LAKEVIEW — Jack Leese and three friends were anxious to watch the Cubs play the Detroit Tigers in Game 4 of the 1945 World Series.
The Schurz High School freshman spent the Friday night before the game waiting outside the field along the left field wall with a few hundred other fans on Waveland Avenue. The next morning, they purchased center field bleacher seats for $1.20.
“At that time, the only thing bigger than the World Series would’ve been the heavyweight fights with Joe Louis,” recalled Leese, now 85. “There were a lot of people who couldn’t afford to go, so it was a thrill for us to be there."
The field was not the only place where there was action, Leese remembers.
"There were bets on just about everything," he said. "It was like a craps game."
You could place money on everything from the score to whether a batter would strike out.
"Most of the bets were on hits, runs, strikeouts," he said. "It was usually $1, $2 or $5.
"The guy taking the bets would yell out, ‘I got you covered’ and they would settle up at the end of the inning,” he added. " ... You’d have one guy taking bets covering about a five-row radius."
But he couldn't afford to partake.
"I had no money so I didn’t bet,” he said.
The Cubs went on to lose that game, 4-1, played on Oct. 6, 1945. They would lose the series and not get back until this year.
Jack and Georgia Leese were honored at Wrigley Field. [Provided]
After 71 years, Leese is ecstatic to be able to go finally go back to the World Series. He and his wife, Georgia, have tickets to Games 3 and 4 Friday and Saturday, and will be sitting in section 415 in the upper deck.
The two are long-time Cubs fans.
Leese was head coach for East Leyden High School Football team before he retired in 1992. He won a state title in 1977 and is in the Illinois Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
Georgia, who grew up in Portage Park, took the bus to games throughout high school summer break.
“It became part of my life,” said Georgia, who has attended 30 Cub conventions in 31 years. “I’d sit in the bleachers or the grandstands. Everyone was friendly and there were always people to talk to.”
Jack and Georgia were married in 1955. When Leese retired, they purchased a 40-game season ticket plan.
They remain in awe at Wrigley's beauty and are excited it will finally be back in the national spotlight for the World Series.
“I remember Bill Murray saying, ‘There’s something so special about Wrigley Field.’ At the end of the season, I look at the place and say, ‘I must be able to come back next year! It’s the same feeling I had when I came to games in high school."
While always faithful, they confessed that they didn't believe a World Series was something they would see again.
“I’d told people, it wouldn’t happen in my lifetime,” said Leese.
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