O’Connell: A Tiger’s tale: Mierkowicz is sole survivor of Cubs’ last World Series
From Patrick O’Connell at the Chicago Tribune on February 24, 2016:
His 6-foot-4 frame fills the bed, the rumpled sheets and blanket covering his bare feet. Ventilators hum. The weary moans of an elderly woman fill the hallway. Nurses, therapists and guests shuttle in and out of the room, a fabric curtain the only partition between Ed Mierkowicz and a new roommate.
A few days before, Mierkowicz, 91, fell at his apartment, injuring his hip, leg and left foot. Now his head is propped up on a mound of pillows in Room 107 of the Woodward Hills Nursing Center in the Detroit suburbs. He hopes the pain subsides so he can go back home.
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Tacked to the bulletin board is a photocopied, black-and-white photo of a young baseball player wearing a Detroit Tigers cap and uniform.
It’s a picture of a promising outfielder with a strong arm and good speed living out a boy’s dream of playing for his hometown team. There’s Mierkowicz 70 years ago, the same prominent nose and kind eyes.
It’s a picture of the last remaining survivor of the 1945 Cubs-Tigers World Series.
Read the full article here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-1945-world-series-survivor-met-20160224-story.html
Originally published: February 25, 2016. Last Updated: February 25, 2016.