How long has it been for Tribe, Cubs? Papers tell story

The Cubs are playing the Indians in the World Series. Say it a few times if you still don’t believe it.

Savor this Fall Classic, which actually, really, truly, sincerely does begin on Tuesday night at Progressive Field and which a decently sized portion of the baseball world has been anticipating for a looooong time. No matter who wins, history will be made and a long-suffering fan base on the north side of Chicago or the shores of Lake Erie will witness a far-too-rare title.

World Series gear: Cubs | Indians

To truly comprehend just how rare, let’s hop in the hardball time machine and revisit the world the day after each team last won a Fall Classic on the front pages of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Chicago Daily Tribune.

• World Series Game 1: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET air time | 8 ET game time on FOX

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 1948: Indians Win World Title

Harry S. Truman was soon to be elected president, weeks before a newspaper would erroneously report that he had lost the 1948 election to New York governor Thomas Dewey. But on this day, there was no error in the morning daily. The Indians really did beat the Braves, 4-3, to wrap up the Series in six games. Bob Lemon got the win in the deciding game, but no player was celebrated more in Game 6 than reliever Gene Bearden, who got a key eighth-inning double-play ball to halt a Boston rally and walked away with a 1 2/3-innings save and a ring.

Several Indians-related articles adorned the front page of the paper, including the greeting for the returning heroes at Cleveland Airport and the plans for the day’s parade, set for 8:30 a.m. from Union Terminal east on Euclid Avenue to University Circle “following arrival of train with Indians aboard,” and expected to be “simple and swift, according to Mayor Thomas A. Burke.”

Other stories on the front page depicted the percolating and …

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