Located one mile south of Alex Box stadium is a new Plucker’s Wing Factory & Grill. The restaurant recently introduced a program to raise donations in the name of former LSU baseball player Wally Pontiff Jr.
“Wally’s Wings” is a new deal at Pluckers which is aimed at raising money for the Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation. The foundation’s purpose is to give back to the causes that Wally himself believed in, said Steve Levy, part-owner of the Plucker’s on Nicholson Drive.
Customers receive five free wings with a $1.00 donation. By donating to the foundation, customers are supporting many organizations, including the LSU baseball team and Jesuit High School of New Orleans.
Plucker’s is calling their new deal “Give 1 for 31.” The name refers to the $1.00 donation and the No. 31, which was Wally Jr.’s jersey number. The program began about three weeks ago.
“We wanted a way to remember Wally,” Levy said. “This is a way to help make sure his memory lasts forever.”
Pontiff died in 2002 from a heart abnormality.
At Wednesday night’s inaugural Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic at Zephyr Field, Levy said he presented Wally Pontiff Sr. with a check for $600 and a poster of his son.
The Plucker’s Nicholson Drive location has poster of Wally Jr. and other LSU baseball memorabilia. This location is the only restaurant offering the donation deal.
Ryan “Bucky” Kase graduated from the University last May and was a close friend of Wally Jr.’s. He currently is a manager at Plucker’s.
“I was one of his close personal friends,” Kase said. “Everyone around Wally looked up to him — everyone loved being around him.”
Kase said everyone he knows is supporting the idea for the donation deal, especially Wally Jr.’s parents.
“The Pontiffs are very supportive,” Kase said. “We need Wally remembered so much, it is very important to me and everyone that was as close to him as I was to get this message across.”
Levy said his main goal is to remember Wally for years to come. That is the reason the donation has been made a permanent addition to the menu.
“We want students and people to remember Wally for the great student athlete that he was,” Levy said. “Not a lot of people remember Alex Box, and we do not want that to happen with Wally.”