Beth Murphy, Chicago bar owner who battled Cubs over rooftop owners rights, dead at 68

CHICAGO — Beth Murphy, the longtime owner of a bar popular with Chicago Cubs fans who fought the team over signage that would have blocked the views of rooftop owners, died Monday. She was 68.

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Murphy died at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago after a long battle with cancer, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The bar she owned, Murphy’s Bleachers, is located across the street from the Budweiser Bleachers at Wrigley Field, according to WBBM-TV.

The bar had a rooftop that overlooked the bleachers and gave patrons a perfect view of the Friendly Confines.

Murphy’s battles with the Cubs over rooftop owners’ rights pitted small business owners against one of baseball’s oldest and most valuable franchises, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Her public fights with the Cubs made Murphy a local celebrity and one of the most respected business owners in the Wrigleyville area of Chicago.

“She always valued the bar’s contribution to the neighborhood,” Karen Cholipski, her longtime friend, told the newspaper.

Murphy was chosen as a spokesperson among rooftop owners as they battled the Cubs over signage that might block their view, the Sun-Times reported. She also was in favor of renovating Wrigley Field and the team’s plans to introduce concerts and increase the number of night games at the ballpark.

“She was often the only woman in the room, and trust me she never took a back seat to anybody,” Alderman Tom Tunney told the newspaper. “And, you know, she was tough. Like, Chicago tough, no-nonsense, and in some ways a thorn in the side of the Cubs for a time, but certainly well loved and respected by the community and residents.”

One of the biggest debates was over the videoboards at Wrigley Field, which blocked some of the rooftop’s views, WGN-TV reported.

Freddy Fagenholz, the bar’s general manager, said that Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts and President of Business Operations Crane Kenney eventually became friends with Murphy, the Tribune reported.

“Crane and Tom, she respected them and they talked and things were really good,” Fagenholz told the newspaper.

Under Murphy’s ownership, the bar became a sanctuary for Cubs players and Chicago-born celebrities, the Tribune reported.

Cubs manager David Ross, a friend of Murphy’s, stopped by the bar Monday afternoon to offer his condolences. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, who used the bar in his concert documentary, “Let’s Play Two,” also was a close friend.

“Eddie would send her ukuleles,” Fagenholz told the newspaper. “Cubs players would drop off signed baseballs. They all loved Murphy’s Bleachers, but they loved Beth Murphy more.”

According to its website, the bar on Sheffield Avenue was originally known as Ernie’s Bleachers. It was sold by original owner Ernie Pareti to Ray Meyers in 1965 and was renamed Ray’s Bleachers. In 1980, Meyers sold the bar to Murphy’s husband, Jim Murphy.

Rooftop businesses became popular when the Cubs made a playoff run in 1984, and the Murphys had their own built that year, according to the Tribune.

Jim Murphy died in 2003, and Beth Murphy took over the bar, WBBM reported.

The Cubs are expected to pay tribute to Beth Murphy during Tuesday’s game at Wrigley Field, according to the Tribune.