Fred Hornkohl (1951-2016): Donations to Rizzo Family Foundation

[WrigleyField 22]

Condolences. I never met Fred or really even had direct interaction on the site, but he was definitely a big presence on the board. RIP.

[UMFan83]

We should also figure out a time during a game for several people tweet or otherwise contact Len to mention it on the air, he seems to be pretty good about doing things like that. Maybe wait till they get back to Wrigley?

That's an awesome idea. Whenever we decide to do it I'll be happy to contribute a tweet.

 

Yes absolutely fantastic idea. Let me know when and I'm in

[ScrubMD]

The Cubs are 1-0 on days when Fred passes away.

 

RIP

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Being a newcomer that started lurking in 2012, I don't know Fred anywhere near as well as you others. But, still, I could tell from the first day I stumbled across this board that Fred was one of the most respected posters on this site. Rule number one of the board quickly became apparent: Don't horsefeathers with Fred. From my brief time being acquainted with him and interacting with him on the board, he seemed like a genuinely kind person. This is a terrible loss for this community and I'm sure a very sad day for your family. Condolences to you all, CubmanPi.

 

I'm so sad about the timing of this, too. I hate to think of this only in terms of baseball, but that's all I know Fred from. I'm sure there are so many happy stories that you have, CubmanPi, that have nothing to do with baseball. But, there is some strange link between the Cubs and family when it comes to our fandom. I became a Cub fan because of my father, who became a Cub fan because of his father. You hear all the national analysts and talking heads talk about our miserable streak and curses and it's hollow and fatuous. But our fandom is real. And my grandfather did live 91 years without seeing his beloved Cubbies win a title. I know it's silly for me to think of your loss in terms of baseball, but it reminds me of my grandfather. And it makes me sad.

[MarkR]

Fred always had great taste in his hot sports takes.

 

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b137/Hornkohl/cubs-slug-cards.jpg

 

Did I mention that I really, really hate the Cardinals ??

[TruffleShuffle]

Rule number one of the board quickly became apparent: Don't [expletive] with Fred.

 

uh, excuse me? making old jokes about fred was pretty much required. :lol:

 

it was all good because we were good natured about it and so was he.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Rule number one of the board quickly became apparent: Don't [expletive] with Fred.

 

uh, excuse me? making old jokes about fred was pretty much required. :lol:

 

it was all good because we were good natured about it and so was he.

 

I didn't mean like that. I think there was a Cardinals troll or something that tried trolling Fred and he was killed with the quickness. The trolling was fine, until he came at Fred.

[TruffleShuffle]

I liked his consistency. Whenever the Cubs were playing, he was kind of a comforting presence you could always rely on, even if he wasn't saying much. Rest in peace.

 

Not to mention the fact that he was pretty much the ONLY presence in game theads in Sept of 2005,2006,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014

 

you could always tell which game threads fred had been doing PBP for, because the ones he did PBP had 4-5 pages (pretty much all him) and the ones where he was driving or otherwise occupied, there were about 3 posts total.

[CubInOK]

Rule number one of the board quickly became apparent: Don't [expletive] with Fred.

 

uh, excuse me? making old jokes about fred was pretty much required. :lol:

 

it was all good because we were good natured about it and so was he.

 

I didn't mean like that. I think there was a Cardinals troll or something that tried trolling Fred and he was killed with the quickness. The trolling was fine, until he came at Fred.

The troll usually got a trip to Belize when Fred showed up.

Edited September 12, 2016 by CubInOK

[CubmanPi]

My family is pretty much all Cubs fans, but Fred was by far the most responsible for my Cub fandom. I remember one of my first Cubs games when I was maybe 6 or 7, and all I wanted to do was see Sandberg and Dawson bat. As we went to our seats, I asked him if he thought they would bat first, and he said they would probably be batting 4th and 5th. When the lineups were announced with Sandberg and Dawson in the 4/5 spots, I remember being awe-struck at what a sports genius he must have been. Jody Davis hit a HR that day, and it was the first HR I ever saw in person. Edited September 12, 2016 by CubmanPi

[squally1313]

Can't add anything to what everyone else has already said, but as someone who falsely thinks they're somehow 'above' message board communities (while of course having over 1000 posts here), this really hit me hard. I've been mostly lurking for over 10 years, and posters have come and gone and reappeared, but as others have said, Fred was a constant presence around here. From the highs of 2007-2008, through the dark years, to now, he was always just...around. And while it didn't really mean much on a day to day basis, it certainly means a lot now.

 

Really sorry for your loss.

[Tracer Bullet]

Fred reached out to me when he was passing near GR when I lived there. Just happened to be a day when I couldn't meet him for a drink but I figured I'd get another chance.

 

Seemed like a really good guy. So sorry for your loss.

[davell]

Oh geez. I'm so sorry. Fred was a constant, a guy that truly made this place comfortable. He made the losing more tolerable in ways he only could. I know he's watching us and watching the Cubs kick the crap out of everyone. Fred, this year won't end with "Oh Horsefeathers!".

