party on

Somewhere, Guy Bush – the Mississippi Mudcat who died in 1985 – and Claude Passeau, who passed in 2003, are smiling. The two Mississippi natives pitched in World Series games for the Chicago Cubs but never won a ring. Now that the Cubs have ended that 108-year championship drought – in one of the most unforgettable Game 7’s ever played – a legion of former Cubs are celebrating on some astral plane or another. Passeau pitched in the Cubs’ previous World Series appearance – in 1945. Former Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan played in Wednesday’s 8-7, 10-inning win against Cleveland – and may still be celebrating at this moment. In the 71 years between those Fall Classic visits, the Cubs’ roster has included Mississippi-connected players Donnie Kessinger, Billy Cowan, Cleo James, Steve Dillard, Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Fassero, Roosevelt Brown, Paul Maholm and quite a few more. Surely, they all took some vicarious thrill in the events of Wednesday night. Also feeling that thrill, we assume, are Justin Steele, Wyatt Short and Delvin Zinn, Mississippians who are currently members of the Cubs’ farm system, the depth of which may signal sustained success for the once-cursed franchise. Yes, it’s a great day to be a Cub.