Ronnie Woo Woo
Once homeless, the unofficial mascot of the Chicago Cubs, Ronnie 'Woo-Woo' Wickers has found a home at Wrigley Field where he has entertained Cubs players and fans since
Born on Halloween in 1941[1], Ronnie spent months in an incubator on the South Side of Chicago. He was sickly and abused by his mother. But his Grandmother stepped in and began to take care of Ronnie as a child.
"My grandmother took me to my first ballgame [at Wrigley Field] when I was 8 or 9," Wickers says. "When I got older, I used to come to Wrigley Field. They had that little [Cub] mascot on their uniforms. It reminded me of a teddy bear I had at home."
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A Chicago Tribune Ad from January 25, 1999
'Wooing'
Ronnie Started 'Wooing' in 1958 or 1959. He says, "It just came to be. I had fun with it. And now, with WGN a superstation, CNN, ESPN, it's gotten a lot of exposure." [2]
He soon became a fixture at Wrigley by shouting to Cubs fans in a manner that put 'Woo!' between exclamations:
"Cubs, woo! Cubs, woo! Big-Z, woo! Zambrano, woo! Cubs, woo!"
He was called "Leather Lungs" by Harry Caray[3]