It took 56 years, but legendary quarterback Joe Namath finally donned a Cubs uniform and stepped onto the diamond at Wrigley Field.
Last week, the former Super Bowl MVP got a taste of what could have been, making his first visit to Wrigley Field and throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Cubs' game against the Phillies on Wednesday.
"I really thought I was going to play baseball," Namath said in an interview with MLB Network. "I really thought it was going to be with the Cubs, too."
In 1961, the Cubs offered an 18-year-old Namath $50,000 to sign a contract with the organization. At the urging of his mother, however, Namath instead went to college at Alabama, where he played football.
"I could run, I was quick, I could hit and I could throw," Namath said. "I played every position on the baseball field."
Namath's decision to pursue a football career proved fruitful, as he went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL with the Jets (1965-76) and Rams ('77), leading New York to a win over the Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969 and earning a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in '85.
In his visit to Wrigley, Namath donned a No. 12 Cubs home jersey -- the uniform number he wore in the NFL -- and met with players, including Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber and Steve Cishek, as well as Cubs manager Joe Maddon.
The reunion with Maddon, who shares Namath's Pennsylvania roots, was particularly special, as Namath was a childhood idol of the skipper. The two became friends when Namath visited a Rays Spring Training game when Maddon was manager of the team.
Maddon emulated much of Namath's game when he played football growing up in West Hazleton, Pa. He even earned a nickname reminiscent of Broadway Joe's; he was dubbed "Broadstreet Joe," named for a street near his high school.
"I tried to pattern everything I did after him," Maddon said. "I watched very closely the way he dropped back, the way his footwork was, the way he brought the ball back. This is not hyperbole. I watched all the time. I mean it sincerely, I did. And I wanted to pattern myself after him."