I thought I’d share this piece from a different home opener 54 years ago. It’s taken me a while to find the ideal Cubs event to write up and I hope you’ll enjoy discovering (or even recalling) this story from 1970.
Part of my practice is to connect to fans who were present for the games I write about, so if any of you have ties to elder Cub fans who were regulars in the outfield in the late 1960s or early 1970s, I would love to talk to them and collect some of their stories. Please put us in touch!
Writing this one actually brought me to another one I'll tell very soon, because it is too amazing to sit on. In 1968, an umpire decided Phil Regan, the Cubs’ best reliever at the time, was doctoring his pitches with Vaseline. The ump’s plan to deal with the situation would have impressed Heath Ledger’s Joker. It really was a different time.
Back in present day: .500 here we come!
1 comment
Really enjoyed this. Thank you. I wasn’t a regular back in the late 60s and early 70s (a kid in the suburbs who couldn’t get to Wrigley that often) but I watched part of almost every home game on WGN when I got home from school.