Lee Elia - Not safe for work

25 years ago today, Lee Elia went down in sports history with a rant that managed to chastise the very few people who were paying his salary at the time. That was back when the Cubs were just ‘the cubs’ and not THE FREAKING HOLY COW CUBS!!!! And you have already seen or heard the story so often you know all about it. Or so you think.

But what gets forgotten is how that rant became public knowledge in the first place and what it meant to sports media overall.

25 years ago a vast majority of the people reporting on sports for print used a notepad to collect quotes. It didn’t matter if they got them wrong, each and every one would tell you they were right and their memory was infallible.  Les Grobstein was more interested in accuracy than ego (he was young then) and took a tape recorder with him. There was a video of the last half of the rant recorded by Mark Giangreco and his crew, but that has been lost forever.

When Les recorded the audio tape of Lee Elia’s rant he didn’t take it home as a neat souvenir. He got it broadcast. Originally on WLS by Tommy Edwards on the AM and Steve Dahl with Gary Meier on the FM. And it got rebroadcast. And broadcast again and so on and so on. What might have become a “do you remember when ...” barroom staple between sports writers, instead became the stuff of legend. Far from being a silly rumor, it is now on YouTube.

Editors wanted more accurate stories and a shot at catching some more lightening in a bottle. Reporters all began carrying recorders. For good or ill, Les Grobstein changed the whole structure of sports media in print forever.

So, today, 2 and a half decades later, we get to honor Les Grobstein not only for this accomplishment but for all he has meant to the Chicago sports’ community throughout his career.

Les, we here at Jay The Joke tip a frosty cold, adult, libation in your honor. And where ever it is you are right now, we hope you join us.

For everyone else, CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE FUN!