Who is the most famous person you have...

always liked her. I have never sat next to anyone famous at Wrigley but my nephew sat next to Chelios out in the bleachers last summer.

He was a pompous ass.

the LB from the vikings who went to NorthWestern..he didnt say much

and after several beers, I was rushing down to relieve myself between innings, and literally ran into a retired Ernie Banks. He shook my hand, autographed my hat and said let’s play two. True story!!

Janine Turnout to be a right wing nut?

• Met Jerry Seinfeld in a McDonald’s parking lot in ’97 before he was going to the Oscars. (His mom was in the back seat of their limo w/a burger.)
• Doc Rivers gave me a head nod while I was walking through LAX. (That didn’t come out right)
• Saw Rick Ocasek picking up some dry cleaning in Hollywood in the mid 90’s.
• Drove beside Forrest Whitaker and his large truck w/two pit bulls in the back of it in Long Beach.
• Walked by Goldie Hawn on 3rd St promenade in Santa Monica. (Had the most electric eyes I’d ever seen.)

I realize these are a stretch. But it’s all I’ve got. Woe is me…

At the Racine Marriott on WI-20 in 1985.

Nothing at a game.

Played basketball with Jordan once.

Met multiple Bulls players form the three peat teams.

who was from my home town, and a friend of my girlfriend’s brother, invited us up to his suite many times in the 70’s.

One negatively very famous Rod Blagojevich.

Others Billy Petersen (CSI), Jim Belushi, Mark Harmon and Vince Vaughn.

The Bears have their tickets very close to ours so we see them there all the time.

The most famous person I ever met at a game was the first President Bush.

I don’t remember meeting him but right after 9/11 I knew Todd Beamer seemed familiar.

The people that have season tickets in back of ours were friends of his and he and his wife occasioally used them.

I almost hit Moises Alou with my car as he was walking in the parking lot of the Best Buy at Sheffield Commons. It was a few hours after this game.

I’m in the SRO section and I was talking to this guy and his girlfriend who were standing next to me. He had mentioned that he used to be the manager at Second City a few years before. He got a pohone call aobut the 4th inning and I heard him say “Have 12 beers and then sing it.” He got off the phoone and told me that Horatio Sanz was singing the strech that day and he knew him form his Second City days. Did I beleive him or really care if he was telling the truth? Not really, but then he came down to say hi to his buddy, he was a nice guy. I just said, “Hi, I’m Brian. Nice to meet you.” He said the same but Horatio replaces Brian. Either way, he was nice and in fact he did sing that day. The thing that sucked was that the Cubs lost that day 15-7, it was August 27, 2004. I remember Farnsworth came in to pitch the ninth with the Cubs down 9-7 and he gave up 6 hits and 6 runs. Dusty refused to take him out. That’s my story.

and saw chris chelios walking around. I tried to get him to sit by us. It’s entirely possible that I scared him off.

-mk

I saw Lauren Holly in the bleachers about 8 years ago. She wearing a hot pink sweater. She stood out a little bit.

Randy Huntley in a Walgreens. Told him to check out BCB – it was right after Al wrote about Randy in the top 100 Cubs series. Does that count?

at US Cell first Cubs Sox iner league game

he got pissed at me, I was drunk and when Willie Green was up I screamed “Come On Willie, do it for the Rev”

Cubs lost in 14 innings, stayed til the end

urinal at Yak-Zies after a game but I guess that doesn’t count.

ask if they could share part of our table at Yak-Zies. Of course we said yes. The only guy who actually talked with us was DeMerritt who was very cool-of course it’s not like people were exactly lining up to talk to him in the first place.

talk about a conversation.

working in collections, I have had to contact such people as Jerry Jones, Walter Payton Inc (for a few examples) for invoices open for payment.

sbout it .. then that time Eddie Vedder sang at Wrigley in 2007 for the stretch, I was there.

In the bleachers in 2006. We actually got along so well that he invited everyone in our party to a shin-dig upstairs at Hi-Tops, where we watched Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Good times. No-name Oakland Raider d-back and eventual busted steroid user Jarrod Cooper was with him. He was fall-down drunk by the time it was over.

Sat in front of Will Clark who was regaling the idle Cub starting pitchers with stories about baseball. Sat next to Wilton Chavez. Remember Michael Wuertz was there, not sure who else.

