(photo by Son of Admin)
We used to almost live up there, under the scoreboard in the usually empty center field bleachers. But because of ridiculous price increases — it only cost $1 way back when we first started sitting in the section — we hadn’t been back since May 9, 1982 when, to celebrate Mother’s Day, Wife of Admin requested that we take in a ball game! So we gathered up our three kids (two Daughters of Admin and Son of Admin), ages 4, 2 and 11 months, hopped on the Ravenswood El (now called the Brown Line) and headed to the corner of Waveland and Sheffield. Neither of us would return to the bleachers for decades. Why? Because the bleachers rapidly evolved from cheap seats to ridiculously expensive seats, as many of you know.
Last year Admin was lucky enough to return in order to celebrate Son of Admin’s bachelor party. This year it was Wife of Admin’s turn! Why? Perhaps the Cubs decided to return to more reasonable bleacher ticket pricing?? Look closely at the ticket below …
Actually, Admin’s new employer, Tag (www.tag2u.com) bought a block of bleacher tickets as a donation to a charity. No, the charity was not the baseball team — insert your own joke here. Tag bought the tickets from The Common Pantry, a wonderful food bank on North Damen (http://www.commonpantry.org/index.htm). The Cubs donated the tickets to The Common Pantry to use as a fund raiser. That’s why the price printed on the above ticket looks so crazy. Tag in turn gave the tickets to their employees, including three to Admin!
So off we went, Wife of Admin, Son of Admin and Admin! The ramp up to the seats — the same 1937 ramp because the center field bleachers structure was not demolished during the 2005 renovations — seemed longer and steeper, but we finally made it and saw all kinds of cool stuff like the view behind the center field camera …
And the TV guys, Dave Kaplan and Todd Hollandsworth, doing their pregame routine from the bleachers. We watched from maybe two feet away! Okay, we were behind chain link fencing, but still …
We sat near where we usually sat, right under the scoreboard, but closer to the aisle for easy access to the beer guy at the top of the section …
… and so got ready for the big game!
The game, unfortunately, was like so many others “back in the day” when we might be among only a handful of fans in the center field bleachers. And so by the late innings, when most of the fans had given up and left the ballpark, the scene felt very familiar indeed.
… until finally, the Cubs being for the birds, the birds themselves arrived and soon outnumbered the fans.
The gulls seemed to be enjoying themselves, eating hot dogs and slurping spilled beer. Everybody loves the bleachers!
Another day, more memories. Enjoy your blog.
Looked for you at your usual SRO spot on Saturday’s Yankee game.
Hope to see you at a future game.
Feels liike forever ago…Of course the game stunk, but it was awesome to be in the Bleachers…At least to roast in the sun!
To Margaret — We couldn’t make it to any of Yankee games because of a busy weekend of prior commitments. Son of Admin made it to one and told us SRO was a zoo! 42,000+ each game! Wow!
From W4TC regular Mark:
I, too, returned to the bleachers after a hiatus of over 20 years.
I had such a good time. The fans talked to each other; the game was won by the Cubs (beating Milwaukee and Dave Bush – easy pickins during Lou’s first season); the sun shone and I and my wife sat in the second row up from the wall off the first staircase leading to the right field side of the green. My spot as a boy.
There is a magic to Wrigley; its ability to allow one to time travel that Sox fans and beat writers simply don’t understand.
and true to your word you stayed till it was over. Great pics!!