How much would you pay to meet Anthony Rizzo? One fan, Rowena Zimmers, president of ALE Solutions, bid $11,000 for a meet-and-greet with the Cubs first baseman during Kerry Wood’s Winter Warm-Up charity night. The money goes to Wood’s Pitch In program to support a children’s program in North Lawndale.
That wasn’t the only big-ticket item. Another fan, Keith Macht, pledged $11,500 to have a bar custom-made for their basement and decorated to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Wood’s 20-strikeout game on May 6, 1998.
The bar will be hand-painted by artist John Hanley, built by two Marines and a former soldier, and delivered to Macht at spring training in Arizona, where he will transport it to Oxnard, Calif.
During Friday’s event at Harry Caray’s 7th Inning Stretch and Chicago Sports Museum at Water Tower Place, several celebrity bartenders served drinks to Cubs fans. The bartenders raised a record $11,000 in tips, with some fans paying for selfies with Rizzo and Kris Bryant.
Here’s the list of VIPs — celebrity Cubs fans, actors, athletes, musicians and Chicago TV and radio personalities — who attended.
- Cubs (current and former): Rizzo, Jason Heyward, Addison Russell, Carl Edwards Jr., David Ross, Ryne Sandberg, Rick Sutcliffe, Juan Pierre
- Bears (current and former): Jordan Howard, Israel Idonije, Ray McElroy
- Danielle Colby, “American Pickers”
- Avril Mathie, boxer, model and fitness expert
- Bonnie Hunt, actress and Cubs fan
- John Cusack, actor and Cubs fan
- Matt LaCosse , Broncos tight end
- Doug Stylz and Justin Roman, US 99 radio hosts
- Danielle Robay, WCIU’s “The Jam”
- Marley Kayden, NBC 5 traffic reporter
- Christopher “Brotha’ Fred” Frederick, Kiss FM
- Lauren Petty, NBC 5 reporter
- Ryan Chiaverini, co-host of ABC 7’s “Windy City Live”
This article originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune.