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Thursday, November 20, 2014

The Golden Throat is NOT toast: Surreal Chicago Week Day 4

     You've seen him amongst the throngs at Wrigley to take in a Cubs game(perhaps in the Bleachers). You've seen him at the Toast to Harry Caray. You've seen him at the Cubs Convention. Hell, I've even seen him walking down Clark Street at 11:00 on a Saturday night. But wherever he goes, he's always wearing a well-worn Cubs uniform with two words on back. "Woo Woo".


     Ronald Wickers first started attending Cubs games in the late 1940s. By the end of the 1950s, he had started his own unique cheer. By the 80s, he was firmly entrenched in the annals of Cubs Lore. In 1983, Bill Veeck asserted that "The best way to appreciate Ronnie is when he's about 100 feet away and not in your ear. All throughout the glory years of the 60s(even the heartbreak of '69), and the Bleacher Bum era of the '70s, Ronnie was there.  when some of his family members died in the 1980s, he all of a sudden found himself homeless without a stable job.  Between 1984 and 1990, he even attended Cubs games off of the grace of fellow fans.  In the 1987 season there was a period where he stopped showing up at Cubs games, and some loyal fans began to worry that he had died.  Eventually Ronnie contacted a local news organization to confirm that he was still very much among the living.


     Since 1990, Wickers' life has taken a minor upswing.  He has found several sources of income, be they washing windows in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, selling Streetwise magazines, and even working a job set up for him by a friend.  In 2001, he sailed to new heights when he sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at Wrigley, joining such luminaries as Bill Murray, William Petersen, and (cough)Mike Ditka.  Ronnie is still a persistent presence at all things Cubs to this day, retaining his position as the city's Biggest Cubs Fan.

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