While raising the flag above center field, Rizzo said, he joked with teammates that he might stay out there and watch from the bleachers. Naturally, he had never been there with the stands full.

“What a view,” Rizzo said.

Wrigley Field opened in 1914, for the Chicago Whales of the Federal League, and the Cubs moved to the park two years later. They had won the World Series in 1907 and 1908, when they played at West Side Grounds. Flags for those victories — and other league and division titles — ring the Wrigley roof, but the Cubs had never arrived for a season as champions.

Now they have, 159 days after Mike Montgomery induced a weak grounder to third by the Indians’ Michael Martinez. Third baseman Kris Bryant gathered the ball, then tripped, but his throw stayed true to Rizzo, lifting the heaviest burden in sports for a patient and passionate group of fans.

“That’s the thing that kind of shocked me the most — it meant a lot to us as players, but realizing it was all about the fans’ experiences more than ours,” Montgomery said. “The whole vibe of the city, to really transform a city in a way and make them come together, you realize that, man, this is more than just winning baseball games. This is for an entire city — a whole culture, almost.”

The Cubs retained 19 players from their World Series roster, everyone but Aroldis Chapman, Chris Coghlan, Dexter Fowler, David Ross, Jorge Soler and Travis Wood. They went four of six on the road before facing the Dodgers, the team they beat in the N.L. Championship Series. Jon Lester — who had won the last game at Wrigley, facing elimination in the World Series — worked six strong innings in the victory.