Coeur d’Alene resident Judy Beadle has a niece. Her niece, Jennifer Armstrong, has a son. 

Armstrong’s son, James Armstrong, just so happens to be a scout and a vice president of baseball operations for World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers.

“He is responsible for getting some of those players,” Beadle said of James’ responsibilities for the Brew Crew, which nabbed its first-ever World Series win in franchise history on Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. “That’s huge, and he takes pride in that.”

Beadle, 74, moved to Coeur d’Alene from California in 2011 to be closer to Jennifer’s sister, Annie Haley, a Coeur d’Alene resident. She has worked at the Hayden Walmart for the past three years.

Beadle spent the night before watching Brewers’ relief pitcher Trevor Megill finagle the game’s final out by forcing Tampa Bay Rays Second Baseman Richie Palacios to ground it to Brewers second baseman Brice Turang.

Beadle said she was also texting her niece Jennifer before Turang tossed it to Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers. 

“We just communicate when we’re watching the game, ‘Oh, that was bad,’ or ‘That was good,’” Beadle said. “You just get really nervous when things are getting tight.”

Brent McLelland is a 14-year Coeur d’Alene resident. He was heading into Walmart on Thursday morning when he noticed Beadle acting absolutely ecstatic on her shift.

“She’s all jacked up this morning, and I said, ‘What, on caffeine?” McLelland, speaking with the Coeur d’Alene Press on Thursday afternoon, said of Beadle. “She said no and then told me the story about (James Armstrong).”

It was the first time McLelland and Beadle had ever met.

“I just met her this morning,” McLelland said. “She was just so excited, and she was excited about what I thought was the best team I’ve ever seen.”

The Milwaukee Brewers’ only other World Series appearance was in 1982, when they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. 

This time, however, the Brewers not only took the series 4-1 against the Rays, but they also lined up against one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history. Beadle noted that Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio tallied 10 hits through the first four games of the series, tying the 98-year World Series record held by none other than Babe Ruth.

Beadle also said her favorite Brewers player is World Series MVP catcher William Contreras.

“He did an awesome job,” she said. “He’s the most important, he’s calling the pitches. (Catchers) are the ones with all the knowledge of each player, each pitcher. They know everything.”

Beadle has been watching professional baseball on and off since she was a young Los Angeles Dodgers fan. She said she went to Dodgers Stadium to watch them in the 1966 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

But now, Beadle said, she’s a big Brewers fan, calling her niece’s son “a genius.”

After Wednesday night’s win, she celebrated modestly.

“I’m an old lady, I went to bed,” she said. “I had to get up for work the next morning.”

    James Armstrong, a Milwaukee Brewers scout with family ties to Coeur d'Alene, hoists the World Series Commissioner's Trophy in Tampa Bay on Wednesday evening.