- Wayne Messmer
Wayne Messmer is the
public address announcer for theChicago Cubs . He sings theStar Spangled Banner before many Cubs games. Messmer also performs the Star-Spangled Banner before manyChicago Wolves American Hockey League games. Messmer is part owner of the Chicago Wolves. He is a member ofPhi Mu Alpha Sinfonia , the national fraternity for men in music.For many years, he also sang for the
Chicago Blackhawks ,Chicago White Sox andChicago Sting . He was fired by the Blackhawks in 1994 when he began working for the "rival" Wolves. They allowed him to sing the anthem one last time at the Hawks first home game atUnited Center onJanuary 20 ,1995 . It was his first performance since being shot (see below). On a few occasions since then, the St. Louis Blues have asked Messmer to sing the anthem at their home games. Messmer often performs the Anthem with his wife Kathleen.Messmer's performance of the Anthem is always concluded with his trademark flourish on the final word "Brave" in which he forcefully flips the "r" and sings the word on the same pitch as the Anthem is begun.
In April of
1994 , Messmer was mugged and shot in the throat by a teen. During the mugging, Messmer did as the teen mugger told him. He said "you can have it all," and gave him all his valuables. The teen then shot Messmer for no apparent reason and left him to die in front of a West Side Chicago restaurant. He survived the incident and after months of therapy continued his career as a singer and announcer.Possible Return to the Blackhawks
During the 2008 Blackhawks convention, Hawks VP of Business Operations Jay Blunk, stated that Messmer will have an open invitaion to perform the anthem during Blackhawks games during the upcoming season as part of the team's attempt to rebuild its fanbase beginning with the 2008-09 season. He is also rumored to be slated to perform the anthem at the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on January 1, 2009.
External links
* [http://nwitimes.com/articles/2002/06/28/export27073.txt Article on Messmer]
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1318692&type=feature 10 Best NHL All-Star Game Moments]
* [http://www.usdreams.com/Messmer.html Wayne Messmer: The Voice They Just Couldn't Silence]
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