Sat one row behind Derrek Lee’s family: wife, daughter, dad, uncle. That’s the most famous at Wrigley.

from jerry springer before he had his own show. really nice guy too. one of the girls with him called us the next morning and got us front row seats at a taping of the springer show that day. it was quite the experience.

i also sat beside a former cub from the fifties – bob will. another great guy, still correspond with him too.

and i did sit beside pink hat guy one time as well. jim anixter i think his name is. he is quite the character.

Actor/singer who starred in GIDGET. He was the Opening Day singer for the National Anthem sometime in the 70s and I had really good box seats behind the plate and he was sitting a row in front. VERY annoying as people kept coming over to get his autograph and making it hard to see the game. He could tell he was disrupting things and kept apologizing and finally left around the 5th inning.

NOt at baseball game lots and lots cause I live in NYC. Michael Cain sat near me at a play Julianne Moore took money out of my ATM but to live up to my “name” I was following a nice dog one day into a bakery and kept petting while the “mom” stood in line ahead of me. I literally never looked up in say 5 minutes. After doggie and Mom left the lady at the counter asked if I realized that was Hillary Swank ? No but she had a real nice dog.

Included Steve (the Tool) Stone and Bill Melton a couple of years ago. And Mr. Cub popped by after stopping up in the press box.

I had just moved and was just starting at a new High School. After an August football practice I was walking through the gym an who do I see playing B-Ball, Jerry Sloan, Tom Bullwinkle, and Chet Walker. I freaked out. The Bulls were playing at my school- Glenbrook South. BTW Santo lived in Glenview and his kids went to GBS. His kids play baseball and mybrothersat next to Ron at a few games.

When he left i ran him down and got his autograph

He was doing color for some regional coverage the next day, so he was just a paying fan that day. Hot sunny day, so the beer was flowing freely and he got a little toasty. Actually, we all did. Talked some baseball, got his autograph, and resisted the urge to ask him if the bleacher seats were too uncomfortable to sit on. ;-)

First ball I ever got ballhawking was from him, back in Cleveland many years ago. So after that day in the bleachers, I spent half the night looking for that ball, finally found it, and managed to get him to autograph it the next day as he was heading towards the production truck before the game.

Now all I have to do is make sure I get the last ball I catch autographed by whoever hit it and my life will be complete…

but my dad has season tickets with the Angels and 3 seats down is Roy Firestone who is a total Douche of a bag and 2 rows back is Hillary Duff, who is seldomly there.

 On a Cubs related but off topic, I was on the same plane as Carlos Zambrano in ’05 I believe, heading out to AZ for ST. It was totally random because I was in Chicago visiting relatives and when everyone was waiting for their luggage, I meandered my way close to Zambrano (with my Cub hat on) and tried getting the stones to say something to him, but I never could. His luggage consisted of 3 Cubs bat bags.

Yeah. I know.

I did set two rows behing Rudy G., one time and three rows in front of George W. another!(at Ranger stadium)

Also Ryne Sandburg, Tommy Lasorda, and Bill Walton, Bob Costas, and Will Perdue (Walton, Costas, and Perdue were sitting together).

Need coffee

……….while not famous, sat with me in the bleachers about 7 years ago. I looked up and saw him coming down the back row and said “Dave Otto!”. He said, “Can you squeeze in a few more?” He was with his wife and we obliged.

Sat two rows in front of John Cusack at Dodgers Stadium back in 1992. I was wearing a Hawks jersey to the game and he stopped me to say he was buddies with Chelios.

And while not at the ballpark, sat across the aisle from Ron Santo on a flight from ORD to St. Louis. Hughes was to Ron’s left on the window and Moises Alou as on the aisle in the row behind.

…ryan dempster was doing a radio interview outside wrigley and when he was done he signed and took pictures, a very cool guy. but 95% the hockey crowd didnt recognize him.

and at a sox-cubs game at the cell we went down 2 the dugouts during bp and met jesse jackson (and his bodyguards)

I sat in a row in front of Mario Lopez and Ali Landry (the lady from the Super Bowl ads a few years back who caught the Doritos as they were shot towards her). They were in town to run the Boston Marathon.

A few Sox fans started yelling “Screech was better” at the former Mr. Slater. They were kind enough to take a few photos with us.

