"I can guarantee you it was on every continent on the planet within a week," said Les Grobstein, the radio reporter who happened to have his tape recorder aimed at Elia the afternoon of April 29, 1983. Elia, early in his first full season as Cubs manager, went off, and off, and off, after a tough 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field.
Elia laid a hammer to Cubs fans in a three-minute screed that was almost poetic in the scope of its profanity. One phrase in particular has become as much a part of Cubs lore as Steve Bartman and the Billy Goat: "Eighty-five percent of the world's working; the other 15 come out here."
That's with the expletives deleted, of course. Grobstein, who still has the original copy of the tape "in a place no one will find it," has done the math: 54 profane words, including 45 that begin with F.
Elia, who is now in the Seattle organization, is using the anniversary for a good cause.
Elia, now 70, has accepted that the Wrigley rant will be his legacy. Rather than fight it, he's using the silver anniversary to explain some of the story behind the incident, which probably had a lot to do with his firing in August 1983.
More important, Elia is using the media exposure to raise money for Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities, through sales of an autographed baseball that contains a sound chip in which Elia parodies his tirade with a positive message to Cubs fans. More information can be found by calling 1-800-581-8661 or visiting www.leeunplugged.com. Elia is a survivor of prostate cancer.
Kevin Capie of the Peoria Journal-Star spoke with someone who was there.
Chiefs manager Ryne Sandberg led off that day and went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI in the loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The players heard the tirade in which Elia criticized the fans for getting on the players because of the Cubs 5-14 start to the 1983 season.
“It was fairly cramped quarters, as every thing pretty much is at Wrigley Field,” Sandberg said. “We could hear every word. I haven’t really thought too much about since then.”
Although Elia’s tirade was directed towards the fans - calling them essentially unemployed and dumb - the message got through the thin walls to the players.
“It was my second year, and I took it personally,” Sandberg said. “It was really a reflection of how we were playing as a team.”
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