outcome ensured that the rule was known to everyone afterward. Aftermath Giants manager John McGraw was furious at the league office, feeling his team was robbed of a victory (and a pennant), but he never blamed Merkle for his mistake. The Cubs went on to win the 1908 World Series. The team then went through a 108-year-long championship drought, before finally winning the World Series in 2016. Bitter over the events of the controversial game, Merkle avoided baseball after his playing career ended in 1926. When he finally appeared at a Giants old-timers' game in 1950, he received a standing ovation. Fred Merkle is commemorated in his hometown of Watertown, Wisconsin. The city's primary high school baseball field at Washington Park is named Fred Merkle Field. Also, a black plaque honoring him was erected in the park on July 22, 2010. A second plaque in Watertown is on the grounds of the Octagon House. Merkle's Bar and Grill in Chicago is named after Fred Merkle. Family life Merkle and his wife Ethel Cynthia Brownson Merkle enjoyed a long marriage, from 1914 to his death in 1956. The Merkles had three daughters: Marjorie, Jeannette, and Marianne. His grand-nephew is computer scientist Ralph Merkle. Other sports In 1906, Merkle played football for the Toledo Athletic Association as an end. That season, the team was defeated by the Canton Bulldogs by a score of 31–0. Death Merkle died in Daytona Beach at age 67, and was interred there in Bellevue Cedar Hill Memory Gardens. As Fred had before her, Ethel died in Daytona Beach, Florida, in December 1976. See also List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders References Further reading External links Box score of the Merkle Boner game "Sadly, one play defined Merkle's career, life", by Ed Sherman, ESPN.com 1888 births 1956 deaths American people of German descent American people of Swiss descent Baseball players from Wisconsin Brooklyn Robins players Chicago Cubs players Major League Baseball first basemen Minor league baseball managers New York Giants (NL) players New York Yankees coaches New York Yankees players Newark Cotton Tops players Tecumseh (minor league baseball) players Reading Keystones players Rochester Colts players Rochester Tribe players Toledo Athletic Association football players People from Watertown, Wisconsin