Cub players Andy Pafko and Claude Passeau lived at Sheridan Plaza Hotel and walked to the ballpark, attracting fans.''"Sometimes, fans would keep us company for a block or two," Pafko told a Tribune reporter. "I liked to save streetcar fare because I was sending money home to help Dad pay off the mortgage on the farm."
Pafko's parents had emigrated from Slovakia to Boyceville, Wisconsin. Hard-working, they had never seen their son play -- until one day that season, neighbors insisted they would milk the cows at the Pafkos and they should go down to Chicago.
That day, Pafko hit a grand slam and screaming fans leaped to their feet. Pafko's parents didn't know if the fans were yelling for or at their son until a man in the next box leaned over and explained: "Your son did the best thing a ballplayer can."
--GreGen
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