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For years I’ve been trying to get my good friend Mike Handley (aka: “Budman”) to send me details of the memorable day in September, 1969 when he was in the Wrigley Field bleachers and caught a home run ball hit by the Pirates’ Steve Blass. He finally did it! I’m happy to share it with our Baseball History Comes Alive readers! –GL
A Memorable 1969 Day In The Wrigley Field Bleachers!
The Cubs’ season ending this year was reminiscent of their infamous 1969 swoon [Ed. Note: Did you have to mention that, Mike?]. That one started with a loss at Cincinnati. The Cubbies then came back to Wrigley for a short three-game home stand against the Pirates…and proceeded to lose all three.
Pitching for the Pirates in that series opener on September 5 was Steve Blass, on his way to a 14-8 record; while on the mound for the Cubs was Ken Holtzman, who would finish the year at 17-13. The Pirates blew out the Cubs by a final score of 9-2.
I was in the left field bleachers for that game and caught my first-ever home run ball. It was hit by none other than Blass himself! No sooner had I snared the ball (after it bounced off at least two sets of hands) than the head Bleacher Bum was in my face yelling for me to “throw the ball back.” I hesitated for a moment and he quickly followed it up with “if ya know what’s good for ya!” So I gave it my all and threw it back, but I doubt that the ball even made the infield.
Years later (well into the 2000s), my memory told me that Blass had a career day and had gone 5 for 5 at the plate. But a quick check of the baseball stats revealed that he had “only” gone 4 for 5 with three RBIs. Even more noteworthy was the fact that his homer that day was the only one he ever hit in his major league career! It made me wish that I had defied the Bleacher Bum’s mandate and kept the ball instead. How cool would it have been to be able to give Blass that ball so many years later!
But the story doesn’t end there! I decided to see if I could locate Blass and send him a letter and tell him the story. I discovered that he was a Pirates broadcaster, so I looked up their website and found a mailing address for the Pirates’ organization. And so off went the letter with a request to please forward to Steve Blass.
A few weeks later I came back to the office after the Thanksgiving holiday to discover a very nice voicemail from Steve himself. In it he recalled that Billy Williams, the Cubs’ great Hall of Famer, went 4 for 4 that game, including two solo homers and two RBIs. He added that, “If only Billy had only been sick that day, I might have had a no-no and a shutout!” But unfortunately Billy played and he didn’t get either. The rest of the voicemail was a heartfelt thanks for sharing and season wishes.
And now, just like Paul Harvey’s famous signoff, you know…the rest of the story!
Mike Handley
(Post Script: Thanks Mike for sharing this story. In checking the box score for that game, I discovered that Mike was one of 10,411 fans in attendance that day and it was played in a fast 2:20. Some of us “senior’ readers will recall the umpires: Harry Wendelstedt, Ken Burkhart, Ed Sudell, and “Big Lee Weyer.” Sadly, the Cubs blew a big lead in September that year and finished at 84-54, eight games behind the “Miracle Mets,” on their way to the 1969 World Series championship. Bad memories for us Cub fans!- GL)
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