Ball Parks – 4 - Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Wrigley Field, Nestled in the Chicago North Side (24 July 2001)

It was July 2001. We were going back to Wisconsin for Beck’s 30th HS reunion. The plan was to get there via Chicago so we could visit some of the great downtown museums and stay for a Cubs game at Wrigley Field…a park still named for the chewing gum magnate who once owned the team and not some corporate entity that bought the naming rights.

Completed in 1914, it is, by far, the oldest park in the National League. As you might expect, a park this old has much history. Here are some highlights:

· The club, in one form or another, has been in existence since 1876, the earliest days of organized baseball.

· Weeghman Park, the first name of the place, was built on land formerly occupied by the Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary.

· 1922 – Cubs beat Phillies 26-23 in highest-scoring game ever.

· The NFL Chicago Bears played there from 1921 to 1970.

· The ‘Friendly Confines’ is where Babe Ruth made his famous “called shot,” pointing his bat toward the bleachers right before hitting a homer in the 1932 World Series.

· It was the last park to install lights so night games were not played there until 1988. It is the only ballpark with ivy-covered outfield walls. Balls hit into the ivy will occasionally disappear in the foliage and have to be called ground rule doubles.

· Along with Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley has the only other manually-operated scoreboard in the majors.

· Hall of Famers include Ernie “Let’s Play Two” Banks, Ron Santo, Ryne Sandburg and the old double play infield of Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance.

The Iconic Marquee (24 July 2001)

Our seats were in the lower grandstand, down the left field line past third base. The seats were many rows back from the field and under the second deck. Two memories remain regarding that location.

Sorry About the View, Wrigley Field (24 July 2001)

This is an ancient ballpark. In those days, we couldn’t build upper decks without steel girders every 30 feet. From my seat, if I leaned to the left, I could see the batter. If I leaned to the right, I could see the umpire. Not the most accommodating view.

And it wasn’t just the girders. Being under the upper deck, while an advantage when it rains, did have its drawbacks at times. Fly balls disappear. During the game, I got the hang of viewing fly balls. You see infielders scramble and you knew it was a pop-up. You see outfielders move and you knew the play was deeper.

On one play, Sammy Sosa was at bat. In his full, steroid-infused glory, Slammin’ Sammy was the darling of the team. This was the season when he hit over 60 home runs for the third time…and failed to win the home run title each time…those were the days. Anyway, I leaned left to see him connect. The ball went up and disappeared behind the upper deck. On this shot, nobody on the field moved. The infielders looked up. The outfielders looked up. The fans in the left field bleachers looked up…as the ball sailed onto Waveland Avenue.

Left Field Corner, Wrigley Field (24 July 2001)

One of the special features of the tight neighborhood 

is the seating that the buildings across 

from the stadium have added to their roofs. 

It was then and is still a party place. Young folks buy standing room tickets just so they can be there, hang out, suck down some brews and soak up that intoxicating atmosphere. The Cubs actually finished with a winning record that year…and beat up on the Pittsburgh Pirates that day, 10-2. As old Harry Caray would say, “Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!”

Of course, the team currently is known for having the longest championship drought in professional sport, not having won a title in 108 years. They have had a great season. I just may live long enough to see them win a championship for the first time in living memory. I loved the sign a fan held up during a recent playoff game – “Party like it’s 1908.”