Everything changed for the Chicago Cubs on a rainy November night. A century-plus worth of heartache washed away by a wave of pure joy.

The Cubs’ first World Series title since 1908 is the runaway winner for top sports story of 2016, collecting 48 of 59 first-place votes and 549 points in balloting by AP members and editors. The death of Muhammad Ali after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease was second with 427 points, and LeBron James leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the franchise’s first NBA title took third with 425 points.

In a year that seemed to be more about what we lost (Ali, Arnold Palmer, Gordie Howe, Pat Summitt, Jose Fernandez and the plane crash that killed most of the Brazilian club soccer team Chapecoense) than the winners on the field, the Cubs provided a feel-good moment that warmed at least the north side of Chicago well into the city’s notoriously brutal winter.of their last five games.