprise of the night. Warner and his wife were not prepared for the temperatures to go as low as they did. The two Texans, wearing only sweatshirts, were shivering as they watched the game.
Enter two Naperville residents, who gave the couple a large fleecy Cubs blanket to stave off the chill.
“I just want to say ‘thank you’ to them again and send them a photo of all of us,” Warner said. “I let them get away without getting their name and phone number or email address. I just remember she said her husband was in transportation.”
Warner said they do not know if the Naperville couple brought the blanket to the park or bought it at a souvenir stand for them. Those are some questions he would like to ask, but mostly he would just like to thank them for their kindness, he said.
“It was great being at the game, but it was wonderful to meet nice and good people,” Warner said.
Although the Cubs did not win that night, Warner said he got choked up when they pulled off that stunning Game 7 win in the 10th inning.
“The fact they won the World Series kinda choked me up, but meeting such nice people makes it even better,” Warner said.
So, if the good Samaritans are out there, reach out to the Naperville Sun because Tommy Warner wants to say “thanks.”
Alex Keown is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.