Nearly 200 St. Gabriel Catholic School students are getting a playoff memory they are unlikely to forget. Thanks to a wager offer from Houston businessman and Astros fan Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, 240 students, staff and chaperones from the school will attend Wednesday’s Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians at Rate Field.
The trip comes after McIngvale called St. Gabriel last week with a promise tied to the White Sox and Houston Astros. The next morning, after the Sox swept the Astros, he followed through by calling St. Gabriel Principal Julie Jurisic. Jurisic said, “The atmosphere has been totally energized since last week,” and described the outing as “once-in-a-lifetime.”
A school within walking distance of the ballpark
St. Gabriel Catholic School is in Chicago and within walking distance of Rate Field, so students have been to the ballpark on field trips before. But a postseason game is a different kind of experience, and the school’s connection to the moment makes it stand out even more.
The school has ties to Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, who previously confirmed a class at St. Gabriel. His brother, John, once served as St. Gabriel’s principal, adding another layer to the school’s local history.
McIngvale said the offer was personal for him as well. He attended Catholic school in Dallas in the early 1960s and received free tickets to Dallas Texans football games. Asked whether he would make the promise to the school, he said “absolutely,” and explained that if the gesture could make children happy, “it’s worth all the money times 10.” He also said, “the essence of living is giving.”
For St. Gabriel, the payoff is simple: Wednesday’s playoff game will turn into a rare shared experience for 240 people from the school, and a postseason night at Rate Field should give the students a much different perspective on the White Sox than an ordinary school outing would.
