Looking for Net54 members that went to Wrigley...
 

I only managed to see one game in the pre-lights era, but the Cubbies got beat 10-5 in front of myself and 4,683 others, so I have a hint of the pain that Cubs fans survived.

I have a good friend, born in 1967, who saw the team dozens, maybe hundreds of times in that era, primarily from the bleachers. He's not on net54, but I know he would love to see whatever it is that you refer to when you say "I've got something for you".

Doug

Life long Cubs fan (59 yr) born in Iowa. Loved to set with grandpa in the afternoons and watch the game or have it on while working the farm. Best part was the handful of games a year at the old ball park. Never got tired of hearing his same handful of baseball stories over and over.

My father took to Wrigley for the first time on August 23, 1969. We stayed for a double header the next day. The Cubs had a healthy lead and appeared headed for their first pennant since 1945. I fell in love with Wrigley and the Cubs that weekend, and even though the Cubs began a losing streak right after we left and blew the pennant, my love never died. Since then, I have attended countless games at Wrigley and took my son to his first game on July 10, 1987.

Ok, my mistake.....I have a DVD of this because I could never find it.

It came out in 1979. It was played on local Chicago TV at the time. Then never replayed.

I looked for years and could not even find it online, and EVERYTHING is online.

So I wrote to the Director of it, Stuart Gordon, and he sent me his copy of it. This was back in about 2000.

They re-made it into a movie, but it's not even close to the original stage production.

Young Joe Mantegna & Dennis Franz.

Well looks like 3 years ago someone got the original added to YouTube. I was going to send my copy to any diehard Cubs fan from that ERA, but now I guess they and anyone can watch it on YouTube.

Now it's CHEESIE, some bad acting, some bad jokes, but IT'S HILARIOUS, some great subtle jokes.

Set an hour and 1/2 aside some night, grab a beer, and enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WqFt0RYmqw

I'm your man, Moe.

As the chief surgical resident at one of the Northwestern hospitals, one of my duties was to attend or have someone attend all the Wrigley games in 1977. I did most of them myself. The official team physician was Jake Suker, an endocrinologist. Why, I don't know, but Jake was a good friend of the director of the surgical training program, and the residents aways got the Wrigley assignment.

I would spend the morning in the operating, hop on the el to Wrigley for the game and return to the hospital to see the post ops and the other hospitalized patients on the service.

At Wrigley I had an 8 seat box on the field level spitting distance from the visitors on deck circle and could comp 7 guests in my box including concessions. I didn't have to run out onto the field, but saw players from both teams in the clubhouses. I also covered the first aid station for the fans. I always sent the stars from the visiting teams to the hospital for precautionary X-rays. For the Cubs I usually let the players decide. I remember seeing Bill Madlock and asking him if he wanted to continue or be taken out of the game. He wanted to play. I figure that over the course of the year I may have been responsible for two additional Cub wins although you will not find me in the boxscore.

On the weekend we once saw the Reds at Wrigley and then drove to Milwaukee and saw the Yankees and the Brewers. After the game we went to the bar at the Yankees hotel. Ten or so Yankees joined us.:eek:

Steve Renko of the Cubs had a thyroid nodule and I sent him to Dr. Suker.;)

No disrespect to those of you that were long suffering during those lean years (this applies to the Red Sox too), but one of my biggest disappointments in Baseball was when the Cubs (and Red Sox) finally won the WS after all those years and all of the unusual occurrences that happened to them on the field. It was such great baseball lore to think they were cursed.

I love hearing names you would never have thought of the rest of your life if they didn't come up out of the blue....like Bill Madlock.

That guy had to be one of the most under-rated players of all time.

Led the league in Batting 4 times:

.359
.339
.341
.323

15 years, lifetime .305. Would have been higher if his last 2 years didn't drag that number down.

Glad you patched him up, he was one of the best 70's Cubs.

And that long list of Cub managers: Herman Franks, Lee Elia, Dallas Green, Jim Frey, Don Zimmer, etc. etc - You always had hope........til about a month or 2 in, but then still never gave up.

