CHICAGO • It took a St. Louisan to send the Chicago Cubs to the 2015 World Series.
While writing the script nearly three decades ago for the sequel to the beloved time-traveling vehicle, “Back to the Future,” University City native Bob Gale and co-creator Robert Zemeckis imagined a future that nearly is here. They needed a spark, something to send the plot hurtling forward — at 88 mph, of course — and Gale thought of a sign from above. Literally.
His hero, Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly, had just arrived on Oct. 21, 2015, and the script called for a narrative epiphany, something to inspire McFly’s sports-betting scheme.