I am a south-side Chicago boy, and when we moved in 1985 from one section of Dolton to another, a rumor arose that a Lou Boudreau lived a couple of houses down. My childhood heroes were Walter Payton and Ryne Sandberg, and I had known a lot about sports, especially baseball. But, as a naive 10 year-old, I wondered who this Boudreau guy was, and became enfatuated with finding out. One day, which would lead to many days, I mustered enough courage to walk down and knock on his door. "Uuhh, is Mr. Boudreau here?" His wife invited us in and it looked as if the home belonged to any blue collar family living on the south side, except that a lone baseball in a case sat on a table just inside the door. It read "Lou Boudreau HOF 1970." Mr. Boudreau answered my questions about baseball, signed a card for me, and wished me luck on my season. I can't remember how many more times I visited until his death, but I was and always will be awestruck at how such a wonderful athlete was just like me.
A south sider with dreams and an all-around great man. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of my visits and talks almost 20 years ago with one of the best ball players ever.
» Alex Carlson is a United States Marine who has just returned from his second deployment to Iraq. A graduate of Thornwood H.S. and a proud Chicagoan.
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Copyright © 2005 by Alex Carlson. Posted February 17, 2005.
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