Some dreams do come to fruition. When asked when was the first time you said to yourself, “I want to own the
Cubs?” Tom Ricketts, chairman and new owner of the Chicago Cubs, reminisced about that moment that came in 1990.
“Last fall I was going through some papers on my desk and I found my business school application. It was an essay written in 1990, and one of the questions they asked was to tell what your dream job would be. I wrote “I’d like to own the Chicago Cubs, or a baseball team,” says Ricketts. At the time, he was living with his older brother, Pete above the Sports Corner bar at the corner of Sheffield and Addison. “It has been a dream for a long time.”
While Ricketts did not grow up in Chicago, he became a fan by watching the Cubs on WGN, and he has lived in Chicago long enough to call it home, even attending the University of Chicago. Ricketts was involved in Fantasy Baseball for a while and read everything Bill James wrote.
“Obviously living right up here and going to so many games how can you not [fall in love with the Cubs]? I love business, I love baseball. Being able to do both at once is terrific. And then to combine it with the family, it’s [great],” he states.
Ricketts makes it very clear that the money to buy the Cubs came about because of his father’s success with Ameritrade. When he realized that Tribune was going to have to sell the Cubs, Ricketts went to his family, talked to them about owning the team, they agreed and they threw their hat into the ring.
Since introducing the family, which included his brothers Pete and Todd and sister Laura, at a press conference at the end of October, Ricketts has had somewhat of a crash course on who and what the Cubs are. He knew from a fan’s point of view (a fan who really did meet his wife in the bleachers), but not from the business side.
He and Crane Kenney, president of the Cubs, have made trips to see all Cubs operations, including a couple of trips to the Dominican Republic. Unlike many owners who want to have a hand in everything, Ricketts is watching and learning and letting the people hired to do their jobs do them and be held accountable for their actions.
The family is putting money into the team at all levels, and Ricketts is firm in pointing out that all revenue generated from the team will go back into the team to help continue improving not only talent, but fan game day experiences. Some of those changes will be evident on Opening Day.
In addition to writing her Chicago Cubs column for Examiner.com, Miriam Romain has been published in several Cubs annuals by Maple Street Press and is a contributor to SportsClimax.com . Romain is currently covering the Cubs and MLB from Arizona during Spring Training.
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