Where Did the Chicago Cubs Play Before Wrigley Field?
Though today it seems to us like the Chicago Cubs have always played in Wrigley Field, many people are surprised to learn that it is actually the FOURTH ballpark the Cubs franchise has played in.
Wrigley Field Became the home of the Chicago Cubs in 1916.
Before the Chicago Cubs moved to Wrigley Field in 1916, they actually called three other stadiums their home. Shocking, I know, but it gets even more surprising.
Before playing in Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs franchise originally played in West Side Park, also known as the West Side Grounds. There were actually two West Side Parks, one which was played in by the Cubs from 1885 through 1891 and a second one occupied by the Cubs 1893 to 1915.
The astute reader will notice there is a gap between the Cubs playing time in the two West Side Parks, namely the year 1892. Where did the Chicago Cubs play in 1892? During that season the Cubs played in South Side Park. That’s right, the Cubs briefly played on the South Side (Gasp!) before moving to the north side and the new Weeghman Park.
The site of original West Side Park was located at the present day location of the Andrew Jackson Language Academy at 1340 West Harrison.
The second West Side Park was located on a block bounded by Taylor, Wood, Polk and Wolcott, which is the present day location of the University of Illinois Medical Center. It is still the only location where the Chicago Cubs have won a World Series.
South Side Park was located at the north side of 39th Street (now called Pershing Road) between South Wentworth Avenue and South Princeton Avenue. It is the present day location of the CHA Wentworth Gardens housing project.
When Charles Weeghman became an owner of the Chicago Cubs, he helped move the team from their old West Side Park home to the (at the time) newer Weeghman Park on the North Side. The Chicago Cubs have called Wrigley Field and the block located at Clark, Addison, Waveland, and Sheffield their home ever since.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 6:50 am and is filed under cubs history, wrigley field.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
