Peoria Chiefs win MWL Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy
Published on October 10, 2008 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
October 10, 2008
Peoria Chiefs win MWL Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy
Team will represent MWL at Winter Meetings for MILB Award
PEORIA, IL- The Midwest League announced their 2008 Post-season awards this week and the Peoria Chiefs are thrilled to announce they were awarded the Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy as the league's best promotional club. The Chiefs made O'Brien Field "Your Home for Summer Memories" in 2008 with VIP guests, fireworks shows, specialty jersey auctions, a Memorial Day road race, post-game concerts, premium giveaways and a game at Wrigley Field.
As the MWL promotional winner, the Chiefs are nominated for the MILB Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy at the 2008 Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada in December. The Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy is presented to the club who has done the best job in the area of promotions during the past season. The Chiefs will be one of 15 teams vying for the MILB award as each league will have a team nominated. This marks the second time in four seasons the Chiefs have won the prestigious promotional award having also received the honor following the 2005 season.
"We are very excited to have been selected for this honor by the Midwest League," said Chiefs President Rocky Vonachen. "Our entire staff from ticket takers and ushers to full-time staff and interns worked very hard all season to give the fans the best level of entertainment possible and the employees here deserve this recognition. This was a complete team effort and something we are extremely proud of. Now we must work even harder to prepare for 2009."
The Chiefs 2008 promotional schedule was designed to give fans something to remember throughout the season at O'Brien Field. Hall of Fame pitcher Bruce Sutter signed autographs at the June 14 game and entertained the crowd by recreating his famous 1984 confrontation with Chiefs manager Ryne Sandberg. The Chiefs brought in many local celebrities throughout the season including the Bradley University soccer team which advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, University of Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber, Chicago Cubs organist Gary Pressy, Illinois State University basketball coach Tim Jankovich, motivational speaker and former Illinois basketball star Roger Powell and Bradley President Joanne Glasser. The Chiefs also used the traditional mix of entertainment acts by welcoming Myron Noodleman, the ZOOperstars and BirdZerk to O'Brien Field. Complimenting these entertainers were 12 spectacular fireworks shows and eight post-game concerts. Six of these concerts highlighted a new Thursday night post-game promotion sponsored by Miller Lite and local radio stations. Theme nights such as 80's Night, 90's Night and Hip-Hop Night revolved around the music played by each band. In addition, crowds were treated to concerts by Coco Loco, a Jimmy Buffett tribute band and Rush of Fools, a Christian act.
Perhaps no other event in the Chiefs 26-year history has gained as much press or generated as much excitement as the July 29 game at Wrigley Field. The idea began in a staff meeting in January and was quickly approved by Cubs management and progressed into the planning stages. Tickets sold quickly after the May 1 announcement. The July 29 game was attended by a new Midwest League record 32,103 fans who were entertained throughout the contest by the Zooperstars, Birdzerk and the Chiefs promotional crew. In its 94-year history, Wrigley Field had never before seen a minor league game or such between-inning activities as a dizzy bat race, frisbee/softee ball toss, musical chairs, water balloon catches or Mascot races. Hall of Famer Ernie Banks attended the game as Dutchie Caray and Pete Vonachen led the crowd in Take Me Out to the Ball Game.
The Chiefs continued their popular half-price ticket Monday nights and moved the free hot dogs and peanut nights to Wednesday. The transition resulted in 1300 more fans per game on Wednesday nights than in 2007. Sundays continued to be Family Days with kids run the bases and player autographs. As part of the Your Home for Summer Memories theme, the Chiefs partnered with Taco Bell on Sundays to provide families four tickets, $20 in concession vouchers, a disposable camera and a picture frame. Friday nights were largely used for premium giveaways. The 2008 giveaways included: Caricature t-shirts of the four greatest Chiefs (Greg Maddux, Mark Grace, Joe Girardi & Albert Pujols), a Derrek Lee Bobblehead, a Scoreboard Man Bobblehead, a Chiefs hat and lunch box.
The Chiefs also continued to reach out to various programs and organizations in the Central Illinois community. Game Worn Jerseys allowed fans the chance to collect player memorabilia and raise money. Each jersey was bid on during game-long silent auctions except for a couple prime jerseys that were saved for live, on-field auctions after the game ended. Each player, coach and special guest signed the jerseys for the fan who won it through the bidding process. The Chiefs wore Pink Jerseys, Illini Jerseys, 1908 Cubs Jerseys, Hawaiian Jerseys, Bradley University Jerseys, Blue Father's Day Jerseys and USA Jerseys, throughout the season. All told the Chiefs helped raise over $100,000 for great organizations such as the Bradley University George P. Shadid Jr. Scholarship Fund, The Louis and Dawn Weber Student Management Enrichment Fund through the University of Illinois Foundation, The Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation, Pediatric Resource Center, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Operation Santa and Prostate Cancer Research. A Pitch-in-for-Charity tennis ball toss was held on each fireworks night to help raise another $10,000 for Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Chiefs also distributed 2,500 backpacks and 4,000 tickets to area Little League teams. Eighteen area high school teams played in the 6th Annual High School Showcase at O'Brien Field while 20 additional teams played at the stadium on various weekend dates.
In addition to all their hard-working employees: full-time, part-time and interns, the Chiefs would like to thank all their suppliers both local and nationwide. These suppliers helped with giveaways, promotional concepts and print materials throughout the 2008 season.
Midwest League Stories from October 10, 2008
- Peoria Chiefs win MWL Larry MacPhail Promotional Trophy - Peoria Chiefs
- Kernels win two MWL Executive Awards - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Midwest League Announces 2008 Executive Award Winners - MWL1
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