INTRODUCTION:
There are songs that entertain, songs that inspire, and then there are songs that become part of a city’s soul. For generations of baseball fans in Chicago, Steve Goodman’s “A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request” belongs firmly in that final category. It is more than a song. It is a love letter, a farewell, a prayer, and perhaps the most honest portrait ever written about what it means to remain loyal when hope seems impossible.
For countless supporters of the Chicago Cubs, heartbreak was not an occasional visitor—it was a way of life. Seasons ended in disappointment. Dreams faded with every passing autumn. Yet the fans kept coming back, filling the seats of Wrigley Field, believing that maybe next year would finally be the year.
No one understood that devotion better than Steve Goodman.
A gifted songwriter, storyteller, and lifelong Cubs fanatic, Goodman faced a battle far more serious than any baseball season. While living with leukemia, he transformed his pain into art, crafting a song that mixed laughter with sorrow and humor with mortality. Decades later, the song still resonates because it tells a universal truth: sometimes love means staying faithful even when the odds are stacked against you.
And in one of baseball’s most heartbreaking twists of fate, Goodman never lived to witness the miracle he spent his life waiting for.
A Songwriter With Baseball in His Blood
Before he became a baseball folk hero, Steve Goodman was already respected as one of America’s finest singer-songwriters. Best known for writing the classic “City of New Orleans,” Goodman possessed a rare gift for capturing everyday emotions and transforming them into unforgettable stories.
But beyond music, another passion defined his life.
The Chicago Cubs.
For Goodman, supporting the Cubs was not a hobby. It was part of his identity. Like millions of Chicagoans, he grew up believing in a team that seemed forever trapped between promise and disappointment.
The beauty of baseball, however, is that hope never completely dies.
Even after devastating losses.
Even after decades without a championship.
Even after generations passed without seeing victory.
That spirit became the emotional foundation for “A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request.”
“Do me one favor before I die… give me one last look at Wrigley Field.”
The song was humorous on the surface, but beneath every joke lived a painful reality.
Goodman was writing from experience.
Fighting Leukemia With Laughter
For much of his life, Steve Goodman battled leukemia, a disease that repeatedly threatened to cut short his remarkable career.
Many people facing such circumstances retreat inward.
Goodman did the opposite.
He performed.
He traveled.
He wrote songs.
And perhaps most importantly, he continued laughing.
Friends often marveled at his ability to joke about his illness. He famously adopted the nickname “Cool Hand Leuk,” a playful reference that reflected his refusal to surrender his spirit.
That same wit appears throughout “A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request.”
The song imagines a devoted Cubs supporter preparing for death while still obsessing over baseball. The character’s final wishes revolve around the team he loves, creating moments that are simultaneously funny and heartbreaking.
The humor works because it is genuine.
Goodman understood something many artists miss:
People can laugh and cry at the same time.
The Prophecy Nobody Expected
As Goodman’s health declined in the early 1980s, his connection to the Cubs remained unwavering.
Then came one of the most remarkable coincidences in sports history.
On September 20, 1984, Steve Goodman passed away at just 36 years old.
The baseball world lost a beloved songwriter.
Chicago lost one of its most passionate fans.
But the story was not finished.
Just four days later, the Chicago Cubs clinched the National League East Division title.
For the first time since 1945, the Cubs were heading to the postseason.
The moment Goodman had dreamed about his entire life had finally arrived.
Yet he was gone.
Four days too early.
That fact alone transformed “A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request” from a clever baseball song into something almost mythical.
Fans could not ignore the heartbreaking timing.
The man who spent years singing about the eternal hope of Cubs supporters had died only days before their greatest achievement in nearly four decades.
Jimmy Buffett’s Emotional Tribute
The emotional weight of Goodman’s passing extended throughout the baseball and music communities.
Eight days after his death, the Cubs played their first postseason game in nearly forty years.
Goodman had originally been scheduled to perform the national anthem.
Instead, the honor fell to Jimmy Buffett.
Before singing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Buffett dedicated the performance to Goodman, ensuring that his friend remained part of the historic occasion.
For many fans in attendance, it was an unforgettable moment.
The celebration of baseball became a memorial.
The victory became bittersweet.
The dream had arrived, but one of its greatest believers was no longer there to see it.
Forever Part of Wrigley Field
Years later, Goodman’s connection to Wrigley Field became permanent.
In April 1988, a portion of his ashes was scattered inside the iconic ballpark.
It was a fitting tribute.
No monument could have honored him more appropriately.
No plaque could have told his story more completely.
His final resting place became intertwined with the stadium he loved most.
Every crack of the bat.
Every seventh-inning stretch.
Every roar from the crowd.
In a symbolic sense, Goodman remained exactly where he always wanted to be.
At the ballpark.
Watching the Cubs.
Waiting for history.
The Championship That Finally Arrived
For decades after Goodman’s death, Cubs fans continued to suffer through disappointment.
The championship drought grew longer.
The heartbreak deepened.
Yet hope survived.
Then came 2016.
After 108 years, the Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series.
The victory instantly became one of the most celebrated moments in sports history.
As fans filled the streets of Chicago, many thought about the people who had waited a lifetime for that moment but never lived to see it.
Among them was Steve Goodman.
His song suddenly felt more powerful than ever.
What once sounded like a tragic farewell now felt like a testament to faith.
Faith that someday, somehow, the impossible would happen.
Why Steve Goodman’s Legacy Endures
Today, “A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request” remains one of the most beloved baseball songs ever written.
Its enduring appeal goes far beyond sports.
The song speaks to loyalty.
To perseverance.
To finding humor during hardship.
To loving something deeply even when it repeatedly breaks your heart.
Most of all, it reminds us that hope can outlive the people who carry it.
Steve Goodman never saw the Cubs win it all.
But his belief survived long enough to witness the dream become reality.
That is why his story continues to move generations of fans.
Not because it is about baseball.
Not because it is about illness.
But because it is about the human ability to keep believing, even when every reason says you should stop.
And perhaps that is the greatest legacy Steve Goodman ever left behind.