Until the age of 10, I lived in a very small town of 1,200 in central Illinois. I remember many days waking up and going downstairs into the kitchen to find my mom working and the radio on. On many summer mornings, I also remember hearing: “Hey, Hey … Holy Mackerel. No doubt about it! The Cubs are on their way. They’ve got the hustle; they’ve got the bustle; the Chicago Cubs are on their way”. (Ask me next time you see me, and I can sing it so you can hear the tune … quite catchy actually.) I didn’t know it at the time, but I was listening to WGN radio. WGN was the longtime owner of the Cubs. That song and being in the kitchen with my mom were memories in full bloom as we toured Wrigley Field - home of the Chicago Cubs Baseball Team.
As a lifelong Cub’s fan, I was thrilled to be touring Wrigley Field (WF). But before the tour started Phyllis and I arrived a bit early to grab something to eat. Phyllis had done her research and had a list of donut and/or coffee shops. Our first stop at Crumbles turned out to be a cookie shop, no donuts. We went a block further and found Do-Rites Donuts & Chicken. What a discovery! I tried the orange, olive oil donut (after ordering was told it was a vegan donut but was also assured it was very good) and Phyllis got a strawberry/rhubarb donut. They were both excellent!
A few highlights and history from the Wrigley Field tour:
WF was built in 1914 and is the second-oldest ballpark in the majors. Boston’s Fenway Park is the oldest (built in 1912)
The site of WF was originally a seminary.
A Chicago businessman by the name of Charles H. Weegham was obsessed with baseball. He built Weegham Park and became part of the Federal League. First called the Federals (later named the Whales) played at Weegham Park.
After the Federal League folded, Weegham purchased the Cubs from the Taft family (yes … the President Taft family).
The iconic Cubs scoreboard is still manipulated by hand. Our guide said the scoreboard people can call balls and strikes just as well as the umpires. If fact, the ball count is changed on the manual scoreboard faster than the electronic scoreboards.
The infamous ivy on the outfield wall was purchased and planted by Bill Veeck (former president of the Chicago Cubs) in September 1937. Bittersweet was strung from the top of the wall to the bottom, then ivy was planted at the base of the wall. The tour took us onto the outfield by the ivy. We were instructed not to touch the ivy as over time, the oil from human hands could kill the ivy.
WF was the last baseball team in both the National and American league to get lights. Turns out that lights were going to be installed back in the early 1940s. When the US entered WWII, the lights were given to the military for the war effort. There is a long history of Wrigleyville residents fighting to keep lights out of WF; however, on 8/8/88 the first night game was played at WF. After 3 innings the game was rained out and cancelled, so the first completed game was on 8/9/88.
Some of the places we saw on the tour which are off limits to the public were the outfield, press box and the Cub’s dugout. There is so much more history to WF. To learn more, click here.
Phyllis grew up in Chicago and has wonderful memories of Wrigley Field. She shared a few of her fondest memories. “Mom and Dad were avid Cubs fans, so my brother and I were born to be Cubbies. Mom would take us kids on the streetcar to Wrigley Field on Tuesdays (Ladies’ Day and it was free to get in). After the game, we would go to the exit of the players’ locker room to get a quick glance at them. One day as I was waiting, from behind me Johnny Klippstein, one of the players, picked me up, lifted me in the air and moved me over so he could get by. What a thrill…although my favorite player was Hank Sauer, #9. Another day, it got very cold at the ballpark. So that we could stay to watch the game, Mom went and bought a newspaper, wrapped us kids up in it, and we were able to stay a while longer. What she didn’t do to see her Cubs play ball! Many wonderful, fun and fond memories of trips to Wrigley Field.
In summary, the tour was excellent. The tour can take up to 60 people and lasts about 75 minutes. I highly recommend going on a non-gameday as you get to see more. If you attend on a game day, you will not visit the press box or Cubs dugout.
On the tour were baseball fans from all over the country … some Cubs fans, some not. I loved what our guide said at the start and the end of the tour which was, “After taking the tour I don’t expect you to become Cub’s fan, but I hope that you become a Wrigley Field fan”.
Before leaving Wrigleyville we stepped into the Zachary Hotel which is the newly built hotel across the street from WF. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend stopping for 15 minutes to take a look around or stay a little longer and have a drink at the lobby bar. I loved the decor of the hotel! Phyllis and I got into a conversation with 2 people at the registration desk. We learned that the HUGE cabinet behind the registration desk is a 100-year-old piece of Italian craftsmanship. The cabinet is so large that it had to be lowered into its current location before the roof of the hotel was in place. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of it.
One last memory … I was about 11 or 12 years old, now living in the country near Freeport, Illinois. With WGN as a superstation, I remember watching what I think was my first Cubs game on TV. Rick Monday, a long-time 1st baseman and fan favorite, hit a grand slam. I thought to myself, “Ya, this seems like a good team to support”.
For any Cub fan reading this, don’t forget to ask me to sing the refrain from the old Chicago theme song. It’s pretty catchy! :-).
Always enjoy the Adventure,
Sharon
