During the 1970s, Jack Brickhouse was the announcer for the Cubs. “Hey, Hey!” I’m not sure if he coined the expression “Bleacher Bums,” but the term sure was popular during that period. A play, a television show and a movie were made about the Bleacher Bums, die-hard Cub fans who preferred the cheap seats to missing a game. I met many people from Uptown who were bleacher bums or who were hired by Uptown’s day labor agencies to work at the games. Shown here: the bleacher bums from a game with the Houston Astros. Ironically, I live in Houston now where they have to play baseball indoors in air conditioned stadiums. There are two seasons in Houston: summer and August. In August, you can count on the heat index being over a 100 degrees every day. I miss the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. This was the way baseball should be played – outdoors. Note how the fans are standing. This image was taken during the seventh inning stretch. The Cubs eventually lost this game 8-4 on August 24th, 1975.
