Thursday, August 27, 2015

Life Inside Wrigley Field's Scoreboard-- Part 3: "Best Seat in the House"

From the June 28, 2015, Chicago Tribune "The man who has the best seat in the house" by Rhiannon Walker.

Fred Washington, a member of the Wrigley Field grounds crew, has worked in the scoreboard for 25 years, and he has no worries about its demise, "The scoreboard will be here forever.  I never worry about anything replacing that scoreboard."

He is a West Side native and has been in that board since 1990 and at Wrigley since 1984.    As a member of the grounds crew, he has worked every job, but now has to hose down the dugouts and warning track in addition to his scoreboard duty.  Also, he is the one that hoists the famous "W" flag (and "L" flag after a loss).

Working the scoreboard is considered a promotion because he gets extra pay.

Washington said that you won't miss a thing working inside the board.  It's the best seat in the house.  If it's cold outside, it's very cold in there; if the wind is blowing straight out, it's blowing straight in his face; if it's hot, then it's very hot.

Fans will help him out if he misses anything, but that doesn't happen often.  His seat is above the "8."

--CootScorer

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