Name: Harry Grossman (Cubs superfan) on Letterman, September 14, 1988
Uploaded: 2017-05-21T00:53:13.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Harry Grossman (Cubs superfan) on Letterman, September 14, 1988' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2017-05-21. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Harry Grossman (Cubs superfan) on Letterman, September 14, 1988' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2017-05-21. Transcript available.

Last month, you probably remember, our next guest turned a button, pressed a
button, and
turned on the lights at the first night game in Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Ladies and gentlemen, here he is at work.
We have the videotape of this event.
Here's Harry right there.
One, a two, a three.
Let there be light.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Harry Grossman.
Harry, are you back there?
Hi, Harry.
Pleasure to meet you.
Good.
Watch your step coming up here.
Good to have you here, Harry.
Nice to have you here.
I'm glad to be here.
Thank you very much.
And I understand that one of the conditions of you coming here was that we got
you to the
ball game tonight.
That's right.
How many Cub games have you seen?
Over 4,000.
4,000 of them.
Right.
And the first one, what year was that?
Well, I think it was 1906.
Mm-hmm.
I saw the championship Cubs play that day.
1906.
That's right.
So that's 82 years ago.
It's 82 years ago.
Wow.
Right.
And right away you became a fan?
Pardon?
You became a fan instantly?
Yeah.
You see, I lived in a ballpark and I went to the...
You lived at the ballpark?
No, no.
I lived near the ballpark.
Near the ballpark.
I was going to school and I passed the ballpark and I heard all the cheering
and everything else.
Right.
So I was wondering what it is and there was a baseball and I got interested in
that.
I guess.
I mean, you've been going for 82 years.
And ever since then, I've been a baseball fan.
Yeah.
You've seen some of the greatest players in the history of the game then at Wrigley
Field, haven't you?
Oh, yeah.
I've seen them all along.
Who sticks out in your mind?
Who do you like?
Who do you remember as being, when you saw them, you said to yourself, yeah,
that's a great player.
Well, I've seen so many, it's pretty hard to pick out of maybe 15,000, 20,000
ballplayers.
I've seen Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Hans Wagner, Hank Greenberg, Bully Bays, Mickey Bantle.
I've seen Roger Hornsby.
I've seen them all.
I could pick out a ballplayer.
When you would see Babe Ruth play, did he stand out?
Did you say to yourself, yeah, this guy is destined for immortality?
Or was he in those days just another player?
Because there were, as you mentioned, a lot of great players.
Oh, he was an outstanding player.
Yeah.
Because everybody looked to see, every time he got the bat, everybody wanted
him to hit a home run.
Well, he almost accommodated those people, see.
He really was outstanding.
How did they select you to turn on the lights for the first night game?
Well, I wrote an article for the volume line, which is a very colorful,
interesting, and informative newspaper that Cobb's put out.
You don't have a piece of that publication, do you, Harry?
And I wrote the article, and the publisher read it, and he accepts it.
He says it's one of the best articles he wrote, so he put a part of the issue
in the June issue, and then he put some in the July issue.
Because people saw it and said this is...
People saw it.
Yeah.
And then from that, a sports store in Chicago, a very exclusive store, picked
out, saw me there, and they wanted me to appear on there in a store.
Of course, they had these Let There Be Lights shirts that were just going to
put them on sale, and I accommodated them.
And there were reporters from the newspapers, and sometimes at a Tribune, and
they wrote a little article in those papers.
And then the TV, and there also was a CBS, and, excuse me a second here, Harry,
the Today Show is coming, so we have to wrap this up.
But anyway, they said, here's a typical Cobb fan, let's have him turn on the
lights, a man has been on it.
Yeah, well, then they put an article in the newspaper, and from there, they
picked up, the Cobb manager picked it up, and said, well, this guy is pretty
good.
Let's put him on.
So I was lucky enough and fortunate enough.
Well, did you feel honored, obviously?
Oh, I'm highly honored, because after millions of fans, they picked me out.
And how do you feel about having lights there at Wrigley Field?
Oh, they're wonderful.
Really?
Oh, sure, because it gives a chance to a fellow who cannot come to the games
during the day, and he's just as good a fan as I am.
Right, but you don't subscribe to the theory that purists feel that baseball
should be played during the daytime, under the sun.
Well, it can be played at night, or it can be played at day, as long as it's a
ball game.
To me, it's entertaining.
That's true.
Harry, let me tell us what this is.
This is you in your baseball uniform.
We're going to look at this.
Here you are.
What year was this?
What do we have?
The 1915, is that right?
1915.
1915.
My high school.
McKinley High School.
What position did you play?
Third base.
Good third base?
And I was a good one, too.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
So, when you're done here, you're out to Shea Stadium to see the Cubs and the Mets.
Oh, yeah, I'm going to the game this afternoon.
Wouldn't you like it if the Cubs would get into the playoffs a little more
frequently?
Wouldn't you like to see them win a pennant occasionally?
Well, naturally, actually, being a Cubs fan, I like to say, wait, I've been
waiting a long, long, long time.
Nice to see you.
Thank you very much for being here.
Thank you very much.
Very good, and we'll be right back.
All right.
Harry, good to meet you.
When is your birthday?
When will you be 92?
When is your birthday?
What is it?
December 25th.
So, you've got a birthday coming?
Yeah.
Christmas?
Christmas Day.
Pretty good deal.
The guy I'm sharing and I are like this.
You've got a deal.
I guess you do.
I've got a deal going.
Well, see if you can't pull some weight for the Cubs, then.
Yeah.
My thanks also to Tony Childs and the lovely and talented Terry Garr.
We'll see you tomorrow night, folks.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
We'll see you next time.