Today’s column from CBS Chicago …
(CBS) I encountered an endangered species on Wednesday night.
The Wrigleyville Ballhawk.
While out for a run through Lakeview around 9 p.m., I stopped for a breather at the intersection of Kenmore and Waveland beyond Wrigley Field’s left-field bleachers, and as sounds from the Cubs game spilled out over the outfield wall, I watched a trio of men play catch in the street.
Last month, these Ballhawks – one of Wrigleyville’s best-known traditions – expressed concern that their longtime pastime of snaring home run balls as they sail out of the ballpark is in jeopardy.
Talking to the Sun-Times on Opening Day, 51-year-old Ballhawk George Field said that if the Cubs construct their proposed 6,000-foot video board in left field he estimates it would stop 80 percent of the balls from flying out onto Waveland.
Potentially losing the Ballhawks tradition would be a shame, but it wouldn’t be as earth-shaking as, say, losing the neighborhood’s rooftops tradition – or even losing the Cubs from Wrigley Field completely.
Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …