Everyone's Hero: The Unofficial Novelization

Epilogue

On October 2nd, 1932, the New York Yankees beat the Chicago Cubs by four to zero. Yankee was given a hero's welcome by his peers back in the Bronx and his rivals, thinking that Yankee could beat them mercilessly with a lucky bat by his side, knew none the wiser than to beat him or his team again. Yankee was even interviewed by The Bronx Home News on how he returned the bat and who the real culprits were, describing his adventure with accurate details and a few vague ones. His parents were thrilled too and Mr. Ruppert was so overwhelmed with gratitude that he even gave Yankee's father his old job back.

With Yankee's interview proving to be a reliable source, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis of Chicago charged Taylor, Warneke and Grimm with theft. But because the Yankees won the World Series without Darlin's help, Mr. Wrigley decided to drop the charges and let the three stay on the team, under the condition that they'd be put on probation until retirement or otherwise. Charlie Grimm stayed on as manager until 1938 when he was replaced by Gabby Hartnett. Zack Taylor would go onto become manager for the St. Louis Browns, which would be owned by William Veeck's son, Bill. Lon Warneke would later go on to participate in the 1935 World Series, becoming the only person in history to serve as a player and an umpire in not only a World Series, but in an All-Star Game as well.

As for Wrigley, he accepted the Cubs' defeat with dignity, and from then on, no matter how many games they won, he would always consider the Chicago Cubs and their long running drought to be a disappointment that his father left him behind. But if there was one thing that he could carry to honor his father's legacy, it was his first son, his and Helen's third child, William Wrigley III, born on January 21, 1933.

Lonnie Brewster's dream did come true. In 1934, the Cincinnati Tigers were formed and he was immediately positioned as a catcher, where he even invented the game of shadow ball, which is like the exact manner of a mime playing a ball game. All you have to do is keep your eye on the invisible ball and catch. However, such an act requires great talent, and if there is one thing that Marti could count on, was that her father had all the talent he deserved.

Legends do pass their prime, but that never alters the legends of many baseball stars, regardless of who they play for. In 1962, Yankee Irving, his wife Patricia and their two sons, George and Herman, travelled to Candlewick Stadium for the World Series. It was the thirtieth anniversary of that great adventure that changed his life for the better, even though the Yankees were now playing against the San Francisco Giants. He was happy and sad in San Francisco as he could not fail to see how the world had changed around him while the game stayed fresh in his mind.

He had stopped talking to Screwy when he started college. Darlin' was preserved in a museum, and for a good reason as well. Babe Ruth, who never participated in another World Series, succumbed to throat cancer in 1948. He had outlived his friend Lou Gehrig, who had passed on in 1941 from what loyal followers called "Lou Gehrig's disease". Having died two years before him was Jacob Ruppert, who had given both men their contracts. Bill Klem suffered a fatal heart attack in 1951 just after he had finished his last game. Ed Barrow, who had executed Babe and Gehrig's contracts, died of a malignancy in 1953 and in the following year, the Yankees dedicated a plaque in his honor. Phillip Wrigley would die in 1977 and Joe McCarthy, one year later.

And the story? Was it a great story? You be the judge. I can however, leave you with one thing, though:

Don't believe everything you read about in history books, they cannot be right all the time.