And I'll admit when they won it in 2016, I was also kinda hoping they would choke it away, and almost did. I was torn that World Series, wanting them to win it and wanting them to lose it. Craziest feeling. So many people died all those years and never got to see it happen, those are who I would have wanted to see it.

I wanted them to win it when Harry was there, after Harry died it wasn't the same.

I agree. Sorry. :p

Having been to both of their hallowed grounds, I must say Wrigley is about 100 times nicer than Fenway.

I was raised as a Cubs fan starting in the mid 60's, suffered through the 70's and actually worked Security, at Wrigley during the 80's. I started out my Cubs career as game day security in the bleachers in 1982 and saw the start of Sandberg's career and the demise of Fergie's. Became the Security Manager out there unto 1983 when I moved to dugout security for the 84 and 85 season where I spent these 2 years riding the pine in the dugout. I then moved to a Front Office position in Stadium Operations where I was low man on the totem pole and did mostly security and loved every minute of it. There were many overnights spent at the old ball park by myself and I can tell you I scored the winning run of the World Series from second base on many many occasions. :)

I got to explore every nook and cranny of that old ball park because they gave me a full set of keys and I had time. I found stuff I couldn't believe still exists and I found out I believe in ghosts as that place is haunted. I found that, if I had no morals I could have taken stuff that was just laying around and be a millionaire today with what I could have pilfered and they would have never known.

I sat in my bosses chair and watched Al Campanis sink his career (and mine) and I watched the sun come up over the lake from the upper deck as the sun's rays filtered through the old scoreboard. I felt the morning dew on my feet as I walked across the outfield and I felt the tug on my forearms as I knew I "got ahold of that one" as I hit BP with the bat boys as we waited for the team to arrive. I saw that ball bounce with a resounding THUD on the bleachers and about pissed my pants when I realized I put one in the seats at Wrigley Freaking Field.

I allowed my sister, who was confined to a wheel chair to "run" the bases when it was just the two of us in the ball park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and had to explain to the bosses the next day why there were tire marks on the field. I destroyed my shoulder leaping into the ivy as I attempted to catch a 16 inch softball hit by a member of the Sox front office during one of our many matches against other team's staff and I played in the first football game at Wrigley since the Bears moved out when a touch football game broke out during a team family night at the end of the season.

I was at the celebration for Billy Williams when he was elected to the hall and I was drenched with champagne in the visiting locker room when the Phillies clinched the division at the old ball park in 1983. I saw my world series ring go over that outfield fence when Steve Garvey hit his home run in the 1984 playoffs and I just left my stuff at the park after that season was over, because the memories hurt too much.

Vin Scully called me by name and I thought it was God calling me home and Rusty Staub, the gentleman that he was would always wished me well on each of his last trips into Wrigley each season.

I, along with another Security person shadowed Pete Rose the whole weekend when he tied Cobb's record and I congratulated Daryl Strawberry on his 3rd home run of the game in 1986.

There are just so many memories that I am grateful for and I could go on and on. Thank you for allowing me to write this tonight. Its has been a long few months with some serious health issues going on and it has been fun to think about other things.


I am the tall guy second from the right in the back row with the stupid grin on my face, knowing full well I had an amazing job.

Dr. Suker? I remember him well. Very nice man as he was the team doctor for much of the 80's. I cannot help but wonder if you and I crossed paths a few times back in the day as I spent a good deal of time getting fans to see Peaches (that was the nurse's name) at the first aid station.

Good stories indeed!

Was anyone there for Randy Myers Poster Day in 1993?

Randy Myers posters for the first 10,000 fans. Myers comes in the 9th to close it out and blows the lead. 10,000 posters rain down from every corner of that stadium onto the field. I threw mine. Funniest thing I'd ever seen.


I was also there for the game (way before replay) where a I want to say the opposing team's player hit a Home Run down the left field line and it was clearly foul, but the ump puts his pointer finger up in the air and circles home run. The fans went crazy with "boos", but the best part was yet to come. So now every foul ball hit the entire crowd stands up and puts their finger in the air and we all signal Home Run. That was great!


Also in my youth when we sat in the Bleachers, we'd sneak a joint or 2 into the stadium. We'd each take turns going down to the bathroom take a hit or 2 and leave it for the next guy behind the toilet. It would be hilarious listening to the other guys peeing say "you smell that?".


