This story appeared in the Oct. 10, 2016 issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
When the rain began, some mourners held out a hand and sort of smiled—of course, rain—while others looked down, jaws tightening. A few sought cover next to the looming ballpark, but not many, and not the players and coaches who just a minute before had filed out to wait in the middle of NW 6th St. The hearse was coming. Everyone knew. Onlookers tracked its progress via helicopter feed on shared smartphones, staring at the lone black Cadillac as it sailed along a strikingly emptied 836 East.