Wrigley Field

Address:1060 West Addison
Chicago, Illinois

Few baseball fields, or for that matter, few sports venues of any kind, have the character and charm of Wrigley Field. Chicago's "Friendly Confines" have been the home of the Chicago Cubs since 1916, making it the second oldest stadium in Major League Baseball. Located in Chicago's North Side, Wrigley is a fan-friendly and special ballpark that is a must-visit spot for sports fans in Chicago.

The most unique aspect of Wrigley Field is the fact that most Cubs game are played during the day, as opposed to every other team, which play an overwhelming majority of their games at night. In fact, lights were not installed at Wrigley until 1988, 53 years after the first major league night game was played. But day baseball is not the only thing that hearkens back to a previous era of sports. Wrigley looks like it came straight out of the past. With ivy-covered brick walls, a manual scoreboard in centerfield, old-looking (although recently remodeled) bleachers, and the atmosphere contributed by the "Bleacher Bums," who come to all the day games, all contribute to the nostalgic ballpark. In recent years, Cubs ownership has even spent more money than in previous seasons to try to finally end the Cubs' century without a World Series championship, so the on-field product is better than in the past. Furthermore, the structure of the stadium allows fans to watch the game from rooftops across the street, beyond the outfield walls. On those streets, fans congregate during games to create a festival atmosphere, while they try to catch the odd homerun ball that makes it onto the street.

Despite its age, Wrigley has undergone extensive renovations to make it the park it is today. When it was built, Wrigley (or, at that time, Weeghman Park, and then Cubs Park as it was known until 1932) held only 14,000 people. Eventually, a second deck was added to the grandstand, the bleachers were renovated, the scoreboard moved, and the fences adjusted to their current distances. Now, Wrigley Field holds 41,118 fans, although that it is still the fourth smallest park in the Major Leagues. As a result, tickets to Cubs games are hard to come by, especially in seasons where the Cubs are competitive.

When you do get to Wrigley, one thing to look for is the wind. If the wind is blowing from Lake Michigan (from the north and east), then it blows from the outfield into the stadium, preventing many homeruns and keeping the score down. But in most games during the summery months, the wind blows out, from the south and west, making routine fly balls into homeruns.

With its long and storied history, Wrigley has played host to many historic events and players. In the 1932 World Series, the Yankees' Babe Ruth hit a homerun that legend says he "called" right before he hit it, pointing out to where he would hit it in centerfield before the pitch! The Cubs most recently reached the World Series in 1945, losing to the Detroit Tigers. Other Cubs near misses include 1969, 1984, 1989, and 2003, when the Cubs were five outs away from reaching the World Series, but the Florida Marlins staged an improbable rally. The rally was largely aided by Cubs' fan Steve Bartman preventing outfielder Moises Alou from making a catch on a fly ball along the leftfield foul line. Memorable Cubs' triumphs at home have included five no-hitters, two division championships, six National League Championships, and a host of wild games. Wrigley hosted the 1946, 1962, and 1990 All-Star Games, with the last being a reward to the Cubs for finally installing lights.

In addition to baseball, Wrigley was also the home of the Chicago Bears football team from 1921-1970, seeing them win eight NFL titles while playing here. It also hosted a Jimmy Buffet concert in 2005.

Tours of Wrigley are available throughout the baseball season. The field can be driven to, or accessed via the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line, to the Addison Station.