Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium located on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois and is the home of the Chicago Cubs

How to Get There

Overview

Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium located on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Whales of the Federal League, which folded after the 1915 baseball season. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20, 1916, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings. Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. of the Wrigley Company acquired the Cubs in 1921. It was named Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926, before being renamed Wrigley Field in 1927. It is actually the second stadium to be named Wrigley Field, as a Los Angeles ballpark with the same name opened in 1925. The current seating capacity is 41,649.

In the North Side community area of Lakeview in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, Wrigley Field is on an irregular block bounded by Clark and Addison streets to the west and south, and Waveland and Sheffield avenues to the north and east. Wrigley Field is nicknamed "The Friendly Confines", a phrase popularized by "Mr. Cub", Hall of Fame shortstop and first baseman Ernie Banks. The oldest park in the National League, it is the second-oldest in the majors after Fenway Park (1912), and the only remaining Federal League park. The park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2020.

Features

Wrigley Field follows the jewel box ballpark design that was popular in the early part of the 20th century. The two recessed wall areas, or "wells", located both in left and right field, give those areas more length than if the wall were to follow the contour from center field. It is also in those wells, when cross winds are blowing, that balls have a habit of bouncing in all directions. In addition, there is a long chain-link fence strip running the entire length of the outfield wall, the base of which is about two feet down from the top of the wall and the top of which projects out at an angle, primarily used to keep fans from falling out of the bleacher area and onto the field of play, which is about seven to ten feet below the top of the wall. Called "the Basket" by players and fans alike, the rules of the field state that any ball landing within the basket is ruled a home run, making the distance to hit a home run in Wrigley Field actually shorter than the location of the outfield wall.

The ballpark is famous for its outfield walls which are covered by ivy.[36] In the first weeks of the baseball season, the ivy has not leafed out, and all that is visible are the vines on which it grows. However, as the baseball season progresses further into spring, the ivy grows thick and green, disguising the hard brick surface of the outfield wall. In the autumn, generally during postseason, the ivy turns red.

Hand-turned scoreboard

The scoreboard was installed in 1937, when Bill Veeck installed the new bleachers. It has remained in place ever since, and has only seen minor technical and cosmetic modifications. The clock was added in 1941, and a fifth row of scores was added to each side in 1961, with a sixth by 1969. A set of light stands facing onto the scoreboard was added in 1988 with the introduction of night games.

Main entry marquee

Directly over the main entrance to the stadium stands the most familiar icon of the exterior of the ballpark: a large, red, art deco-style marquee, with "Wrigley Field, Home of Chicago Cubs" painted in white. The marquee was installed around 1934, and was originally painted blue with changeable letters—similar to the scoreboard—to announce upcoming games. The marquee originally read "Home of the Cubs", which was replaced with "Home of Chicago Cubs" by 1939. On March 23, 1960, the Cubs repainted the sign red.

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

The tradition of singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Cubs home games began when Hall of Fame announcer Harry Caray arrived in 1982 (he had sung it the preceding seven years as a broadcaster for the White Sox), and has remained a Wrigley Field staple. After Caray's death, the tradition of a guest conductor began, with former baseball players, other sports stars, actors, and other celebrities invited to sing during the Seventh Inning Stretch.

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