The last time the Chicago Cubs won a World Series was 1908. The last time they made it there was 1945. As of Sunday, May 31, there is no living ballplayer that has participated in a World Series for the Cubs' franchise.
Lennie Merullo was the last of those players. The former Cubs' shortstop passed away yesterday due to complications from a stroke, his son Rick told the New York Times. Merullo played seven seasons with Chicago and owned a career stat line of .240/.291/.301 with 191 runs scored, 6 home runs, 152 RBIs and 38 stolen bases in 639 career games.
He is one of the lesser known MLB players because most of his career took place during World War II, which was when a majority of the game's top players were fighting abroad (he was deferred from serving in the military because of color blindness). The Cubs honored him last year when he threw out the first pitch and led the crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during Wrigley Field's 100th anniversary season.
Chicago had a moment of silence for their former shortstop before yesterday's game against the Kansas City Royals.
We held a moment of silence before today's game for Lennie Merullo, who passed away yesterday at age 98. pic.twitter.com/BIlFUZpt5Z
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 31, 2015
Merullo and the 1945 Cubs team came as close as they could to ending the franchise's World Series drought. They fell to the Detroit Tigers in Game 7 at Wrigley Field by the score of 9-3. Chicago had an excellent chance of winning the series, but ultimately failed to do so.
Back then the lower seed had the first three home games of the series while the higher seed took the final four games. The Cubs (the higher seed) managed to come out of Detroit up 2-1 after the first three games, but then dropped three of four at home to keep the organization's title drought alive.
Merullo played in only three games and compiled two at-bats during the 1945 World Series.
"Merullo's MLB career wasn't spectacular (he was a lifetime .240 hitter), but his contributions to the game were more than that," writes Mike Oz of Yahoo! Sports. "Most notably, he worked as a baseball scout for more than 50 years. He spent 1950-1972 with the Cubs, becoming their chief scout. Then he worked for the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau until he retired in 2003 at the age of 85."
Cubs' owner Tom Ricketts issued a statement yesterday in the wake of Merullo's death.
"We were saddened to hear the news our oldest living Cub Lennie Merullo passed away earlier today. While I have experienced many joys as owner of this great franchise, one of the most memorable was meeting Lennie last season. When the Cubs last appeared in a World Series in 1945, Lennie was a 28-year-old shortstop. Nearly 70 years later, he brought the same youthful spirit and excitement, as he threw out the first pitch and led the entire ballpark in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame'" joined by family and friends. If there was any doubt Wrigley Field does make dreams come true, you could look into Lennie's eyes beaming with joy as he visited his beloved ballpark for what would be the last time. He told everyone he would never forget that day. To his family, friends and loved ones, our organization will never forget him."
It's all now up to the future of the Cubs to represent the franchise in a World Series. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer already have the youth movement underway to turn the organization around and snap the 106-year drought.