…is which famous persons got to say they sat next to ME?

And the answer is none.

on different days. Cusak was pretty cool but Al was rockin’!

At the NFC title game in 2007 at Soldier Field I saw many Cubs including Pinella, Wood, Lee and Sandberg,

I’ve spotted/met a bunch of famous people but the one that really got my chimes ringing was Smokey Robinson on a UA flight. Warm, gracious, giving. And those pipes!

Also, JFK, Jr. sure was a sight to behold. Radiant.

at Yankees Stadium a few years ago, for a Red Sox game. My only game at that disgusting toilet they call a ballpark.

At one point I went to get two slices of pizza. It was boxed. When I opened the box back at my seat one of the pieces had a bite taken out of it. How disgusting!

What a great memory of Yankee Stadium: Big Pussy and foul pizza.

played on our intramural softball team at MSU in the late 1970s. A fair fielder and OK hitter, but I think he had a slightly better future in another sport.

As for someone at Wrigley, Al is about the biggest name of anyone I’ve sat near at the ballpark- next to my wife of course.

And in the meeting of the rich and famous, I’d say Alan Alda, Bonnie Riatt, Yo-Yo Ma and Dave Brubeck. In fact, I wound up getting Brubeck’s cold about a week after shaking hands with his backstage during a concert intermission.

Now there a a bunch of names I don’t normally see when reading BCB! ;)

Was drinking at a hotel bar in Bermuda, when I saw Cuba Gooding Jr. come and hang out in the bar.

Walked right past Seal in the Cancun airport… then just minutes later saw a crazy woman chasing him with a camera. LOL.

Walked past Ben Stein on Broadway in NYC…

I met Neil Armstrong, Colin Powell, and Sean Fitzpatrick (one of the greatest Rubgy players of all-time the the New Zealand All-Blacks) as guest speakers… backstage during conferences. I work backstage.

I also recently met Steve Levy (the ESPN anchor) last November… backstage. Everytime he spoke, I thought there was a TV on behind me.

And… last but not least. As funny as this his… I ate dinner with Ronnie Woo-Woo on Friday night.

Cusak tried to disguise himself with a hat, shades and blank white t-shirt….for a night game

Cusak once while up in the ‘skyboxes’. Went to use the restroom…walked in and stood next to him.

Tommy Lasorda, Frank McCourt and the entire Dodgers entourage at Game 2 last fall. We sat row 4 behind the dodgert dugout and they were in row 3. Bought a beer for McCourt after he offered all of us some of the pizza that the cubs brought down for them. Took a pic with Lasorda and he had this huge stain on his sweater from the pizza. He seems like an ass.

Way back when I was a kid and Caray was broadcasting for the Sox, he was at a Cubs game. My stepdad told me to ask Harry Caray for his autograph. I went up and for some reason asked for his ‘signature’ he found that funny and pointed it out the his group. They all laughed at me.

Gary ‘The Sarge’ Mathews at the 8.8.88 game. I loved him in ’84 and couldnt believe he was right in front of us.

Several more but these are the ones at Wrigley…

Unfortunately I haven’t been to one in about 10 years :( But since other people are posting such things, I’ve met Tom Morello (a Cubs fan, at least!) of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave fame here in Omaha, spoke with him briefly about guitars and got his autograph and also got a head nod from LeBron James as he dined with his entourage and members of the Suzy Buffett Foundation at a local bistro in my neighborhood. I also caught a foul ball hit by future Cub Tuffy Rhodes when he played for the Omaha Royals.

I met Soto when he played for Iowa, and got a ball signed from him. Met Jim Hendry at ST last year at a restaurant. He saw me in Cubs gear, we made eye contact and I just told him Thanks, he waved me over and said why you saying “Thanks”? And I told him; yours is not an easy job and I appreciate what you do. He was cool talked to me for 15 mins or so. Met Bob Brenly too he was pretty nice. Oh and of course there is that guy standing with me in my Avitar. We talked for 20 mins before a ST game last season, also was the same time I met Al for the first time…he was pretty cool, hehe

In the late 1980s/early 1990s, I was walking to my seat before a night game when I walked right by Dan Roan, WGN sports anchor. “Hey, Dan. Dan!” About 2 or 3 times . . . he pretended like he heard nothing. Yeah, you’re a celeb, alright. Jerk!

