Ronnie Woo Woo
Ronnie "Woo Woo" Wickers (born October 31, 1941[1]) is a longtime Chicago Cubs fan and local celebrity in the Chicago area. He is known to Wrigley Field vistors for his idiosyncratic cheers at baseball games, generally punctuated with an exclamatory "Woo!" (e.g., "Cubs, woo! Cubs, woo! Big-Z, woo! Zambrano, woo! Cubs, woo!")
Wickers grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Born premature and abused by his mother, he was raised by his grandmother, who brought him to his first Chicago Cubs games during the late 1940s.[2] Wickers explained in a 2004 Chicago Tribune interview that he started "wooing" in 1958 or 1959. "It just came to be. I had fun with it," he remarked.[1] He has remained a fixture at Wrigley Field ever since, even singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during a May 24, 2001 game.[3] In 2005, filmmaker Paul Hoffman released a documentary film about Wickers, called WooLife. The film premiered at the Chicago Historical Society.[2]
Longtime Cubs announcer Harry Caray dubbed Wickers "Leather Lungs" for his ability to shout for hours at a time.[4] Indeed, Wickers once received a noise violation ticket after wooing for over six hours. However, the ticket was later dropped.[4] Some critics have characterized Wickers as "foul and vulgar," although Wickers' supporters insist that he never uses profanities.[3]
For much of his life, Wickers worked nights as a custodian at Northwestern University. After the deaths of his grandmother and girlfriend in the 1980s, however, a distraught Wickers found himself homeless and without a stable job.[5] From 1984 to 1990, he attended Cubs games with donated tickets.[4] Wickers was absent at Wrigley Field games for a brief period in 1987, which prompted some Cubs fans to worry that he had died. He eventually contacted news organizations to say that he was alive and well.[6]
Since 1990, most of Wickers' income has come from washing windows in the neighborhood around Wrigley Field. He also makes paid appearances at parties and has starred in local commercials.[1] In 2000, two Wrigleyville bar owners organized a much-publicized fundraiser to provide Wickers with a new pair of dentures.[2]
Wickers was kicked out of Wrigley in 2002 for the remainder of the season after being involved in a scuffle with a fan over a yellow hula-hoop. Woo Woo was heckeled by Howard Stern on his show about the event and about his lack of teeth, which Stern helped to pay for. 2
Notes
- ^ a b c William Hageman, "A Fan in Winter". Chicago Tribune. 27 February 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2007
- ^ a b c Dave Hoekstra, "Woo Who". Chicago Sun-Times. 1 April 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2007. Cite error: The named reference "B" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b Ron Rapoport, "Like it or not, Ronnie represents Cubs spirit". Chicago Sun-Times. 24 May 2001. Retrieved 2 June 2007. Cite error: The named reference "C" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c Maura Kelly, "'Leather Lungs' a hit at Wrigley, wooing fans with schtick and song". Boston Globe. 28 May 2001. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
- ^ Jeff Carroll. "American Beauty". Northwest Indiana Times. 3 March 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
- ^ "Cubs get their fan". New York Times. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2007.