Great bit of history - thanks much! My dad was a Chi-town resident at the time, as well as a Northwestern student and a part-time PA for WGN. Wish I could’ve refreshed his recollections by running this one by him.
Thanks Tim! They clearly make them brave at Northwestern. The crowd at the football game actually drove Capone to leave early by pointing too much negative attention in his direction, and the resulting student editorial was far tougher on him than many adult papers were at that time.
He told me he saw Capone driving around in his bulletproof car. Had some other interesting memories of those days that included being paid to ride around in a truck and vote in different precincts. But the best of all was that he was at Wrigley working the game for WGN when Babe Ruth ‘called his shot’. 1932 Series I think?
Paul, you have nicely woven Chicago sports history with its criminal history, making for interesting reading. Can we expect a story about John Dillinger's sporadic visits to Wrigley Field? Thanks! Ron J.
Thanks, Ron! Yet another request to come out of this story. We love a thematic series here, so, absolutely, we'll do the bank robbers now that we've done the mobsters. It's on the list.
Hi Paul, I was wondering whether you were going to do a piece on Moe Berg and his spy activities for the OSS during WWII? Were there other players who were spies? Thanks for your research and wonderful writing! Meg
I'm happy to take requests, and Moe Berg is a good one. The thing wait for--especially with someone like Berg who's had a book written about him--is "a way in" to his story. Usually this happens when I find a player appearing in an event where I wasn't expecting it, or to have him mentioned in relation to something else. I actually keep a list of topics like this and I don't necessarily plan for when to write about them as much as I wait for them to raise their hand! I will put Moe on my list and let's see how long it takes him to show up.
Thanx for another history lesson Paul. There’s so much more to the sport than what we see on TV.
For some unknown reason out of the blue the thought of one of my visits to the Yogi Berra museum at Montclair college here in Jersey just popped into my head. Yogi’s World Series rings are on display but there was a theft somehow & some had disappeared if I remember correctly. I’ll have to do some research & get back to you if this was ever documented. Maybe I related subconsciously the act to Capone.
Hi Paul, I found a clip from CBS 60 Minutes. They interview the thief that took Yogi’s rings & I learned how close not only I was to the Museum when I lived in Bergen County but when I moved to PA after I got laid off that he was in Scranton, PA where I used to go to occasionally.
As a foot note the Yankees have a AAA team, the Rail Riders not far. I had rotator cuff surgery from a doctor who used to be the Yanks team surgeon & he absolutely loved baseball. He knew many of the guys including Jeter & many more.
Great bit of history - thanks much! My dad was a Chi-town resident at the time, as well as a Northwestern student and a part-time PA for WGN. Wish I could’ve refreshed his recollections by running this one by him.
Thanks Tim! They clearly make them brave at Northwestern. The crowd at the football game actually drove Capone to leave early by pointing too much negative attention in his direction, and the resulting student editorial was far tougher on him than many adult papers were at that time.
He told me he saw Capone driving around in his bulletproof car. Had some other interesting memories of those days that included being paid to ride around in a truck and vote in different precincts. But the best of all was that he was at Wrigley working the game for WGN when Babe Ruth ‘called his shot’. 1932 Series I think?
Paul, you have nicely woven Chicago sports history with its criminal history, making for interesting reading. Can we expect a story about John Dillinger's sporadic visits to Wrigley Field? Thanks! Ron J.
Thanks, Ron! Yet another request to come out of this story. We love a thematic series here, so, absolutely, we'll do the bank robbers now that we've done the mobsters. It's on the list.
Hi Paul, I was wondering whether you were going to do a piece on Moe Berg and his spy activities for the OSS during WWII? Were there other players who were spies? Thanks for your research and wonderful writing! Meg
I'm happy to take requests, and Moe Berg is a good one. The thing wait for--especially with someone like Berg who's had a book written about him--is "a way in" to his story. Usually this happens when I find a player appearing in an event where I wasn't expecting it, or to have him mentioned in relation to something else. I actually keep a list of topics like this and I don't necessarily plan for when to write about them as much as I wait for them to raise their hand! I will put Moe on my list and let's see how long it takes him to show up.
Thanx for another history lesson Paul. There’s so much more to the sport than what we see on TV.
For some unknown reason out of the blue the thought of one of my visits to the Yogi Berra museum at Montclair college here in Jersey just popped into my head. Yogi’s World Series rings are on display but there was a theft somehow & some had disappeared if I remember correctly. I’ll have to do some research & get back to you if this was ever documented. Maybe I related subconsciously the act to Capone.
At any rate thank you again. Jeff
Sounds like a great lead. A baseball story about a jewel heist is right up our alley. Thanks Jeff!
Hi Paul, I found a clip from CBS 60 Minutes. They interview the thief that took Yogi’s rings & I learned how close not only I was to the Museum when I lived in Bergen County but when I moved to PA after I got laid off that he was in Scranton, PA where I used to go to occasionally.
As a foot note the Yankees have a AAA team, the Rail Riders not far. I had rotator cuff surgery from a doctor who used to be the Yanks team surgeon & he absolutely loved baseball. He knew many of the guys including Jeter & many more.
Anyway (sorry for getting sidetracked), here is 60 Minutes link: https://youtu.be/k7-Sw_atPmg?si=xZEMklataqJ4vhid
There’s more of course if you Google it.
I did speak to Dale Berra one day but that’s a story (although a minor one) for another day.
Very informative piece centered on the iconic picture of Al Capone and Gabby Hartnett - I enjoyed it, Paul.
Wow, that photo of Capone was scary; the scars alone made me shudder! Interesting newsletter this week. Thanks!