Saw Mark Giangreco and Mike Adamle at the same game. Dan Plesac at Cubs-Sox at the Cell a few years ago, shook his hand, he was a nice guy.

2006 at Spring Training, my friends and I bought some cheap tix to a Cubs Giants game, there were 6 seats open right behind the Cubs dugout. We went down there an inning or two into the game, Jim Hendry and John McDonough came down a few innings later to our surprise. It was just the 2 of them and I’m guessing all 6 seats were for them and their “people”. They let us sit there, we took a picture, they passed us our beers. I offered to buy them beers but they declined. Jim was on the phone quite a bit as you’d expect, it was also interesting to see him and Lou talk during the game, Hendry asked him to get a few players into the game to take a look at them.

A friend was in the gift shop of a downtown hotel

One time Angelina Jolie was in there when the headlines of the tabloids were screaming she was pregnant.

She and my friend laughed at the headlines because she was buying female products you don’t need when you’re pregnant. (This was 15 months before the twins were born).

She was very very nice btw,

Evan Eschmeyer, of Northwestern basketball fame, in the bleachers from about 7 yrs ago. I was all of 5’9" and 150 lbs so the picture is pretty comical as Evan takes up about 95% of the frame.

Sat near Greg Olson of Da Bears. Outside of the park, I once saw Mark Grace at La Bamba ordering a couple burritos.

I run into Jim Hendry all the time since we live in the same town. He is known to be very friendly to everyone and a pleasure to wait on by people who work in Park Ridge. One place we both go to which is run by friends of mine was kind of funny. They didn’t know who he was just that he seemed vaguely familiar (they are not sports fans) until I was in there and after I said hello they asked me “Often when he’s in here people recognize him. Who is he?” and I told them.

Various Cubs have lived here at one time or another. The Sandbergs and the Davises lived by my best friend in the 80s.

My pops attended a game last year and got to hang out with Ryne Sandberg for awhile.

It was a certain package my dad’s company had purchased. Towards the end of last season against the Cardinals, I believe. They had box seats, buffet, free jersey (Soriano), 2 autographs from a ‘Cubs Great’, and a chance to chat it up.

He said Ryne was a humble guy and was really enjoyable to talk with. Talked about him being drafted and little things about his career. Would have been really neat for me to experience myself.

All I got was a stupid autographed baseball and a Soriano jersey. hahaha

…i see it posted, but don’t know what it means. I’m fairly new to the site.

… I was sitting a few rows behind Jesse Jackson. With 1 out in the top of the 8th & Prior on the mound, Jesse Freaking Jackson turns around, happily extending five fingers on one hand to the crowd behind him & mouthing the words “Five more!”

True story.

I hate Jesse Jackson for that.

up in the same small hood as Greg Luzinski. Played sand lot in his back yard. He would come back on occasion. It was always a big deal.

Chris Chelios was cool around 92 or 93- he sat in the Bleachers with everyone else and fit right in. Him and another Hawk came but I don’t remember his buddy.
Chris Zorich (ex_Bear) threw out the first pitch (awesome person but throws like a girl, please don’t tell him i said that as he could easily kill me)
Mark Grace
Fergie Jenkins
Andre Dawson at NLCS ’03 Game 7 (*sniff)
Does Harry Carry and Steve Stone count? Even though Stoney fell off he was definitely a cool guy when he manned the booth at Wrigley.

More Recently: I am sure I spotted Theriot outside Glenn’s Place on Montrose with his wife this winter before Thanksgiving but I couldn’t confirm.

I met Wayne Messmer at the bank I worked at when he came in to do business. Really nice guy. Also, met Glenallen Hill there in 94 and he was very cool. Actually left us some tix at will call on a couple of occasions so I got to see a couple games with tix left to me from a Cubs player although they weren’t very good that year.

Patricia Wettig sat a couple of tables away. And I saw Helen Hunt (a few tables away also) at breakfast a few days ago.

…life in West LA.

was swamped with people just behind home plate. Back then I think they had a wheelchair lift and becuase of the crowd, a little kid’s foot got caught in the lift while it was moving.

Once the kid got his foot out, and before anyone else could get to him, Ernie grabbed that kid in his arms and RAN him to the first aid office.

was playing for the Lafayette (Indiana) Leopards; I think they were a A-level team. My brother and his kids were visiting my sister, who lives in Lafayette, and they were all at a game. One nephew was probably around 10 or 11.

