It may be the greatest single rant in the history of sports. At least the greatest one ever immortalized on tape. It is a dissertation on creative use of the f-word in all its formations, from a man so lost in the moment that he later admitted he had no clue what he had just said. But he would never be allowed to forget.
Long before YouTube or SportsCenter, Lee Elia's profanity-laced screed against unruly Cubs fans on April 29, 1983 - "Eighty-five percent of the bleeping world is working; the other 15 percent come out here!" is the main talking point - rocked Chicago.
And, as bootleg copies of the Cubs manager's epic meltdown rapidly spread, the nation and, indeed, the world got to hear exactly what it sounds like when a passionate man suffering through horrendous stress gets his buttons pushed just so.
"I hope we get hotter than bleep, just to stuff it up them 3,000 bleepin' people that show up every bleepin' day, because if they're the real Chicago bleepin' fans, they can kiss my bleepin' ass right downtown and PRINT IT."
And so forth and so on. Elia's tirade celebrates its 25th birthday Tuesday. Elia, who celebrates his 71st birthday in July, has long ago come to grips with the fact that those fiery three minutes, which followed a tough 4-3 loss to the Dodgers at Wrigley Field that dropped the Cubs record to 5-14, will be the lasting legacy of a distinguished 50-year baseball career.
"I was young, in my second year as a manager," he says now. "Sure, I was going to make some mistakes."
And this was a whopper, one that very nearly cost Elia his job. It's never good to insult the paying customers, and Elia spent 54 expletives, 45 that began with "f", doing just that - and no, the f-word in question was not "friendly" or "fabulous."
He survived, thanks to some nimble damage control, but that merely delayed the inevitable. Elia was fired in August, partly because of the lingering fallout from the April incident.
Elia went on to have a long and productive post-rant baseball career, managing the Phillies in 1987 and 1988 and coaching various teams through 2006, including the Mariners and Devil Rays under current Cubs manager Lou Piniella. He currently is a special assistant to Mariners manager John McLaren and worked with Seattle hitters throughout spring training. Elia plans to join them at various junctures throughout the season.
Elia is embracing the silver anniversary of his outburst with good humor - he has been in Chicago this week attending various functions and will attend Tuesday's game at Wrigley - and a philanthropic bent. A survivor of prostate cancer, Elia is using the publicity to raise money for Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities, through sales of an autographed baseball containing a sound chip in which Elia parodies his rant (for more information, call 800-581-8661).
Chicago Cubs' Mark DeRosa, right, celebrates with third base coach Mike Quade after hitting a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 16, 2008, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Pittsburgh Pirates' Xavier Nady swings for an RBI single against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 16, 2008, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Pittsburgh Pirates' Adam LaRoche walks away after striking out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, May 16, 2008, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano, left, celebrates with Mark DeRosa after hitting a three-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 16, 2008 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano hits a three-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 16, 2008 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Tom Gorzelanny reacts as he wipes his face after Chicago Cubs' Ryan Theriot walked to first during the first inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 16, 2008 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Chicago Cubs' Sean Gallagher bunts the ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 16, 2008 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Chicago Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot, left, watches first after forcing out Pittsburgh Pirates' Xavier Nady during the second inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 16, 2008 in Chicago. The Pirates' Doug Mientkiewicz was safe at first. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Sean Gallagher delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 16, 2008 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Chicago Cubs' Geovany Soto hits a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning of a baseball game on Friday, May 16, 2008 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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But Elia also wants to give a revisionist explanation of exactly what motivated him that day, and to get across the point that he has great affinity for Chicago, the Cubs - he played for them in 1968 under Leo Durocher, as well as the White Sox under Eddie Stanky - and for the vast majority of Cubs fans.
"What I said wasn't out of context," he said. "But it wasn't about Chicago fans. I've never had a chance to tell what happened before I went into my office."
What happened was that Elia, while making his way to the clubhouse entrance down the left-field line after Lee Smith's wild pitch in the eighth let in the winning run, witnessed two of his players, Larry Bowa and Keith Moreland, getting hassled by fans. He helped security break up both incidents but was seething even more by the time he faced the media.
"I had this in the back of my mind," he said. "I never had a cooling-off period, because when I got in my office, they (reporters) were already there. They started asking me questions not pertaining to the game, asking about Bill Buckner and Ron Cey (who were believed to be feuding), the weather. I said, 'Come on, ask me about the game.'
