Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

This Lifelong Cubs Fan Died 3 Days Before Team Won The World Series

By Justin Breen | November 7, 2016 5:22am
 Gary Repetto, 72, died three days before the Cubs won the World Series.
Gary Repetto, 72, died three days before the Cubs won the World Series.
View Full Caption
David Repetto

CHICAGO — Gary Repetto's final words were spoken at 9:30 on a Sunday morning.

He told his wife and two daughters they'd all be watching Game 5 of the World Series together that night.

"We'll be watching the game," he said in what his wife, Antoinette, described as a "weak, tired voice."

At 11:47 a.m. on Oct. 30, Repetto, 72, died. A few hours later, his beloved Chicago Cubs won Game 5 against the Indians at Wrigley Field. A few days later, in Cleveland, they won their first World Series since 1908.

"I was ripped apart on Wednesday when they won Game 7," said Repetto's brother, David, a River East resident, and like Gary, an Irving Park native who grew up about 2 miles west of Wrigley Field at Addison Street and Kimball Avenue.

 A photo of Gary Repetto (second from left), shows the standout fullback/linebacker during his playing days at Weber High School. He earned a football scholarship to the University of New Mexico.
A photo of Gary Repetto (second from left), shows the standout fullback/linebacker during his playing days at Weber High School. He earned a football scholarship to the University of New Mexico.
View Full Caption
Gary Repetto

"He was so excited that they were finally in the World Series. But he knew he was dying, and he knew he had only a short time left," David said.

David had called his brother, who lived with Antoinette in Chandler, Ariz., after the first three World Series games. Even though the Cubs were trailing 2-1 in the series at the time, David said his brother, three years older, was optimistic.

David called his brother one final time Sunday, about an hour after Gary said his final words and about an hour before he died, but their father was unable to talk.

Before Gary's death, David's wife, Gail, wrote Gary's obituary. Gary himself edited it. It appeared in Thursday's Tribune, the same paper that was filled with Cubs World Series celebratory photos, stories, editorials, and pages of bonus coverage.

"I wish he could have seen it with his own eyes," Antoinette said of the Cubs winning the World Series. "But I think wherever he was, he had a better view, and I know he was watching."

The Cubs played a key role throughout all of Gary's life. As a kid, he went to games with David and their dad, Bill, who David said attended the 1932 World Series game where Babe Ruth called his home run.

In their youth, David and Gary would stay until the end of games, then lift the seat lids to upright positions, starting in left field and then going an entire row all the way to right field. When they got to the end, they were given vouchers for free tickets for future games. It was common practice in those days for kids to lift the seat lids over entire lengths of rows so Wrigley workers could more easily remove the trash under them.

"You could go through the whole summer without buying a ticket," David said.

When Gary was a student at the now-closed Weber High School, he was also an Andy Frain usher at Wrigley, guiding people to their seats. He was a standout football and baseball player at Weber. As a star fullback/linebacker, he helped the Red Horde win the 1961 Prep Bowl championship over Lane Tech before 83,750 fans at Soldier Field — and played both sports at the University of New Mexico, where he had earned a football scholarship. He also became a football coach at the university.

Gary stayed out West for most of the remainder of his life — although he returned to Chicago and taught and coached baseball at Weber for three years in the late 1960s — but never stopped loving the Cubs and always was involved with sports.

He met his wife while serving as commissioner of the Young America Football League of New Mexico, a statewide youth football program. Antoinette had a part-time job in that office.

The couple celebrated their 40th anniversary on Aug. 18. Twelve days later, Repetto — a corporate recruiter of engineers in the mining and defense industries for 39 years who then became a novelist — released the second of his two books.

The first book Repetto wrote, released in 2015, is titled "Prairie Fire" and is based on Chicago's Catholic League football conference. He drew heavily from his experiences playing for Weber, which at the time was a Catholic League power.

 Gary Repetto played football and baseball at the now-closed Weber High School in Chicago. He was an Irving Park native and lifelong Cubs fan.
Gary Repetto played football and baseball at the now-closed Weber High School in Chicago. He was an Irving Park native and lifelong Cubs fan.
View Full Caption
David Repetto

The second book is called "Afraid of the Dark" — a story about a 12-year-old boy who time-travels from the present to 1969, finding himself a player for the Chicago Cubs during their historic collapse late in the season.

But in Gary's story, the player saves the Cubs and takes them to the brink of making the World Series. It's a book, David said, of what could have been with the 1969 Cubs, and "what we experienced of what just really happened with the current Cubs."

"When the book came out, he was healthy, and we were so busy," Antoinette said.

But a few days later, Gary was diagnosed with bile duct cancer — the same type of cancer that ravaged Walter Payton's body.

"It was a complete surprise," Antoinette said.

Gary's health quickly declined. He could barely move. Breathing was difficult.

His biggest joy besides family was watching the Cubs' playoff run. Just after the season began, he told his wife and brother that he truly felt this was the year "they would finally beat the curse," David said.

Antoinette said her late husband called this year's Cubs team "Cubbies" because they were so young. During the first four World Series games that Gary got to see, Antoinette said she could feel him trying to "push the team forward as if he was coaching them."

And when an umpire's call went against the Cubs or they made a sloppy play, he would slowly shake his head.

A memorial service for Gary will be set at a later date. Antoinette said her husband "is going to be missed by a lot of us."

David said he misses his brother and regrets Gary wasn't alive for three more days to see a lifelong dream become a reality.

"I was just praying he could see the other day, but it didn't happen," he said.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.