Posted on 12/19/2003 11:09:49 AM PST by KantianBurke
CHICAGO - Harry Caray's restaurant paid $106,600 for the infamous baseball deflected by a fan, and the owners want to destroy the ball and close an agonizing chapter in Cubs history.
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"Destroying it hopefully will have kind of a cathartic effect for the fans," said winning bidder Grant DePorter, a friend of the late broadcaster and managing partner of his restaurant.
DePorter bought the ball in an Internet auction and said he plans to destroy it Feb. 26, when the restaurant organizes a worldwide toast to Caray, who died in 1998. He said he would ask fans for ideas on how to do it.
"We want to create some closure to the way the season ended," DePorter said. He also said, "We weren't about to let it get into the hands of a Marlins fan."
Cubs fan Steve Bartman deflected the foul ball in Game 6 of the National League (news) championship series on Oct. 14. The ball appeared to be headed for the glove of left fielder Moises Alou, but it ricocheted off Bartman's hand and the Florida Marlins (news) rallied, beating Chicago 8-3. The Cubs then lost Game 7 and missed a chance to reach their first World Series (news - web sites) since 1945.
The auction was handled by MastroNet Inc. of suburban Oak Brook. Thirty-seven bids had been made on the ball by the time the auction closed at about 4 a.m.
MastroNet said the seller was a 33-year-old Chicago attorney identified only as "Jim." According to the company, he was sitting near Bartman and picked up the ball when it bounced his way.
Mark Theotikos, MastroNet's vice president of auction operations, said the winning bid came from an individual in the Chicago area.
"It'll be mentioned in the same breath as the Sam Sianis' billy goat," he said, referring to the tale of a local tavern owner who put a curse on the Cubs in 1945 when he was not allowed to bring his pet goat into Wrigley Field. "Everyone knows who Bartman is. ... He's become like the mascot."
The ball was authenticated using affidavits, ticket stubs and other information, the company said.
DePorter said that Bartman will be invited to attend the event when the ball is destroyed. Messages left Friday by The Associated Press with Bartman and his spokesman were not immediately returned.
Drop it in a vat of Budweiser until it dissolves. Or has a stroke.
Just kidding. Big Cubs and second generation Harry Caray fan here.
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