I remember seeing Bill Veeck camped out in the leftfield bleachers at Wrigley Field, in the mid-1980’s - shirtless - had to be pushing 80 at that point - I don’t recall him wearing a Bleacher Bum hard hat, but those had been retired years earlier.
From what I understand, the original hard hats were regulation-grade, and they were often hung across the street at Ray's (now Murphy's Bleachers) when not in use. There was also some kind of dimorphism going on because a lot of the women in the group wore yellow ponchos or raincoats, apparently those were another gift from the Cubs organization.
Even after the group became less prominent, a lot of their ethos remained in the outfield stands, and I'm sure Veeck would have felt right at home there, at least until the re-build. Assigned seats were the death rattle, I think.
I remember seeing Bill Veeck camped out in the leftfield bleachers at Wrigley Field, in the mid-1980’s - shirtless - had to be pushing 80 at that point - I don’t recall him wearing a Bleacher Bum hard hat, but those had been retired years earlier.
From what I understand, the original hard hats were regulation-grade, and they were often hung across the street at Ray's (now Murphy's Bleachers) when not in use. There was also some kind of dimorphism going on because a lot of the women in the group wore yellow ponchos or raincoats, apparently those were another gift from the Cubs organization.
Even after the group became less prominent, a lot of their ethos remained in the outfield stands, and I'm sure Veeck would have felt right at home there, at least until the re-build. Assigned seats were the death rattle, I think.