"Someone asked me if our play was hurting attendance - I can't remember the exact words. For some reasons, it triggered something in me. You almost have to put yourself in my body for that moment. It got me going, and then I just got on a roll. I said things I didn't even know I was saying."
At first, just four reporters were in the room - the beat writers for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Arlington Daily Herald, and Les Grobstein, a radio reporter for WLS-AM, who had the fateful tape recorder trained on Elia. Many other members of the Chicago media had gone to interview Dodgers outfielder Mike Marshall, who grew up in a Chicago suburb. But as word spread that Elia was going off, his office began to fill.
"I knew I didn't do well," Elia says now, "because they (reporters) ran out of the office when it was over. I said, 'Uh oh.' "
Eventually, Elia was summoned to the office of Cubs general manager Dallas Green, who had borrowed a copy of Grobstein's tape.
"Dallas didn't say a word," Elia recalled. "He just pushed the button on the recorder. I heard it and I said, 'Oh my.' I had no idea what I had said. I was lost. I was hurting. It stunned me."
New Orleans Hornets Tyson Chandler (C) hangs on the rim over San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan (L) and Tony Parker during the fourth quarter in Game 2 of their second round NBA playoff basketball series in New Orleans, Louisiana May 5, 2008. The Hornets defeated the Spurs 102-84 for a 2-0 series lead. (Sean Gardner, Reuters)
Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (9) is tackled by Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams (24) on a drive to the basket in the second half of Game 7 of an NBA first-round playoff basketball series in Boston, Sunday, May 4, 2008. Williams was ejected on the play. (Charles Krupa, AP)
Track personnel try to hold down Eight Belles after the 134th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 3, 2008, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Eight Belles was euthanized after breaking both front ankles following a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. (Brian Bohannon, AP)
Brazil's Paulo Carvahlo, assisted by his coach, warms up prior to a fight during a boxing qualifying tournament for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, in Guatemala City, Tuesday, April 29, 2008. (Rodrigo Abd, AP)
BOSTON - MAY 4: Coco Crisp #10 of the Boston Red Sox is unable to catch a triple off the bat of Akinori Iwamura #1 of the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park on May 4, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Jim Rogash, Getty Images)
New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins players fight in the first period during Game 3 of an NHL Eastern Conference semifinal hockey playoff series Tuesday, April 29, 2008, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight resulted in three roughing penalties charged to each team. (Julie Jacobson, AP)
Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett (5) pushes away from referee Ed Rush as he tries to get to Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson (2) during an altercation that resulted in four technical fouls in the first half of Game 4 in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, Monday, April 28, 2008. (Mikki Harris, Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT)
NASCAR driver Steve Wallace brings his car to a stop after being involved in a crash during Aaron's 312 Nationwide Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., on Saturday, April 26, 2008.(Dale Davis, AP)
Texas Rangers' Gerald Laird, foreground, picks up teammate German Duran, top, after he scored on a game-winning RBI-single by teammate David Murphy in the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, April 25, 2008, in Arlington, Texas. Other Rangers, background, react as Texas won 6-5 in 10 innings. (Matt Slocum, AP)
Argentina's defender Gustavo Casado (R) heads the ball during the semifinal FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2008 Qualifier football match against Uruguay in Buenos Aires on April 26, 2008. Argentina won 5-3, qualified for the World Cup, and will meet Brazil tomorrow for the final. (Juan Mabromata, AFP/Getty Images)
Elia held a hastily arranged press conference at Wrigley Field to apologize, which likely saved his job. The Cubs actually rebounded in the coming weeks to move within two games of first place, but Elia got the axe when they faltered again in August. The next year, under manager Jim Frey, resulted in a division title.
Elia believes that his ultimate message of that fateful afternoon has gotten lost in the expletives: Above all, he was trying to stand up for his team in the midst of adversity. Take out the f-bombs and read the edited version, "and it's pretty profound," he says.
But it's the unedited version that comes up every time you do a Web search for "Lee Elia tirade." That's not going away, but Elia hopes that people at least understand that it came from the heart -- a wounded heart.
"I know I'll always be one of those guys remembered for the tirade," he said. "But I hope it's a little softened now. I hope they understand."
Larry Stone is the national baseball writer for the Seattle Times.
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