An Indiana husband has had plenty to be happy about this week. Not only did his Chicago Cubs win the World Series for the first time in 108 years, he also celebrated the birth of his third child.
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And he got naming rights for the boy, who was born on Halloween, cashing in on a bet he made with his wife before the season began.
Welcome to the world, Wrigley Oliver Irk.
Brian Irk is married to Katie Stam Irk, who was crowned Miss America in 2009. They were married in July 2010 and already had two children — 3-year-old Charlotte and 17-month-old Rose.
When Katie found out she was pregnant earlier this year, she made a wager with her husband at the beginning of the baseball season.
"So she says if the Cubs win the World Series then he could be Wrigley and if not then he's Oliver," Brian Irk told WHTI.
“I had my doubts in the Cubs, I’m not going to lie, and every time I would tell people about the bet, they were like, ‘Oh so you’re going to win,’” Katie told WHTI.
Brian, who said he grew up listening to the Cubs on the radio and watched them on television with his grandmother, turned his wife into a fan, too.
Katie gave birth to an 8-pound boy on Oct. 31 — conveniently an off-day for the World Series as it was shifting to Cleveland for Game 6 — with the Cubs trailing 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.
The infant remained nameless for two days. The nurses had two birth certificates made.
“One of them said Wrigley Oliver, and the other said Oliver Wrigley,” she told WHTI.
But until the Series ended, the boy was called “Cubby.”
“Everyone in the hospital was in on the bet, and everybody kept stopping by and saying have we decided yet, and we were like, ‘Nope, final game isn’t over yet, we’re not done,’” Katie said.
Chicago ended its World Series drought by sweeping the final two games in Cleveland, including a heart-stopping 8-7 extra-inning victory in Game 7 late Wednesday.
“I ugly-cried for 10 minutes, I sobbed for 10 minutes straight,” Brian said.
And finally, Cubby became Wrigley.
“It was a good bet, regardless of the outcome, and I’m not going to lie, I probably would’ve just caved and let him have ‘Wrigley’ because they were doing so well,” Katie told WHTI.
But Katie added that she may still call Wrigley Oliver sometimes.