Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Chicago Baseball Museum Gala
Jeanne and I attended Tuesday night's gala for the Chicago Baseball Musem. The Museum doesn't exisit yet. It's the dream of founder - and lifelong baseball fan - Dr. David Fletcher, seen here unveiling the Museum's brand new logo. The Museum is now in the fundraising and early planning stages. "Doc" would like to see it become a reality in the next 5 - 10 years, if not sooner.
Last night's event got a great boost, with a brief appearance by baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda. The former Dodgers manager - shown here with "Doc" - said a few words on behalf of the museum, and encouraged those in attendance to try to make it happen. He didn't stay long, but Lasorda's brief visit was one of the highlights of the evening. By the way, Tommy Lasorda has a baseball blog.
It was a great thrill for me to meet the former Cubs (and Dodgers and Braves) star Andy Pafko. Andy is one of the very few surviving players from the Cubs' 1945 World Series team. That was 60 years ago! Andy, who lives in the Chicago suburbs, is 84, but looks 70. It was nice of him to come to the Museum event.
The photo didn't turn out too great...but this is Andy Pafko's 1945 World Series ring. I guess I didn't realize that the losing team got rings, too. This is photographic proof that the Cubs really were in the World Series back in '45!
And, of course, no baseball event in Chicago would be complete without an appearance by the one and only Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers. Ronnie has been a fixture outside (and occasionally inside) Wrigley Field for as long as any one can remember. And, he did his typical Ronnie Woo Woo chant:"Cubs WOO! Sandberg WOO! Grace WOO! Andy Pafko WOO! Sox WOO! World Champs WOO! Chicago Baseball Museum WOOOO!"
