Maniford Harper, known to his friends as Hack, is true to his word when he is buried in a Cub uniform, keeping to the arrangements that made him a central Illinois celebrity in 1980. The 75 year-old Washburn (IL) native’s devotion to the team began in 1926 when as a polio-stricken 11-year-old, Chicago legend Hack Wilson, who was among several players visiting the local Shriners hospital, put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and correctly predicted, ‘Kid, stick it out. Someday you’re gonna walk’.

This Day In Baseball

On December 10, 1990 — Maniford Harper, known to his friends as Hack, is true to his word when he is buried in a Cub uniform, keeping to the arrangements that made him a central Illinois celebrity in 1980. The 75 year-old Washburn (IL) native’s devotion to the team began in 1926 when as a polio-stricken 11-year-old, Chicago legend Hack Wilson, who was among several players visiting the local Shriners hospital, put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and correctly predicted, ‘Kid, stick it out. Someday you’re gonna walk’.

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