CBS News Chicago's Jim Williams throws first pitch for Cubs game at Wrigley Field
The Cubs took on the San Francisco Giants for the last of a three-game series at Wrigley Field Wednesday afternoon, and someone we know well had the honor of throwing the ceremonial first pitch.
That someone was CBS News Chicago's very own Jim Williams, who stepped away from the anchor desk in January, but whom you still see in special reports on our news.
Williams is a lifelong Cubs fan, and he even worked at Wrigley Field at one time — as an Andy Frain usher between the ages of 16 and 21 back in the 70s. But it was a whole different ballgame — pun very much intended — as he took to the field all these years later.
Williams' wife, Joyce, joined him on the field before he threw the first pitch. So did his former 4 p.m. co-anchor Marie Saavedra, and CBS News Chicago photographer Scott Placko.
Williams said he did his homework and practiced ahead of time.
"So Joyce and I went out to some local ballfields, and I tried to measure out 60 feet, 6 inches — and we threw the ball. It was going all over the place," Williams said before he threw the pitch. "So I'm a little concerned about this."
At last, a PA announcement introduced Williams, and after a sustained note of suspenseful organ music, Williams threw the pitch to Cubs mascot Clark at home plate.
"It's a whole different experience when you're standing on that mound," Williams said. "It's not exactly the local ballfield."
So which other past or present anchors or reporters in the history of CBS Chicago have thrown out a first pitch for a Cubs game, or a White Sox game? There's no big, comprehensive list out there with an answer. But the record does show that Bill Kurtis threw the first pitch for a Cubs game on July 29, 2013, Gene Siskel threw the first pitch for a White Sox game on April 30, 1998, and Lester Holt threw the first pitch for a White Sox game on May 9, 2018.
A quick web search also confirms that Kurtis led the crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for the seventh inning stretch at Cubs games in 2000 and 2002, and Walter Jacobson — who worked as a batboy for the Cubs as a teen in 1952 and 1953 — also did so on July 24, 2011. Across town, Phil Ponce, who worked as a reporter for Channel 2 in the 80s and early 90s, sang the National Anthem for the 2013 White Sox home opener — along with his sons Dan and Anthony.
In 2019, the Cubs posted a video their top 10 picks for ceremonial first pitches — featuring President Ronald Reagan in 1988; Cubs Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, Billy William, and Ryne Sandberg all together in 2014, Bill Murray running the bases before throwing the first pitch in 2012, and Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton about seven months before his passing in 1999.
