Until this year, every trip the Chicago Cubs made to the World Series went through West Baden Springs, in Orange County, Indiana just outside the Tri-State.
The folks there think of it as a good-luck charm for the Cubbies so long ago, and now they celebrate the victory this year on a flag pole.
French Lick is the site of a century of stories and home to many a miracle sulfur springs. It was thought to be the winning elixir of baseball teams, from the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Cubs.
“What it really did was clean you out,” says Steve Rondinaro, of French Lick Resort, “There were a few managers who thought the players, after a particularly ill-resolute winter needed cleaning out.”
West Baden was the home of Cubs spring training way back in the early 1900s, the last time they were World Series champs.
The diamond they trained on is nothing more than a grass field now. But the gardens they walked in and the path they took are still there, as a reminder of the hotels history.
“The two years they won the World Series back to back,” Rondinaro says pointing to the concrete walkway. It’s engraved with “Welcome to Ballpark,” where the stairs meet the grass.
Most memories of baseball are long gone, but a century later the historic hotel celebrates with the iconic W flag that Cubs fans around the world recognize as their symbol of hope – and victory.
Fans come to get a glimpse of history in their hometown, but there was nary a breeze. Fitting there’s no wind on this day to lift a flag honoring the Windy City.
But even a short sight of the blue and white is enough to put a cherry on top of a dream come true for Royce Busby. “It’s an amazing thing, every year we say, wait ’til next year, and next year finally came.”
