Daughter Of Widowed Man Puts Out Plea for Cubs World Series Tickets

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago woman posted Tuesday a video to Facebook, asking for help to send her widowed' father to a World Series game.

Naomi Less put out a plea for her father to experience a World Series Cubs game. The video has already received more than 17,000 views and 169 shares.

82-year-old Bob Less, the father of Naomi, lost his wife toward the beginning of this year. On top of his sadness, Bob is disabled and deals with the struggle of increasing loss of his physical capabilities.

The last time the Cubs went to the World Series, in 1945, Bob's older brother, Ted, snuck into one of the games with a friend and skipped school. Bob wanted to go, but Ted was afraid he would get lost in the crowd. Bob's alternative was to listen to the game on the radio, and until now, he obviously never had the opportunity to see a Cubs World Series game.

The Less' history of being Cubs fans dates back to the famous Black Sox scandal, in which the Chicago White Sox lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds and eight White Sox players were found guilty of accepting financial bribes to throw games.

Naomi Less' granfather, Phil Less, was a Sox fan. He grew up near the park where the Sox played, on the near West Side. The ball players were his heroes. They would talk to the kids on the street as they walked to the park.

"They were really in touch with the fan," Less said.

Phil Less was so disheartened by the fall of his heroes that the day the scandal broke in 1919, he swore to become a Cubs fan.

"So my family are actually Cubs fans for ethical reasons," Less said. "We grew up in Wrigley Field. My dad took us to games. The TV was always on in the afternoon in the Spring and Summer to watch games. It was part of our family fabric."

In March 2016, Less' mother, Madalyn Less, passed away. She was the love of Bob's life, Less said.

"The sun rose and set on her," Less said. "They were inseparable."

This year has been a devastating year for Bob Less, as the couple was married for 56 years. They shared a love for the Cubs.

"My mom watched every game right next to him," Less said. "And she was so generous, giving up her seat at Wrigley so that my siblings and I could attend the game."

The Less family could only get four seats.

Bob Less' grief was excruciating at the beginning, Less said. And when April came, the Cubs games were critical in his motivation "to get up, to fell positivity and possibility in the world."

The season kept him motivated and lifted his spirits.

"In some way, I think that going to the World Series would be a way of honoring both my dad's dad, who he loved dearly, and my mom," Less said. "I think that it would fulfill a life-long dream for him. A dream realized.

"This moment of joy, of sheer elation at seeing his team realize their dreams, would life his spirits in a way that would provide almost a spiritual healing for him," Less said. "It won't solve his problems, it won't take away all the sadness, but it will be a reminder that joy is possible."