Wayne Williams promised decades ago to be with his father the next time the Chicago Cubs made it to the World Series, and he made good on his word Wednesday, covering more than 650 miles to listen to the game beside his father's gravesite.
"I talked it out with my boys forever. I let them know that I told my dad -- we had a pact," Williams told WTHR. "When the Cubs -- not if, when -- the Cubs got into the World Series, we would make sure we listen to the games together."
Williams said his father, also named Wayne Williams, made him a lifelong Cubs fan and always had faith in the skill of the team. He was a signalman for the U.S. Navy during World War II and died of cancer in 1980, according to WTHR and The News & Observer.
With the Cubs on the cusp Wednesday of their first World Series championship in 108 years, the younger Williams made the trip from his home in North Carolina to Greenwood Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greenwood, Indiana. He set up in the cemetery's military section, pulled out his smartphone and turned on the game, according to WTHR.
He listened at his father's gravesite as the Cubs took the World Series championship, beating the Cleveland Indians 8-7.
Williams said his father would not have been surprised by the win.
"He would have said, 'I told (you), I told you they would (have) won,' " he told The News & Observer.
About the Author