My sister spots Carlton Fisk, there in the crowd. She told my nephew who he was and to go say Hi to him.

So off he goes, and says, with awe, “Wow, are you really CASEY FISK’S DAD?”

Carlton got a big grin out of that, and gave a big shoulder-hug to his son’s fan.

My brother, sister in law, wife and I are getting on the Southwest airplane en route from Las Vegas to San Diego to watch the Cubs in SD (where they went 1-2) in the summer of 07. Naturally, we’re all decked out in red/white/blue. As we’re moving down the aisle, my wife (who is only just becoming a baseball fan) leans back to me and says, isn’t that Greg Maddux to the left?
Sure enough, the legend is sitting there, he sees the four of us and tries to hide in his crossword puzzle and not make eye contact. I started laughing because it was just so damn funny because you know he spotted the four of us and was thinking, “rabid Cub fans”. I didn’t have the nerve to ask for his autograph.
Just goes to show, the guy is so humble he flies Southwest like the rest of us. He was off the plane and gone once we landed.

when he was still with the Bulls was a couple of rows in front of me a couple of years ago when I was sitting behind the Cubs dugout. Then last year I was standing in line at a concession booth, and the guy in front of me gets his beer, turns around, and it’s John McDonnough. I met him previously a year earlier at his last Cubs Convention (I guess it would have been the ‘07 Convention) when I thanked him for being the first Cubs’ front office person to publicly declare the team goal of winning the World Series. He was a class act….a true voice of the fans. When I saw him getting a beer at Wrigley, he had left the Cubs by then, but I thought it was so fitting. A former team president, in line at a concession both, getting a beer with the rest of the peasants. I had a world of respect for him before that day, but his legacy was cemented for me that day.

I actullay didn’t know who she was, but my wife did..local girl I guess..

Stood by Chelios and Brett Hull a few years ago – pre expansion – in the LF bleachers, talking everything hockey for a couple of innings. My non-hockey buds with me that day were wondering why I wasn’t gauking at the girls that warm day, but a diehard fan of a pro sports player will always choose talking to that favourite player than checking out chicks.

Hull was a bit standoff-ish but somewhat talkative. Chelli was cordial as always. Now normally I wouldn’t want to be around a current dead-thing (I mean Detroit Red Wing) but in Chelli’s case being a local boy and one-time Blackhawk I had to make an exception.

Sara Wood, her sister and bro-in-law, and her son
Carlos Zambrano’s family
Juan Pierre’s family
Rod Blago (Game we clinched last season)
Jim Hendry (ST game at Hohokam)
Fukudome’s translator’s parents (not that they are famous)
Al Yellon
Jason Witten’s college roommate (not that he is famous by any stretch)
Casey Clausen and his Mom, Dad, and Uncle
Shook Chris Berman’s hand
Stared at Erin Andrew’s butt

that’s all I got!

good friends with Sage Rosenfels (Houston Texans) and his family. Sage was back here last weekend. Nick Collison (OKC Thunder) is from here and we see him around town in the summer.

It was at my first Cubs game in August 2003 when the D-Backs came to town. Joe Borowski blew the game in the 9th when he gave up a HR to Alex Cintron. Alex fricken Cintron! Dude hit like 15 bombs his whole career and hits a game winner.

I got Schillng’s autograph after the game. He was standing on the corner of Sheffield and Waveland signing autographs. He’s a much larger man than I thought.

…he was selling autographed balls, bats and other things to raise money for JDRF. I did purchase a signed baseball. He’s a pretty down to earth guy.

Huge freakin hands!!

A few years ago I sat one seat away from ESPN’s Chris Berman behind home plate. I used to work with him at ESPN out in Connecticut, so it was nice to get caught up on the happenings in Bristol.

And while it wasn’t at Wrigley, I met Fergie Jenkins last Sunday at a charity event out in Aurora – Opportunity Through Baseball. One of my students was able to interview him for our weekly newscast. He’s a very gracious and down to earth man!

when we vacationed at a resort in Minnesota this actress stayed at the resort with her family. She talked to us a couple of times.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1455681/

Talked with Marshall Holman once at O’Hare.