Baseball Legend Visits Chicago to Promote Prostate Cancer Awareness

CHICAGO, IL - One of the key members of baseball’s famed “Big Red Machine” saw nothing but blue in his most recent trip to Chicago.

Ken Griffey Sr. joined more than 1,500 people wearing blue shirts at the SEA Blue Chicago Prostate Cancer Walk & Run in Lincoln Park on Sept. 11. Griffey Sr., who is a prostate cancer survivor, is a spokesman for Bayer’s “Men Who Speak Up” program that encourages men living with advanced stages of the cancer to speak up about their symptoms.

“It was so impressive to see so many people out there in their blue t-shirts on a beautiful September day, raising awareness for prostate cancer,” said Griffey Sr., who has lost four uncles to the disease and recently saw his brother diagnosed with it as well. He said moments like the walk are “uplifting” and “really give me hope that we’ll win the fight against prostate cancer.”

Prostate cancer is more widespread than most would think. Some data shows about 20 men in Illinois alone get diagnosed every day.

“Every time I’m out at an event like this I meet someone who speaks up and shares their prostate cancer story with me. Others thank me for the reminder to be more vocal. Some people haven’t ever spoken up. We have to change that,” he said. “At these events, people start to feel more comfortable talking. You can see the change happening.”

Griffey Sr. explains that when he was diagnosed at first he wouldn’t talk about it much.

“I realized it was harder than I thought to talk about it, but I knew that it was important to talk to my family and my doctor about what was going on.,” he said. “We need to let men know – especially those living with advanced prostate cancer -- that it’s important to talk about what’s happening to them.”

Bayer’s campaign is done in partnership with Us TOO, a local advocacy group.

Griffey Sr.’s appearance in Chicago brought back fond memories of his days on the baseball diamond. He always enjoyed playing at nearby Wrigley Field while he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds and the dominant “Big Red Machine” of the 1970s.

“I always loved to play in Chicago – it’s a great city, and a great food town,” he said. “After our games, we always had a good meal. And Wrigley was a fun park to hit in. The wind always blew the right way for me!”

Griffey Sr. had an extended baseball career, playing from 1973-1991 with the Reds, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners.

And he’s done something nobody else has in the history of the game. He has three World Series rings with the Cincinnati Reds.

Griffey Sr. was a member of the legendary “Big Red Machine” teams of the 1970s and early 1980s, winning World Series with the team in 1975 and 1976. He and many of the other ‘70s Reds like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan were unloaded by the team after the 1981 season, but Griffey Sr. returned to the Reds in 1989 and played with the team for part of the 1990 season when they won the World Series again under a completely separate set of players that included Rob Dibble, Tom Browning and Barry Larkin.

Photo courtesy of Bayer