“It’s a great day for a ballgame; let’s play two.” — Ernie Banks, “Mr. Cub”
The Windy City
We flew from Baltimore–Washington International Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, took ground transportation downtown and checked into the Doubletree Hotel on Michigan Avenue in a section of the city known as the Magnificent Mile. We watched planes from an airshow fly below our hotel room in the high-rise building.
Chicago has several nicknames: “The Windy City,” “The Second City,” and “Paris of the Prairie.” To those nicknames, Sonny added one of his own, “New York City with Manners.” He and his family attended a blues festival in Chicago and they were impressed by the friendliness and hospitality of the residents.
Billy Goat Tavern
On the short list of things you must do in Chicago is to dine at the Billy Goat Tavern, made famous by the Saturday Night Live skit, “Cheezborger, cheezborger, cheezborger; no Pepsi, Coke.” The place has been a Chicago staple since 1934 and is a favorite hangout of professional athletes, entertainers and celebrities.
The original subterranean location was a short walk from the hotel. I was first in line to place my breakfast order at the counter. “I’ll have a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich with a cup of coffee,” I told the clerk. “Bacon, egg and cheese,” he relayed my order to the short-order cook in a rapid fire voice. “Make it two,” Gary ordered, and the clerk repeated the order. Sonny ordered a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich. “Bacon, egg and cheese,” the clerk piped in his machine gun voice. “I’ll have a tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce and tomato,” Jake said just to see what would happen. “Bacon, egg and cheese, ” the clerk repeated, and we all laughed out loud.
“Wrigleyville”
We rode the “L”, an elevated subway train, with a contingent of Cubs fans to the North Side of Chicago for an afternoon game at Wrigley Field between the Houston Astros and the Cubs. One of the best things about going to a game at Wrigley is the neighborhood surrounding the ballpark known as “Wrigleyville.” The place crackles with positive energy and good vibes for baseball fans. We went to the Cubby Bear and Murphy’s for pre-game refreshments that included another Chicago staple — the Italian roast beef sandwich.
At the Game
We sat six rows behind the Cubs dugout with a great view of the action on the field. Our experience at the ballpark that day was magical. We have seen them all and the second oldest ballpark in the major leagues is truly one for the ages. Built in 1914 (the same year as Fenway Park) Wrigley Field is known for its ivy-covered brick walls. The Cubs’ Hall of Fame slugger, Ernie Banks, called the cozy dimensions of Wrigley Field, “The Friendly Confines.” Watching a game on a lazy summer afternoon takes you back to an earlier time. Although lights were installed in 1988, the Cubs still play a majority of their home games in the daylight.
The game quickly became a blow-out. The Astros’ line-up of Killer B’s — Biggio, Bagwell, Berry and Bell — stung the Cubs by taking an early 4-1 lead. In the sixth inning, a thunderstorm blew off Lake Michigan, causing a rain delay. We huddled, wall-to-wall with other fans, dripping wet in the crowded concourse area below the field and waited for the rain to stop. When the game resumed, the Astros scored a bunch of runs and coasted to a 12-3 victory.
On the Town
After the game, we had a free night on the town, so we caught a cab with several destinations in mind. The first stop was a round of drinks at Harry Caray’s restaurant and bar on West Kinzie Street. The notorious Chicago gangster, Frank Nitti, once used the building as his hide-out.
The legendary Harry Caray entertained Chicago baseball fans with his colorful and distinctive style of baseball announcing for several years (he announced games for both the White Sox and the Cubs.) It was said about Harry that he was an original — often imitated, but never duplicated. Harry made “Holy cow!” his on-the-air trademark phrase. After a Chicago victory, Harry would shout, “Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!” Harry had a fondness for Budweiser beer and he liked to drink and socialize with the patrons at his club. Since his bar served cold beer, it was a logical place to start the evening.
The next stop was Michael Jordan’s restaurant on North LaSalle Street for dinner. The Chicago sports legend’s sports bar was a popular night spot for many years until it closed in 1999, following Jordan’s second retirement. Jake and Gary ordered the burgers; they knew what they liked and stuck to it. Sonny and I had baby back ribs, North Carolina style. The House of Blues was the last call of the evening for a night cap and a smoking set of live Chicago blues. Chicago was definitely our kind of town.
The South Side
We rode the “L” Red Line to the South Side and arrived a couple hours before the start of the night game between the Orioles and White Sox at New Comiskey Park. The ballpark is located off an expressway, which makes it accessible by car, but doesn’t provide many of viable entertainment options within walking distance. A dicey neighborhood surrounded the ballpark, so it didn’t seem prudent to wander too far without an armed escort.
We stumbled into a “speak easy” bar in a blue collar neighborhood across the street from the Democratic Party headquarters. It was the kind of place where patrons were once screened through a peep hole and needed a password to get in. The South Side of Chicago was home to several prominent figures in American politics, including the current mayor, Richard M. Daley, his famous father, Richard, and President Barak Obama, a devoted White Sox fan.
Gary’s “Muff”
The Chicago White Sox were one of the original franchises in the American League and big league baseball has been played on the South Side of Chicago since 1900. The New Comiskey Park opened in 1991 at its present location across the street from the old ballpark with the same name, after skin-flint White Sox owner, Charles Comiskey. We sat in the Upper Deck on the first-base side of the diamond in the first row on the railing. It was a steep vantage point, but we had a good view of the action.
With the Orioles trailing, 2-1, in the sixth inning, Albert Belle of the White Sox lofted a foul fly ball right at us. Gary stood up to catch it, suffered a momentary touch of vertigo and dropped the ball. He watched helplessly as it cascaded to the Lower Deck. The crowd reacted to Gary’s muff with a loud and lusty chorus of boos that reverberated around the stadium. Gary felt bad about dropping the ball, and even worse, that no one in our section could retrieve it.
If you watch enough baseball, you can sense when a moment happens that will shift momentum and alter the outcome of the game. Gary’s muff started a chain of bad mojo for the Orioles. In the next inning, Hall-of-Fame member, Frank Thomas, and Belle hit home runs and the White Sox won, 6-4. Coincidentally, the game was a turning point in the Orioles season. With 31 games remaining, the O’s fell apart and finished the season with a losing record, 35 games behind the eventual World Series Champion New York Yankees.
Hitting Them All 