We had the seat on the bricks behind home plate right by the Andy Frain usher who had a seat on the field. It was unbelievable what when on in that first game. Pelekoudas would come to get new balls from the usher and when the bedlam broke out my mom who was part Greek and knew a few cuss words let him loose on him. Everything he was hearing in English he ignored but the not the Greek. He came over pointed to mom and right in front of us told the usher that if he heard another cuss from her she would be thrown out of the park!
A+ comment here, Patrick, thank you for sharing! Pelekoudas was proudly Greek and this is such a wonderful detail that adds insight into his personality. He took all the abuse in English, relished in it, he claims, but somebody starts in on him in Greek, and it's a bridge too far. If you have any other memories from the game put them right here, but I'm so glad you added this one.
Paul, I love these stories. As a youngster in the Chicago suburbs (northern suburbs, so I was a Cubs fan) in 1968, I spent all summer watching Cubs games on WGN (Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau). As a 9-year-old in 1969, the Cubs’ “September Swoon” scarred me for life. I remember Phil Regan getting patted down constantly during games.
Thank you, Bill! As you can see from my writing, the Cubs' September Swoon also scarred me for life, 14 years before I was even born. It's wonderful theater. Between 1969 and 2003, Cubs fans earned their complex. I am really glad you can verify Regan's stature with the umpires. These days the substance checks are a routine part of the game, but back then, it reflected his notorious reputation.
My dad was a huge ball fan. He passed away several years ago. I wish he were here because I'd love to hear his take on this story. I enjoyed your article. Even though I was born and raised in Western Canada, I visited Wrigley Stadium several times as a little girl.
You make my Mondays. Thanks.
Aww, same! When I stumbled into this story, I knew everyone was going to come away a winner.
We had the seat on the bricks behind home plate right by the Andy Frain usher who had a seat on the field. It was unbelievable what when on in that first game. Pelekoudas would come to get new balls from the usher and when the bedlam broke out my mom who was part Greek and knew a few cuss words let him loose on him. Everything he was hearing in English he ignored but the not the Greek. He came over pointed to mom and right in front of us told the usher that if he heard another cuss from her she would be thrown out of the park!
A+ comment here, Patrick, thank you for sharing! Pelekoudas was proudly Greek and this is such a wonderful detail that adds insight into his personality. He took all the abuse in English, relished in it, he claims, but somebody starts in on him in Greek, and it's a bridge too far. If you have any other memories from the game put them right here, but I'm so glad you added this one.
Paul, I love these stories. As a youngster in the Chicago suburbs (northern suburbs, so I was a Cubs fan) in 1968, I spent all summer watching Cubs games on WGN (Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau). As a 9-year-old in 1969, the Cubs’ “September Swoon” scarred me for life. I remember Phil Regan getting patted down constantly during games.
Thank you, Bill! As you can see from my writing, the Cubs' September Swoon also scarred me for life, 14 years before I was even born. It's wonderful theater. Between 1969 and 2003, Cubs fans earned their complex. I am really glad you can verify Regan's stature with the umpires. These days the substance checks are a routine part of the game, but back then, it reflected his notorious reputation.
My dad was a huge ball fan. He passed away several years ago. I wish he were here because I'd love to hear his take on this story. I enjoyed your article. Even though I was born and raised in Western Canada, I visited Wrigley Stadium several times as a little girl.
Thank you, Lois, I hope this piece took you back to some nice conversations with your dad, too.