The History of Chicago's Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is one of the most beloved venues in sports. Built in 1914, it is one of only two Major League Baseball (MLB) ballparks, along with Boston's Fenway Park (built in 1912), still in use after almost a century. (It's hard to believe, but Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, built a good fifty years later in 1962, is now the third oldest MLB ballpark).

In the early 20th century, the American League was still just establishing itself as a "major" league, to go along with the several decades older National League. Meanwhile, there were various parties forming new leagues, minor leagues looking to become major leagues, etc.

Chicago already had a National League franchise (the Cubs, who played at West Side Park), and an American league franchise (the White Sox), but then other leagues decided to make a move on their turf.

In 1909, potential expansion team owners representing the American Association bought land on Chicago's North Side to build a ballpark. The American Association ran into difficulties however, and the expansion did not occur.

Enter Charles A. Weeghman, owner of the Chicago Chi-Feds of the Federal League, which had just come into existence in 1913. The Chi-Feds initially played their home games at DePaul University, but then Weeghman bought the American Association's North Side property and decided to build a ballpark there after all and move the Chi-Feds there for their second season.

Building a sports stadium takes years though, right? Apparently not, at least not in 1914. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on March 4, 1914, and "Weeghman Park" hosted the Chi-Feds' home opener on April 23, 1914. And even that was with a delay caused by a construction workers strike.

Not only construction time but prices were a little different back then as well. Weeghman Park cost just $250,000 to build.

Made of steel and concrete in what has since been dubbed the "Jewel Box" style typical of ballparks at the time, Weeghman Park had a single-deck grandstand all the way from right field, around home plate, and nearly to the left field corner. Capacity was just 14,000, and the park's dimensions were so small that it was the ultimate hitter's park for home runs.

Weeghman made many changes that season and the subsequent 1915 season. The fences were pushed back to make the park less lopsidedly hitter-friendly. Capacity was boosted to 18,000. Fan-friendly measures were undertaken, such as allowing spectators to keep foul balls and home runs (now that's automatic, but back then other teams required the balls be returned), a "Ladies Day" promotion every Friday, an emphasis on keeping the park clean for the fans, and better than usual concession food (Weeghman was a restaurateur by trade). The Chi-Feds were renamed the Chicago Whales.

Alas, it was all for naught, as the Federal League folded after the 1915 season, and the Whales were no more.

Weeghman next decided to pursue major league baseball in Chicago via a different route, and purchased the National League's Cubs, as the dominant partner in a group of buyers that included chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, for $500,000. He moved the Cubs to Weeghman Park starting with the 1916 season.

Weeghman then fell upon hard times and had to sell off chunks of his ownership interest in the Cubs, primarily to Wrigley. By 1918 Weeghman was out completely, and by 1921 Wrigley had bought out enough of the other owners to put himself in full control of the team.

With Weeghman gone, Weeghman Park came to be known as "Cubs Park" starting with the 1919 season.

Cubs Park underwent a major renovation in 1922 and 1923. Part of the grandstand was placed on rollers and moved back, making room for more seating. Foul territory was reduced down the lines by the addition of new box seats. The configuration of the outfield was changed to allow for more bleachers. All told, capacity rose all the way from 18,000 to 31,000.

By the start of the 1927 season, Cubs Park was renamed "Wrigley Field," and it was time for still more renovations. An entire second deck was added to the grandstand.

And plenty of fans were enjoying the revamped Wrigley Field. In 1927, the Cubs became the first National League team ever to top 1.1 million in attendance for a season. In 1929, they surpassed 1.5 million, setting a MLB record that would stand for seventeen years.

The next significant renovations to Wrigley Field occurred in 1937, under the direction of Bill Veeck, son of the team president. Veeck replaced the outfield wooden bleachers with concrete seats, with a unique brick outfield wall covered in ivy. He added a large scoreboard in centerfield. The (now quaint) manual scoreboard remains in use today.

One of the things Wrigley Field is most famous for is the refusal of the Wrigley family to install lights. The first MLB night game played under artificial lights took place in 1935, and as early as 1942 there were plans to add lights to Wrigley Field, but ultimately the Wrigley family decided they would keep the park forever free of lights and play only day games.

For decades this became something of a cause célèbre for baseball traditionalists, local residents who didn't relish the idea of crowds of people traipsing through their residential neighborhood at night, and just for everyone who appreciated the quirkiness of a team refusing to accept modernity and conform to what every other team was doing.

Applauded by non-conformists and some locals, but criticized by just about everyone else, including the MLB powers that be (who panicked at the thought of the lost television revenue of potentially having to play World Series games during the day), the Wrigleys never did give in. Lights did ultimately come to Wrigley Field, but only under new ownership (the Chicago Tribune Company) and after Commissioner Peter Ueberroth's decree that as long as there were no lights at Wrigley Field, the Cubs would not be allowed to play any postseason home games there. By then the Wrigleys were out of the picture.

The first night game was finally played at Wrigley Field on August 8, 1988, and promptly rained out. A sign that people could interpret as they chose.

In 2005 and 2006, the outfield bleachers were reconstructed and expanded. That and other more minor renovations brought the capacity up to more than 41,000.

Through it all, Wrigley Field has remained beloved by Chicagoans (other than those more attached to the rival White Sox) and baseball fans around the world as a treasured living connection to baseball's past.

What Wrigley Field has never seen, however, is a MLB Championship for its Cubs. Leaving aside some expansion teams from the 1960s and later that have never won a World Series, the "lovable loser" Cubs hold the record for futility in this department. Their last World Series title was in 1908, before Wrigley Field (or Weeghman Park) even existed.