RIP Pete Vonachen
telephoto1
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Anyone who followed the Cubs or Harry Caray (plus many Cardinal fans like myself) have likely heard the name Pete Vonachen. Former owner of the Peoria Chiefs, and "Mr. Baseball" to the Peoria area, Harold "Pete" Vonachen passed away today at age 87. Harry mentioned him so frequently during broadcasts ("My good friend Pete Vonachen") that it even spawned sales in the Chicago area of t-shirts bearing the phrase "Who the hell is Pete Vonachen?" 
Lifelong friends with the Carays, Pete gave a classic, touching and at times funny eulogy at Harry's funeral.
Pete was a true baseball man who loved the game and the fans. He often gave out baseballs to kids during games, and there is a statue of him handing a baseball to a young boy inside what is now called "Dozer Park" (formerly O'Brien Field- once called, and informally still called Pete Vonachen Stadium), home of the Peoria Chiefs. Over the years he helped set attendance records for the Midwest League, was named Midwest League Executive of the Year and The Sporting News Class A Pro Baseball Minor League Executive of the Year, and also is a member of the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame.
He was also a highly successful businessman outside baseball, well known for an uncanny sense of timing. Amongst many other successful local ventures, he took a struggling blacktop business and turned it from $1 million in annual sales to over $12 million annually. It's hard to summarize someone's life in a few sentences, but suffice it to say that minor league baseball (and humanity in general) lost a great friend and a truly good guy today. RIP
More about Pete here...
Link to Pete's eulogy of Harry Caray- classic.
Lifelong friends with the Carays, Pete gave a classic, touching and at times funny eulogy at Harry's funeral.Pete was a true baseball man who loved the game and the fans. He often gave out baseballs to kids during games, and there is a statue of him handing a baseball to a young boy inside what is now called "Dozer Park" (formerly O'Brien Field- once called, and informally still called Pete Vonachen Stadium), home of the Peoria Chiefs. Over the years he helped set attendance records for the Midwest League, was named Midwest League Executive of the Year and The Sporting News Class A Pro Baseball Minor League Executive of the Year, and also is a member of the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame.
He was also a highly successful businessman outside baseball, well known for an uncanny sense of timing. Amongst many other successful local ventures, he took a struggling blacktop business and turned it from $1 million in annual sales to over $12 million annually. It's hard to summarize someone's life in a few sentences, but suffice it to say that minor league baseball (and humanity in general) lost a great friend and a truly good guy today. RIP
More about Pete here...
Link to Pete's eulogy of Harry Caray- classic.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
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