Table of Contents
Preface 9
Acknowledgements 11
1 Becoming a "Cub Guy" at Wrigley 13
2 Inseparable Icons 16
3 Me, My Wife and Wrigley 23
4 Rod Blagojevich, John Cusack and Afternoons in the Bleachers 25
5 The Next Generation Revives the Old Ballpark 27
6 October 14, 2003: The Bartman Game 31
7 The 1980s Transformation: Empty Seats to the Playoffs 33
8 Rejuvenated by Wrigley Field 34
9 July 27, 2015: The Wrong End of History 37
10 Beer, Baseball, Take a Backseat to Tragedy 38
11 From Black-and-White to Full-Color Wrigley 41
12 Working at the "Cathedral" 42
13 June 5, 1998-Cubs 6, White Sox 5: First Crosstown Interleague Game 42
14 Mr. Cub Ernie Banks 43
15 Making Bill Murray Laugh 47
16 Memories from the Left Field Bleachers 48
17 Passing Along the Tradition 50
18 Rounding the Bases of Life 51
19 Paving for a Shot at Wrigley's First Night Game 53
20 Up On the Roof(top) 54
21 June 3, 2003: Sammy's Corked Bat 55
22 September 28, 1998: A Big Homer and a Big Balloon 56
23 A Hall of Famer Finds His Home 57
24 "Harry Caray Said Our Name!" 59
25 A Wrigley Ending Before His True Beginning 60
26 Bleacher Bums, Buttons and Mice 61
27 Still Rooting for the Cubs in Arizona 63
28 Journey to Wrigley Is Part of the Fun 64
29 Life of a Visiting Pitcher 65
30 Keys to the Game 66
31 A Lifetime of Appreciation 67
32 Did He or Didn't He?: Babe Ruth's Wrigley World Series Moment 70
33 August 9, 1988: The First Official Wrigley Night Game 73
34 Almost Another Lou Brock Steal 74
35 Wrigley's Second Home 77
36 On the Beat at Wrigley 81
37 Meaningful Memories Span the Decades 83
38 Land of the Free, Home of the Brave 84
39 Learning from Rogers Hornsby 87
40 The Pink Hat Guy 88
41 Wrigley Through the Lens 90
42 AH the Small Things 93
43 May 5, 1998: Kerry Wood Strikes Out Twenty 95
44 April 16, 1972: No-Hitter in Fourth Career Start 97
45 May 17, 1979-Phillies 23, Cubs 22: A Wild, Windy, Weird Day at Wrigley 99
46 When Marc Met Harry 101
47 Cubbie Blue, Through and Through 103
48 On the Mound with Kerry Wood 105
49 Building Communities at Wrigley 106
50 A Wrigley Field Salute 119
51 Finally Got Smart When He Became a Cubs Fan 120
52 A Wrigley Wedding 123
53 May 12, 1955: Sam Jones No-Hitter 125
54 Fan from Down Lender Gets a Wrigley Close Up 126
55 Coming Full Circle at Wrigley 128
56 Watching a Game with Fergie 130
57 Will There Be a Game 5? 131
58 September 2, 1972: The Imperfect No-Hitter 132
59 Harry Helped Hook Him 135
60 In It for the Cubs, Not Wrigley 135
61 That Koufax Game Stunk 136
62 The Birth of Bleacher Bums 137
63 One Long Drive, Zero Hits 139
64 The Final Moments of Bill's Pink Hat 140
65 Finally Getting It Right with Fukudome 141
66 What About the Other Games in the 2003 Playoffs? 142
67 Sending the Cardinals Packing with Help from Dad 143
68 Cubs Fan in a House of Mets Fans 145
69 A Historic Introduction to Wrigley and Baseball 146
70 Joey's First Pitch 147
71 Now, I Cry Out of Joy 149
72 Ernie and My Grandfather's Radio 152
73 The Most Miserable Day of My Entire life 154
74 Playoff Energy Unmatched at Wrigley 156
75 Stay as Long as You Want 157
76 Mongo Gets the Save 159
77 The Greatest Two Years of My Career 160
78 The Most Famous Tattooed Head in Wrigley 161
79 Being a Cubs Fan Is a Family Thing 163
80 Dodging Dodgers Behind the Bullpen 164
81 Advice from Alou on How to Drink from the Stanley Cup 165
82 A Super Fan by Accident 167
83 My First Playoff Game 168
84 October 2, 1984: First Postseason Game in Thirty-nine Years Starts with a Bang 169
85 First Pitch for the Opening Course 170
86 Mr. Inside and His Baseball Collection 172
87 Wrigley Makes the Top Ten 175
88 Sox Fan on the Cubs' Playoff Beat 176
89 It Wasn't Work for Jack 178
90 Plenty of Time for a Playoff Game and a Wedding 179
91/92 Creating a Cubs Anthem with Heart 180
93 What It's Like to Meet Steve Bartman 182
94 Triple Play Does the Trick 184
95 Wrigley Always a Part of Life When You Live in the Neighborhood 185
96 A Road Trip Home 186
97 More than Just the "Bleacher Preacher" 187
98 Harry and More Wrigley Lore 189
99 Living in the Moment on the Mound 190
100 My Friend Helen and the Cubs 192
Index 197
About the Authors 201