Book Review: Ernie’s Bleachers

Ernie’s Bleachers. Tim Pareti, Self-Published, May 31, 2022, Paperback and eBook, 376 pages.

Reviewed by Dennis Hetzel.

Ernie’s Bleachers was clearly a passion project for author Tim Pareti, whose family owned the Ernie’s Bleacher’s tavern in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood just across from Wrigley Field. It’s the tavern that became Ray’s Bleachers, home of the 1969 Bleacher Bums, and then Murphy’s Bleachers, which is still going strong eight decades later.

You can label the book “historical fiction,” which is accurate enough, because Pareti did extensive research in his family archives, newspaper clippings, and elsewhere to bring the book to life. Really, though, Ernie’s Bleachers is about a lot of different things. It’s about growing up in Chicago, especially its northside ethnic neighborhoods, in the mid-to-late 1940s. It’s about Pareti’s family and friends. It’s a little bit about politics and corruption too. It’s also about the Negro Leagues, Major League Baseball, and especially the Cubs and what it means to be a Cubs fan. 

But, mostly, it’s a coming-of-age story involving young Eddy Pareti, a street-smart kid who may or may not amount to anything. (The author tells us that Eddy’s character is based in large part on things he learned about his real-life father.)

Trying to do so much in one story presented the author with a big challenge. If the story weren’t so well-written and generally engaging, it wouldn’t work because that’s an awful lot to be about in a few hundred pages, particularly in a novel lacking high-tension drama or shocking plot twists.

Still, this is a story that can sink hooks into you, especially if (like me) you can relate to so many of the scenes and Chicago connections. When Eddy’s family members and tavern patrons are discussing, arguing, drinking, and working the angles to get ahead in the legendary Chicago of that era, I can see my own Hungarian dad and uncles sitting on similar bar stools, rooting for the Cubs and figuring out who to pay off or support to get something done in the precinct. 

Eddy isn’t old enough for high school, but he’s already a numbers runner for his uncle’s bookmaking operation. He ditches school frequently, steals cigarettes, and tries to dodge duties at the tavern his Italian American family owns. When he does show up to work, like overseeing parked cars, he takes the mayor’s car for a spin with his buddies. His mother is so frustrated that she’s contemplating military school for Eddy. 

Meanwhile, mob enforcers and precinct bosses control the neighborhood, putting pressure on Eddy’s father to cooperate or find himself in trouble. Eventually, Eddy runs away with a friend to rural Michigan, sending his family on an all-out search. Along the way, Eddy encounters fictionalized versions of the real-life Cub players and others who populated Wrigley Field or stopped at Ernie’s Bleachers for drinks and conversation. 

Eddy’s passion for the Cubs is only exceeded by an over-abundance of immature cockiness. He knows how to sneak into Wrigley Field and has met Negro League stars and Cubs of the era. Diehard Cub fans will recognize names like manager Charlie Grimm, Stan Hack, and the “Mad Russian” Lou Novikoff, who patronizes Ernie’s Bleachers and joins the family for dinners. 

Although World War II was ending, it was still very real, demonstrated in poignant scenes about households dealing with the loss of loved ones in combat. That year of 1945 also was the last time the Cubs were in the World Series until 2016 when they finally won the title for the first time since 1908. The ’45 pennant race, when teams were playing with depleted rosters as star players served in the military, serves as a fun backdrop, especially if you’re a fan who likes play-by-play details. Baseball, not football, was the true national pastime.

The result is a memorable coming-of-age story that brings the era and the city to life. You’ll root for Eddy because you can sense there’s a good person with so much potential underneath. After all, if you weren’t Eddy growing up, you probably knew someone like him.