Scramlin/Brown

Falkenberg/Stanley

English/History

2 March, 2004

Despite the many renovations that had been made since Wrigley Field was built, the park still provides a very small touch of what it was like to be at Wrigley Field in the 1920’s and 30’s. To begin with, Wrigley Field is one of baseball’s oldest baseball parks, second oldest next to Boston’s Fenway Park to be exact. As old as it is, Wrigley Field has had a marvelous past. As a result, there have been many wonderful and enjoying moments that have happened at Wrigley Field. These are just some of many reasons why people enjoy the "Friendly Confines" of Wrigley Field.

Wrigley Field was originally named Wheegman Park in 1914 when it was built. It was named after its original owner Charles Wheegman. In 1920 the Wrigley family bought the field and named it after themselves, which is what we know it as today, but the Cubs own the park today and still play there. The total cost of construction was a whopping 250,000 dollars, and that was a lot of money back in 1914.Today, Wrigley is the last standing Federal League ballpark. (Leveenthal 76).

1937 was a year of big change for Wrigley Field and its surroundings. The famous ivy was planted that year to form the "Bricks and Ivy", as it is known by Cubs and baseball fans alike. Also, the giant green manual scoreboard was installed in center field. Finally, the bleachers home of the "bleacher bums" were added in the same year. These changes made the "Friendly Confines" of Wrigley even friendlier. As many people can see, Wrigley Field took some drastic changes in 1937.

Wrigley Field has had some famous people that have been associated with the Cubs organization. To begin with, Ernie Banks, or "Mr. Cub" as some people called him, was the first African American to play for the Cubs. Likewise, the Cubs now have Sammy Sosa who is a star player. Also, Harry Carry, a very famous Cubs announcer, kept the Wrigley fans in the game even if the Cubs were losing by singing the "seventh inning stretch" with all the fans. However, he died in 1998 after having a heart attack while he was at Valentines Day dinner with his wife (Leventhal 76).

Wrigley Field has been host to some of the league’s greatest and most amazing records that still stand to this day. To begin with, the highest scoring game ever in major league history was in Wrigley Field when the Cubs and Phillies took the field on August 25^th 1922 in a hitting duel. The Cubs ended up winning the game twenty-six to twenty-three. One thing that has never happened in Wrigley that has happened in probably just about every stadium in the country is that no one has ever hit the giant scoreboard in deep center field. Granted, two baseballs have barely missed hitting the board. Sam Snead hit it with a golf ball, but that doesn’t count in major league record books. "Roberto Clemente came close on May 17th, 1959, clobbering a ball that sailed just left of the giant scoreboard and onto Waveland Avenue."(Leventhal 76) Lastly, Ernie Banks hit his 500^th career home run at Wrigley (Leventhal 76).

Wrigley Field has also been home to some of baseball’s wackiest and most famous rituals, which are carried out all around the major leagues. The fans at Wrigley were the first fans to throw back the baseball everytime the visitors hit the ball out of the park for a home run. Also, Wrigley Field was the first ballpark to play the National Anthem for the first time ever before the beginning of any sporting event (Leventhal 76). Lastly, Wrigley Field was the first stadium to play organ music while the game was going on. As a result, several sports, like basketball, play music during the game.

In conclusion, Wrigley Field today is a very beautiful place to spend an afternoon with the family. Wrigley is such a friendly environment that Ernie Banks once said, " Wrigley is like another home in the community. When you are at Wrigley it’s like you’re visiting the family of all the people that live around here" (Leventhal 76). If fans ever visit Wrigley Field, they always just take a moment to admire the beauty of one of baseball’s oldest and most historic baseball parks. Eventhough the Cubs have been named one of baseball’s least successful in history, fans still need to realize the history in the scoreboard and the ivy then root for the Chicago Cubs in good old Wrigley Field.