Cubs World Series Trophy Comes to Oak Lawn

OAK LAWN, IL - More than a dozen kids at the Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn were treated to the special opportunity on Tuesday to spend a few minutes with the Chicago Cubs World Series trophy.

And Clark the Cub, the team's beloved mascot.

Patients were escorted into a room at the hospital where they were able to high-five Clark and pose for photos with the trophy and family members as part of the team's "Trophy Tour," which will make more than one appearance at a Chicagoland Advocate hospital this week.

"Events like this are wonderful for patients and families, " said Melissa Cavanaugh, director of child life services at Advocate. "It gives these kids something to look forward to and is great for morale."

Cavanaugh said the trophy was brought to Oak Lawn through Advocate's legacy partnership with the Chicago Cubs. She said the hospital has worked with the team on several instances the past few years.

On Thursday, the trophy will make its way to another Chicagoland Advocate children's unit with a stop in Park Ridge. A player on the team's 2016 World Series championship squad will also be there, and later in the week there's a planned mock press conference, where the kids will have the opportunity to prepare questions and ask the players questions themselves.

"To have these sports figures come in, it means a lot," Cavanaugh said. "To them, they are celebrities and the families get a kick out of it too."

Cavanaugh said there were at least 20 patients an their families who saw the trophy on Tuesday.

"It brightened everyone's day," she said. "Everyone on the staff was really excited about, as were the patients and their families."

Photos by Tim Moran / Top photo: Patient Nicholas Butcher of Burbank and mom, Janet, take in a moment with Clark the Cub and the glorious trophy he brought to Oak Lawn on Tuesday.