I remember bringing a kitchen knife and whole cucumber into the bleachers. Cuz I had to have cukes on my hot dogs, and all you would get there was like a mustard packet. No one is sneaking a knife in to any stadium these days.


Also, knew a guy, just through being in the Bleachers (this was sometime in the 80's), but would see him all the time there, he was a true Bleacher bum, had been going since the 60's and one time someone was sitting in "his seat", mind you there were no seats in the bleachers just long benches. He goes to the guy "your in my seat!", other guy goes "I've been in this seat since 11 o'clock", Bleacher Bum replies "Yah, well I've been in that seat since 1968, now get the $#%& up!!!". Next thing ya know I see the 2 of them brawling. Good times.

The photo you posted was backwards. I've flipped you correctly.... [you're welcome] :)

Saw my first game there in 87 right after they signed Dawson and Andre’s Army was all the rage. My aunt got our family seats in the “non-alcoholic” section in the left field bleachers because us kids were underage. Our section got heckled the entire game, it was awesome, fun stuff. Great game to of course they lost to the Giants by a jeffrey Leonard home run but they sure did give him a hard time the whole game as well. It was a blast !

Haha, the non-alcohol section of the Bleachers - I remember that, pretty sure it was right on the LF line, and what seemed like a 30 foot by 30 foot section of the Bleachers.

Jeffrey Leonard another great name from the past, wasn't he the guy who when he hit a Home Run ran with "one flap down". I think that was him, may have to Google it.

Oh yah it was Leonard, "one flap down".....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zXGIgjDb_E

and....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOSiefiyU0E

Madlock
 

Madlock was indeed special on a poor team in 1977. Every time I looked up he was hitting a line drive 6 feet over the shortstops outstretched glove for a single or a double. He was so consistent in doing this that he would have easy to defend in the current "infield shift" era. Just move the second baseman to shortstop position and put the shortstop in short to mid left-center field.

Madlock however probably would have just started hitting bullets elsewhere. Nice guy too.

I only spent one summer with Peaches (1977).

Randy Hundley, the elder one, would drop by to say hello. He wasn't in uniform ,but only had 4 ABs in 1977. He used to tell stories about Doc Ellis of the Pirates. I wonder why.:confused:

He called St. Louis a “cow town.” You Cubs fans must have loved that.

MVP of the 1987 NLCS which the Giants LOST. I believe (not sure) he is the only losing player to get that award.

Another Cubs guy here
 

Spent many a day at Wrigley in the late 70's. Among things I witnessed were the troughs, getting Lou Boudreau's auto on the ramp up to the press box. Dave Kingman riding in a Bronco with Holtzman. Couldn't sign a ball, they were going Salmon fishing. Received a ball from Richie Hebner, saw Ronnie Woo come onto Waveland on the back of a garbage truck, he had a hot chocolate and polish for breakfast. Last, but not least, stood in line under stands with Ron LeFlore. He was in civi's as the first game of a DH was being played. Finishing up the game from day before due to darkness or rain. He was with Expos. He ordered a coffee. Great times. Plus some guy named Ricky who was always first in line at the gate, and bothering everybody.

I watched the video, Moe. You owe me an hour and a half of my life.

Haha! You're a Giants fan......I was very clear who qualified and who didn't.

Ronnie Woo Woo, how annoying was that guy after more than 30 seconds in your section of the Bleachers. Luckily he moved around.

But the "Cubbies woo!!!!, Cubbies woo!!!!, Cubbies woo!!!! Cubbies woo!!!! still haunts me.

The troughs!.....I'm waiting for one to come to auction at Goldin.

I'm bidding on it. It's all mine. Hands off!

How about the guys who would drop their pants to pee soaked floor and stand there peeing away. It's like "c'mon guy."

The guy who let out the "oh god", who's been holding it for like 5 innings and 8 beers.

Other guys drinking their beer as they're peeing.

The dad who was helping his son.

Good times.

Gotta love the troughs.

https://youtu.be/IpJDTNCNr5E

Sounds exactly like Candlestick...