The old days, and a goat man ejected
Names & Curses Tradition is important at Wrigley Field, which was called Weeghman Park when it opened in 1914. The Cubs weren’t around yet, and it was the Federal League’s Chicago Whales that played there. That changed in 1916, and it was renamed Cubs Park. A few years later the chewing gum guy bought the team and you get Wrigley Field. It’s the second-oldest active MLB ballpark (Fenway is the oldest by two years) and it’s seen a lot of action. The old sign is still out front announcing whose home it is, as it has since 1934, the same year John Dillinger came back to Chicago and was gunned down. There have been a few changes (the sign used to be blue, an electronic message screen was put in some time ago) but it’s basically the same. That can’t be said for the team, though. From 1905 to 1912, the Cubs won four pennants and two World Series titles—in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first team to nail two in a row. The pennants kept coming for the next decade or so, but the World Series win never re-emerged. In fact, it’s been 102 years since the Cubs pulled it off, making them the only team of any North American sport to go without a championship for so long. But while World Series games played at Wrigley haven’t been good to the Cubs in a long time, some of them have been great for baseball. In the 1932 series, with the Cubs playing the Yankees, Wrigley is where Babe Ruth pointed his bat to the sky and called his home run before he hit it. It’s also where “The Curse of the Billy Goat” occurred. That was in 1945. The Cubs were up two games to one against the Detroit Tigers when the Series returned to Chicago. Local Cubs fan Billy
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Sianis owned the still-famous Billy Goat Tavern, where celebs and prominent locals used to quench their thirst. Sianis even grew a goatee, called himself “Billy Goat” and used to haul an actual goat around as a publicity stunt. But when he showed up at Wrigley with two tickets for Game 4—one for him, one for the goat—it all went bad. At first the goat was ok, parading around Wrigley Field with a sign that read, “We got Detroit’s goat.” But several innings into the game, after a few fans complained about the goat’s odor, Sianis and his animal were asked to leave. As the story has it, he was so insulted he either told or telegrammed Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley the message that the Cubs would never again win the Series, and so far they haven’t.
aesthetiCs & uses Despite not having a recent World Series trophy to help decorate, Wrigely is still a beautiful place. It’s the only ballpark with ivy-covered outfield walls, the product of a 1937 beautification plan. Don’t tell the Red Sox, but it’s Boston ivy out there; the English stuff doesn’t like Chicago winters. The hand-turned scoreboard adds to the charm as well, and is one of only two in use in the majors (the other one’s at Fenway). That scoreboard is way up there, mounted over the center field bleachers. Considering center field at Wrigley is 400 feet off the plate, it’s hard enough to hit one over the fence, much less hit the numbers. In fact, no homerun has ever hit the scoreboard—but someone did hit it with a ball once. That was Sam Snead, who hit a 4-iron off home plate to nail the scoreboard on opening day in 1951.
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