I had worked for the Chicago Cubs for 7 years in the '80s which was right after I graduated high school. I started as game day security which put me on the field and in the dugout during games which allowed me to chat with almost every player that came through the National league during that time. While many of the players and team staff were great to me (Tommy LaSorda is an interesting man), I found the most interesting guys were the old timers that used their gold passes to get into games for free and hung out for an afternoon of baseball. These guys told the greatest stories and appreciated the fact anyone wanted to listen to them.
I remember a very busy afternoon where the crowd was quite large outside the gates before Wrigley opened I found myself wading through the crowd when I saw an old Boston Braves hat being worn by an older gentleman. I stopped and commented on his hat and he laughed and said thanks and proceeded to tell me he wore it while playing in a World Series. I always prided myself on knowing my baseball but I had to be honest, when he told me his name was Phil Masi it didnt trigger anything in my head. Mr. Masi obviously saw his name didnt provide me any recall and looked at me and laughed. He said go ask the guy in the Cubs radio broadcast booth who he was as he was pretty sure Lou Boudreau could tell me a thing or three about him. I did ask Mr. Bourdreau about him eventually and did I ever hear more than I wanted to know about Phil Masi. LOL
I remember having a few conversations with George Brace about his career as a photographer. He told me that he remembers sitting in the dugouts with Gehrig and Ruth when he was a much younger man and talked about knowing the many legendary players that I had only read about. Mr. Brace was not much of a talker as he was there to get his photographs and left for the day but he was always one I knew I could talk to if I wanted an opinion on a ballplayer that played in the 20th century.
As I progressed in the organization and finally would get a chance at a full time/ year round position I had a chance to meet many team executives and broadcasters for the home and visiting teams. One of my favorite memories was taking a security shift (in stadium opearations, I was low man and did whatever was needed) and getting a frantic knock on the main office door at about 4pm. This day happened to be the annual Cubs/Sox game that was being played at Comiskey park so I assumed the person at the door was a front office person who forgot something and needed entry asap. I answered the door and before me stood 3 very young players who were called up from Iowa to play in this charity game. One of those players I recognized right away as Rafael Palmeiro who would eventually stay up with the team. The players all thought the game was at Wrigley and panicked when they saw no crowds and no teammates. After a few phone calls I was able to get them in a cab and on their way to Comiskey where they got there in time for the game. These players could not have bene nicer and each shook my hand repeatedly after I get them straightened out.
|