The Cubs, World War II and Chicago in 1945-- Part 12: After the Series

Upon returning to Boyceville, Andy Pafko was greeted by an airplane trailing a banner proclaiming:  "Our hero is back home."  The town honored him with a banquet, and then he changed into overalls.  "The cows had to be milked," he recalled.

Shortstop Lennie Merullo was determined that his memories wouldn't fade.  For the World Series, he was replaced with a more experienced player, Roy Hughes.  But he got into the sixth game and was spiked by a Tigers player, leaving him with a 3-inch gash on his forearm.  In the clubhouse, a doctor had no sooner sewn him up than Merullo started pulling out the stitches.  For weeks he picked at the scab, determined to have a flesh-and-blood souvenir.

"Even now, 50 years later, I'll stare at that scar, Merullo told a Trib reporter in 1995.  "And, I'll say to myself: 'You were there, Len.  You played in a World Series."

Lenny Merullo died May 30, 2015.  Probably one of the last members of the 1945 Chicago Cubs.

--GreGen