[Butterscup]

damn, this really bums me out.

 

never met the guy myself, but as so many have said, he seemed to be such a friendly person and he loved the cubs no matter what, as evidenced by the game threads and his overall cheery attitude on this board.

 

honestly, when i think of NSBB, i think of Fred. he was always about the cubs, no matter how terrible they were, and always about NSBB.

 

for a message board that's been around as long as this one, and one that has as many tight-knit posters as this one, we've been lucky to not lose a whole lot of people. it's a shame we lost one of the greats before he got to see the cubs win it, but i'm honestly glad i got to interact with Fred in some capacity during my lifetime, even if it was just on a message board.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

How about renaming the Game Thread forum, Fred Hornkohl Game Thread forum, or something like that?

how has this not already happened?

[Tracer Bullet]

nm. it happened.

[SouthSideRyan]

this news makes me really sad. i always enjoyed fred's obscure stats and his optimism. he made me laugh frequently in threads with posts like these:

 

[

 

best of all, i enjoyed when he would start a game thread or post his usual stats when he driving his truck out on the road, and he'd always say something like "Greetings one and all from beautiful ____ !!!" but the place would really be some remote small town craphole that wasn't beautiful at all. i'm not sure why i enjoyed that so much; i guess because i'm a travel nerd and it also spoke to fred's eternal optimism. i found a few of those posts in the archives:

 

 

I'm sitting at a loading dock in beautiful Perrysville, MO, looking out over the yard at a ship's container with the shipping company's name all over it...... "Dong Fang". It must be an omen, no ?

Greetings one and all from beautiful Van Alstyne, TX !!

Greetings one and all from beautiful Rawlins, WY !!!

Greetings one and all from beautiful North Kansas City, MO !!

Greetings one and all from beautiful Saxonburg, PA !!!

Greetings one and all from beautiful Horse Cave, KY !!!

Greetings one and all from the parking lot of Bimbo Bakeries in beautiful downtown West Hazelton, PA !!!

Greetings one and all from beautiful Minot, ND !!!

 

 

i will miss having him around. he made this board a better place and no doubt the world a better place for those who knew him. my condolences to his family and friends.

 

You missed my personal favorite. Toad Suck, AR.

 

Fred will be dearly missed, my condolences CubManPi

[mhuber92211]

RIP Fred

[soccer10k]

This is terrible news. I think we all feared something like this when Fred disappeared a couple months ago but we all hoped he'd recover and be back.

 

Like some others, I met Fred a few times at some crappy truck stop in Sacramento before he was nice enough to let myself and CT stay at his place during the 2007 NLDS, and picked both of us up from the airport. He was always very nice and friendly, as well as optimistic about the Cubs. The Game Threads haven't been and won't be the same without him.

[Guancous]

It speaks highly of Fred that everyone praises his kindness more than his statistical acumen. He was a benevolent presence and exhibited such will gutting out those awful seasons.

 

Goodbye to a nice man.

[TruffleShuffle]

You missed my personal favorite. Toad Suck, AR.

 

Fred will be dearly missed, my condolences CubManPi

 

fred's toad suck anecdotes:

 

 

What do you want to know ?? [about Cut and Shoot, TX] It's a little wide spot on the road about 5 miles due east of Conroe, TX on Hwy 105. They're building Conroe High School here, and I've been sitting here all day while they try to unload this shipment of lockers. I've already missed my appointment (1330) to pick up my next load down in Houston..... so I may be stuck here all weekend !! Reminds me a whole lot of Toad Suck, AR. (I spent a hell of a week there one night.)

 

Greetings one and all from beautiful Forrest City, AR..... which, for the geographically challenged, is 123.5 miles due east of Toad Suck, AR.

 

You really seem to be fixated on Toad Suck...... perhaps a vacation in Frog Jump, TN would do you some good, eh ???

 

Greetings one and all from beautiful Toad Suck, AR !!!

[Thusly Boned]

Man, what an absolute bummer. I never met Fred in person, but he was an integral part of the NSBB experience, and it's difficult to imagine NSBB without him.

 

CubmanPi, my sincere condolences to you and your family.

[rocket]

This sucks.

 

Fred always told me he honked his semi whenever he passed the exit for my city on I-70. Who knows if he really did, but he really liked this place and the posters.

[Bote McBoteface]

This is awful. I didn't post much for the first 10 years or so that I frequented this site, but I read every day and Fred with his random stats was a big reason why. Condolences to the family :[

[Sammy Sofa]

Ah, damn; this is a cruddy thing to wake up to. I started lurking here during the 2005 season, and Fred's goofy humor and his stats were some of the main reasons this seemed like such a good board to join. It's too bad he never got to see this stupid, wonderful team win a WS, but hopefully if it happens this year a little part of it is for him.

 

And very cool to name the game thread forum after him. He will be missed.