Gay Fans Hit Friendly Confines, Ricketts Talks ‘Out at Wrigley’

By Andy Ambrosius and ChicagoPride.com

Nearly 350 gay and lesbian fans watched the Chicago Cubs take on the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday as part of Out at Wrigley, the largest LGBT-attended major league sports event.

For this year's occasion, the Cubs raised two gay Pride flags above the upper deck at Wrigley Field.

"We're so proud to host this event for the 13th year in a row," Chicago Cubs co-owner, board member and Chicago Cubs Charities chair Laura Ricketts told Patch before the game. "We're immensely proud to be flying the Pride flag above Wrigley Field."

This is only the most recent in a long line of open support by the Cubs for the LGBT community. The organization's rich history has earned them a place in the National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame, which inducted its inaugural class of 26 on Friday at the Center on Halsted.

Ricketts became the first openly gay Major League Baseball owner when her family took ownership of the Cubs from the Tribune Company in 2009. Between her role in the LGBT community and Wrigley Field’s proximity to Boystown, Ricketts says it’s important for events like Out at Wrigley to exist.

"The LGBT community happens to be a big part of the Cubs community. We have a lot of LGBT fans and, of course, it's important to me personally because I happen to be a part of the LGBT community," said Ricketts. "… Owning a team itself is a bit surreal and a big responsibility, but I feel an even greater responsibility because I’m a woman, an out woman. For me it’s an incredible source of pride and it's very humbling."

The combination of support for the community has officials calling the Cubs the most gay-friendly MLB team in the nation. It’s a title Ricketts says she’ll accept, but hopes other teams will one day join them.

“I like to think we are (the most LGBT-friendly),” Ricketts laughed. “I like to think that won’t be the case for long, though. I’d like to think a lot of other teams are going to do the same things that we’re doing, which actually feels like things we should be doing for our community anyway. The LGBT community is a part of our community.”

Out-singer Adam LeBlanc, of the local band 16 Candles, performed the National Anthem and Brandon Benefield threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Both LeBlanc and Benefield were selected during contests that were held at gay bars across the city over the last three months.

The Cubs lost to the Dodges on Saturday, 3 - 0.