Wrigley the goat completes journey from Arizona
BY TONI GINNETTI tginnetti@suntimes.com May 29, 2012 4:40PM
File Photo.. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
Updated: May 29, 2012 7:17PM
Wrigley the pigmy goat got plenty of attention on his three-month journey from Mesa, Arizona to Wrigley Field.
``A guy in Las Cruces, New Mexico put us up for three days,’’ said Philip Aldrich, one of the four men who decided to make Wrigley the latest of his species to try to break the longstanding curse on the Cubs. ``He was a real cowboy. He was in a robe and slippers with a six-gun on making us breakfast. He was very protective of us, his wife and his dogs.’’
The most attention came Tuesday at his destination—although it was only a photo of Wrigley on the field when the Cubs honored his achievement and the four humans who planned it.
Aldrich, P.J. Fisher, Kyle Townsend, Blake Ferrell and Matt Gregory were presented with a check for $1,764 from team owner Tom Ricketts, the amount representing the miles they walked.
The four raised more than $20,000 in total for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle as they walked to ``crack the curse.’’ The idea came to them while they were working together in Alaska at Denali National Park.
They left Mesa on Feb. 25—‘’Ron Santo’s birthday,’’ Aldrich said—and arrived in Chicago Monday, in time to see the end of a 12-game losing streak.
``The last time we saw the Cubs was in St. Louis [May 14] when they last won,’’ Aldrich said. ``And we were here Monday when they won again.
``The Cubs have been very supportive,’’ Aldrich said. ``Our first big contribution came from Mr. Ricketts on opening day when he said he would match what we had raised then. The Cubs kept in touch with us and we exchanged e-mails daily.’’
The four bought Wrigley for $60 on Craigslist when he was three months old. He’s come through the 95-day trek in good shape, as did his partners, who separately lost from 20 to 50 pounds.
His job in Alaska awaits Aldrich June 11. As for Wrigley, ``he’ll go to Michigan to Kyle’s family’s farm. He’ll retire and live a good goat’s life.’’
