The Steve Bartman game between the Cubs and Marlins at Wrigley Field, otherwise known as Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, was 15 years ago this Sunday, Oct. 14. Here are some things to know about the game and the aftermath.
After Luis Castillo's foul ball with one out in the eighth bounced off Bartman's hands, it landed in the lap of a 33-year-old lawyer sitting behind him. The unnamed attorney, who said he planned to fund his child's college education with the profits, put the baseball up for auction in December 2003. Harry Caray's restaurant bought it for $113,824. Then in February 2004, at the restaurant on West Kinzie Street, Oscar-winning special-effects coordinator Michael Lantieri drilled a hole in the ball, inserted explosives and blew it up. Emcee Tim Walkoe told the crowd and a national TV audience: “You're now looking at $113,000 worth of string.” The remains are on display in a glass case at the Chicago Sports Museum in Water Tower Place.
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