By George Castle – CBM Historian on April 4, 2018
I wish time travel worked in real life to go back to a favorite Cubs home opener.
I’d beam back to 1978 Omaha and invite the teen-age Tom Ricketts to cut high school and fly to Chicago for one day to attend a Cubs home opener.
Tom Ricketts (right) would have had a different perspective on the mob scene at Wrigley Field had he been old enough to attend SRO games played by (from left) Fergie Jenkins, Randy Hundley and Rich Nye — and the record-busting 1978 home opener.
Ricketts would understand the Cubs’ fan mentality even better, get at its roots, than on his 21st century daily excursions all around Wrigley Field to chat with paying (a lot) customers dressed in team garb, enjoying their once- or twice-annual outing as if it were a rock concert.
STORY
Category Chicago Baseball History Feature Tags Chicago Baseball History, Chicago Cubs, Larry Bittner, Opening Day, Wrigley Field