The Friendly Confines



The main entrance to Wrigley Field, Sep-2010.

The seating bowl includes distinctive light stanchions installed only in 1988.

The famous manual scoreboard is a backdrop for the almost-as-famous Bleacher Creatures.

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Quick Facts: Rating: 5 baseballs
After opening as Weeghman Park, the home of the Federal League’s Whales, the Cubs moved in for 1916 and renamed it Cubs Park in the spring of 1920. The team was still fresh from their recent National League success under manager Frank Chance, including a 1908 World Series victory.

While the Cubs haven’t been nearly as successful since, with no pennants from 1945 until a memorable run to the title in 2016, Wrigley Field (it assumed that name in the late 1920s, from its owner, chewing gum magnate William Wrigley) stands as a tribute to old-time baseball.

The park features two decks, along with a sizable outfield bleacher said to hold the Cubs’ biggest fans, who invariably throw visiting players’ home run balls back onto the field. The scoreboard, expanded several times along with the major leagues, still features manually-posted innings for each game. Beyond the bleacher, fans stand on Waveland and Sheffield avenues, ready to retrieve home-run balls that clear the stadium.

Like many parks, Wrigley was ready to receive lights in the early 1940s. Erection stopped because of the second World War, however, and afterward residents of the neighborhood known as Wrigleyville conspired to keep lights out of the facility until 8-Aug-1988. Almost predictably, the first scheduled night game at the park was rained out. Today, Wrigley hosts 24 night games a year.

In 2015, the bleacher area was upgraded; the actual bleachers were shored up after about 80 years, and video boards were installed in the outfield. The bullpens were also moved under the bleachers, off the field where they were in the above photo. Some have said that this detracts from the park’s charm, but it didn’t bother me on my 2018 return trip to “the Friendly Confines”.


More photos from 2018 in this Facebook album (public, no account required)
Game Date League Level Result
62 Sat 15-Aug-1992 National MLB Houston 5, CHI CUBS 0
425 Sat 12-Aug-2000 National MLB Cincinnati 3, CHI CUBS 0
475 Sun 29-Jul-2001 National MLB CHI CUBS 7, St Louis 5
1090 Sat 4-Sep-2010 National MLB CHI CUBS 5, NY Mets 3
1681 Sat 4-Aug-2018 National MLB CHI CUBS 5, San Diego 4
2260 Fri 30-Sep-2022 National MLB CHI CUBS 6, Cincinnati 1
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This page updated 30-Sep-2022