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Quigley Appears in ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast, “The Lights of Wrigleyville”

November 28, 2017

A Life-long Cubs Fan, Quigley Discusses His Role in Creating Citizens United for Baseball in Sunshine (C.U.B.S.)

WASHINGTONU.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), whose district includes Wrigley Field, appeared in ESPN's most recent 30 for 30 Podcasts installment, "The Lights of Wrigleyville." The podcast, released today, tells the story of how Wrigley Field became the last Major League Baseball stadium to have lights installed and the battle the Wrigleyville community put forth to prevent lights from going up, which Rep. Quigley helped lead via C.U.B.S.

"The first time I saw Wrigley Field was a beautiful summer day in 1969," Rep. Quigley says in the interview. "It reminded me of watching the Wizard of Oz at a friend's house who had a color TV. I had seen the world in black and white until the moment that they get to Oz and it turns to color. Wrigley Field turned into Oz. The ivy was greener. The blues were blue-er. It was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. Wrigley Field under God's own light is something very, very magical. There was a reason to fight for that and why day baseball is still the best way to see the greatest game."

"When we first started working on this, we thought it would be a fun tale about one of America's most iconic ballparks," said Jody Avirgan, Senior Producer and Host, 30 for 30 Podcasts. "But it's really a story about a community, and the power (and frustrations) of grassroots organizing. Also, with an acronym as gloriously hokey as C.U.B.S. – how could we pass?"

30 for 30 Podcasts—a collaboration between ESPN Films and ESPN Audio—was launched in June 2017, telling original, high-quality sports stories in the likeness of the acclaimed 30 for 30 documentaries, made exclusively for audio.

Rep. Quigley, former Cub Rick Sutcliffe, and Beth Murphy, owner of Murphy's Bleachers bar, all appear in the podcast and will participate in a panel discussion on the history of "No Lights" on Thursday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. CT. Members of the media can RSVP to Jennifer at Jennifer.Christie@espn.com.