The Cubs are getting ready to unveil a new ‘Statue Row’ of their Hall of Famers

Back in January there was a bit of an uproar when the Cubs moved the statues of team heroes Billy Williams and Ron Santo to make room for the construction of the Draft Kings sportsbook. The uproar wasn’t about moving the statues during construction, after all, no one wants to see those remarkable commemorations of great Cubs careers inadvertently damaged by construction. Plus, the statues have been moved previously, when the Wrigley Field renovation was underway. No, the uproar was the idea of moving statues of Cubs greats to make room for a sportsbook, which many fans, including myself, don’t really want at Wrigley Field.

That said, the scoreboard at the White Sox ballpark (a team who saw eight of its players banned for fixing games during the 1919 World Series) is now brought to you by Caesers Sportsbook App, so the gambling ship has well and truly sailed. I’ve already noted my objections and we can save that post for another day. Today’s post is inspired by a walk around the Friendly Confines while the Cubs are out of town playing in Arizona. Friday afternoon, as I enjoyed some steps in the sun, I stopped in my tracks when I saw that Mr. Cub had been uprooted from his traditional perch outside the ticket windows on Clark:

Sara Sanchez

I was intrigued by this mystery, remembered that the Cubs had already moved some of their heroes and chatted with some employees around the ballpark to learn that the Cubs would be unveiling the new home of their Hall of Famers this coming Friday. You can read more details here. The new “Statue Row” will be located at the north end of Gallagher Way across from Brickhouse Tavern and the Cubs Store, behind the planters:

Sara Sanchez

By far the most interesting thing here, though, isn’t that the statues have moved. It’s that there are two extra statue bases with no wording on them to indicate who will be honored. We already knew Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins would get a statue this year, but his statue is already accounted for with text on the base:

Sara Sanchez

I also took photos of the bases for Santo, Williams and Banks. But that still leaves two mystery bases. Harry Caray remains firmly where he belongs and will continue to be, greeting fans as they enter the bleachers, so I leave it to you, Cubs fans: Who, or what, could these unnamed statue bases be for?

Sara Sanchez

We might get an answer to that question when the Cubs unveil Jenkins’ statue, and presumably restore the rest of our Cubs heroes this coming Friday, May 20, before the game against the Diamondbacks. As always, we await developments.