Ted Radcliffe is 1 of the few still alive who can remember when the Cubs last won a World Series
Question. Do you recall when the Cubs last won the World Series?
Answer. I am 101 years old, so I was 6 when the Cubs won it. I was growing up in Mobile, Ala., then.
Q. You were an All-Star catcher and pitcher in the Negro leagues for half a century, including a stint with the Chicago American Giants in 1934, 1941-43 and again from 1949-50. I know you played in Negro League All-Star games in front of 50,000 people at the old Comiskey Park. Did you ever play exhibition games at Wrigley Field?
A. We played one game at Wrigley Field one year during the war. But we played the rest of them at Comiskey Park because it was bigger, and they could make more money when we played there.
Q. Did you ever play against any of the Cubs players from the 1945 team that made it to the World Series?
A. I played against Andy Pafko and all of them. The boy who played third base . . . what was his name? Stan Hack. He was good. And Pafko was a good ballplayer. Lennie Merullo, the shortstop; he was one of their best.
Q. Do you have any advice for the Cubs here in the playoffs?
A. I just wish them well, that’s all. They wouldn’t listen to me anyway.
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