01-24-2009, 11:25 PM
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Tom Ricketts grew up in Nebraska, but the corner of Clark and Addison has been like a second home.
He has forgotten many a Cubs loss by tossing back a few beers at the Sports Corner Bar & Grill across the street from Wrigley Field. He even lived above the bar after graduating from the University of Chicago. He met his wife in Wrigley's bleachers. And as a teen, he memorized second-baseman Ryne Sandberg's stats from his 1984 MVP season.
Ricketts' pursuit of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy his favorite team on behalf of his family—the team he grew up watching on superstation WGN—is personal for him, not just another business investment that would diversify the Ricketts' multibillion-dollar portfolio.
"They're the essence of what the Cubs fan wants," Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney said Friday morning on WMVP-AM 1000. "These bidders, the Ricketts family, they get it. They're fans first, and then they're also very smart. We could certainly use smart folks around here."
The Ricketts family is poised to become the Cubs' next owner, with Tribune Co. selecting its bid after a nearly two-year auction to sell the team, Wrigley Field and related broadcast properties. The two parties still have to negotiate a final agreement, which then must be approved by Major League Baseball.
If the ownership transfer becomes official, Tom Ricketts will no longer live the anonymous life he has led with his wife, Cece, and five children on the North Shore. Two of his siblings who also live in the Chicago area, Laura and Todd, also will be in the spotlight.
Fans will now have a face to attach to ownership after 28 years of corporate stewardship personified by the neo-Gothic tower on Michigan Avenue. It's the face of a tall, lanky 43-year-old with a toothy smile and thinning dark brown hair.
Tom Ricketts, who declined an interview request, plans to be a visible owner at games and in the community, friends and close associates say. But don't expect him to be a regular in the bleachers, berating umpires and talking trash with opposing players a la Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and onetime Cubs suitor.
"So many of these professional sports owners seem like such jerks," said Pete Nelson, one of Tom Ricketts' neighbors in Wilmette. "Tom's your typical suburban dad. I was very surprised when I found out they were connected to family wealth."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Read More(Tribune)
He has forgotten many a Cubs loss by tossing back a few beers at the Sports Corner Bar & Grill across the street from Wrigley Field. He even lived above the bar after graduating from the University of Chicago. He met his wife in Wrigley's bleachers. And as a teen, he memorized second-baseman Ryne Sandberg's stats from his 1984 MVP season.
Ricketts' pursuit of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy his favorite team on behalf of his family—the team he grew up watching on superstation WGN—is personal for him, not just another business investment that would diversify the Ricketts' multibillion-dollar portfolio.
"They're the essence of what the Cubs fan wants," Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney said Friday morning on WMVP-AM 1000. "These bidders, the Ricketts family, they get it. They're fans first, and then they're also very smart. We could certainly use smart folks around here."
The Ricketts family is poised to become the Cubs' next owner, with Tribune Co. selecting its bid after a nearly two-year auction to sell the team, Wrigley Field and related broadcast properties. The two parties still have to negotiate a final agreement, which then must be approved by Major League Baseball.
If the ownership transfer becomes official, Tom Ricketts will no longer live the anonymous life he has led with his wife, Cece, and five children on the North Shore. Two of his siblings who also live in the Chicago area, Laura and Todd, also will be in the spotlight.
Fans will now have a face to attach to ownership after 28 years of corporate stewardship personified by the neo-Gothic tower on Michigan Avenue. It's the face of a tall, lanky 43-year-old with a toothy smile and thinning dark brown hair.
Tom Ricketts, who declined an interview request, plans to be a visible owner at games and in the community, friends and close associates say. But don't expect him to be a regular in the bleachers, berating umpires and talking trash with opposing players a la Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and onetime Cubs suitor.
"So many of these professional sports owners seem like such jerks," said Pete Nelson, one of Tom Ricketts' neighbors in Wilmette. "Tom's your typical suburban dad. I was very surprised when I found out they were connected to family wealth."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Read More(Tribune)
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