My grandma was a dedicated Cubs fan. But, as a young boy I followed the favorite team of the men in the family, my grandpa and dad, who liked the St. Louis Cardinals. I remember my grandma being outnumbered by the three of us as we argued about who had the better team and which one was going to win major league baseball’s National League pennant.

Grandma never wavered from her belief in the Cubs’ ability to win, even when year after year they never made it to the World Series. We Cardinals’ fans seemed to have more reason to have faith in our team’s ability, since they won the World Series many times.

In 1963 I remember feeling bitter disappointment when the Cardinals made a furious comeback to catch the Dodgers for first place late in September, but promptly lost three games in a row to that team in Dodger-blue and fall helplessly behind them again.

The Cubs didn’t come as close to winning in 1963, and Grandma had no sympathy for us Cardinals fans. The same was true in 1964 when the Cardinals were nine games behind the Phillies with only a few games left in September. The Cardinals made another furious comeback and won the pennant on the last day of the season.

I was just a little boy at the time, but it seems so clear in my mind. Grandma couldn’t believe that the Cardinals had overcome such a large deficit to win it all that year. Nor could she believe that her beloved Cubs would fail to muster even a glimpse of winning.

Cardinal-red was everywhere in 1964, or so it seemed. Like so many young boys, I secretly took a radio to school so I could listen to the World Series games during recess.

I remember that some of the other boys would wear an ear piece to silently listen to the game during class. I knew my grandma would never approve of such a thing, so I didn’t try it. The other boys let me know when the Cardinals scored through secret codes and hand signals arranged beforehand, so I felt like I was listening to the games and could quietly cheer for them.

Grandma’s beloved Cubs never won the World Series, or even the pennant, before she passed away. Not since 1906 have they done so. My grandma was a little girl herself in 1906 and her memories of that event where as vivid to her as mine are of the Cardinals. Happy events of our youth, even sporting events, seem to linger with us as we grow older.

Despite her love for the Cubs and ours for the Cardinals, grandma loved us all. She was outnumbered by Cardinals fans in her family, but she never wavered in her loyalty to the Cubs as she stayed faithful to all the ones she truly loved.