Chicago White Sox's Comiskey Park in No Game Today

Tom McComas has been producing film and video for almost 50 years. His
clients include Ford, John Deere, Caterpillar, Boeing, Lionel Trains, Case
IH, and Chicago¹s Museum of Science & Industry.
TM produced his first short film in 1967. It was shot in 16mm black and
white film and runs just over 11 minutes. Called ³No Game Today,² it¹s about
a kid who sneaks into Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, on a day
when there is no game.
Since then, TM has produced over 200 shows that have appeared on network TV,
PBS and cable stations around the country. TM also has a weekly show on the
RFD network and is currently working on a new project for Ford on the
history of Ford trucks.
See trailers at tmbv.com

[@marchmadness76]

That had to be awesome for that kid to do that in Comiskey Park!

[@j.philiplarson2064]

I miss the old Comiskey Park. My family had many picnics under the scoreboard, because back in the day you were allowed to bring your own food and drinks. I was the only Sox fan in my family, the rest were Cub fans, but my dad made sure we went to many a Sox game...I miss him too...

[@chrystalgriswold9936]

Stumbled across this on Amazon Prime. My son loves baseball and was right there with him running the bases and sliding. Such a cute film!

[@owenlawson8660]

This was absolutely a joy to watch.... Love the ending! Watching the kid reminds me of all the wonderful days that park grew me up as I listened to my Dad talk about games that he used to watch there when he was this kid's age! Watching Reggie and so many other 70's and 80's greats play there is a cool memory to own. The rich legacy of Negro Leaguers that graced this park for Rube Foster's League makes it a wonderful and relevant treasure!!! Thanks Mr. Comiskey, Veeck, and Reinsdorf for investing in the #SouthSideBallPlayers #SouthSideHitmen #WhiteSoxFan4Life #BaseBallGuy

[@Walter2846.]

I didn't know this filmed existed. Thank you for posting it. I was transported back in time to old comiskey park. GO SOX!

[@JaredMusil]

Thanks for the video, Great to see Comiskey back in its day. My first pro baseball game was at the new sox park so this was fun to watch.

[@roberthill799]

To me, those arched windows helped make that park feel holier than any mere cathedral.

[@jonnydanger7181]

Trespassing, vandalism, theft, man that kid would have a record a mile long today.

[@jbizz80]

I envy that kid. I would have had so much fun doing that.

[@mariocisneros911]

We raced up those ramps many times when the gates opened. Bill Veeck didnt reserve outfield seats , they were 1st come , 1st serve and for $2.00 each

[@rogerlambert9316]

He wouldn't be able to go to Wrigley Field. No lights. The Cubs should have installed lights sooner than they did. Cubs suck donkeys. Go, White Sox! ⚾️

[@1980step1]

Bob Elson! The voice that made me Baseball and The Sox.

[@willdrucker4291]

tune in next Tuesday when "Dennis the Menace breaks into Comiskey Park"....on most of these CBS stations...

[@acousticshadow4032]

Great video. This New Englander flew out for final 2 games at Old Comiskey (9/29-30/1990). She's gone now. The fools.

[@gregv79]

Classic, The kid in all of us can relate, Miss the old Comiskey, dripping with history. Saw Kittle hit a roof shot at a night game there when i was a kid who went down with my cousin ourselves, I think we were 11 or so

[@roberthill799]

Saw Dick Allen just miss in 72 or 3. He hit it just under the roof and I swear that when it hit it seemed as if it was still rising. I've never seen another ball hit so hard, though Otto Velez of the Blue Jays came close In 78(?) when I saw him line one off the Cf wall about what, 420 feet away?

[@j.philiplarson2064]

Does anyone remember the home run Dave Nicholson hit completely over and out of Comiskey?

[@johantrenier1685]

The first pro ball park I was ever in. Walked in similar to this young guy. Galloped down to the field, and I shook hands with Bill Melton. White Sox fan for life. The green of the infield was a magnet. Though in the early 70’s it was astro turf. 😊

[@mariocisneros911]

Me too , same time but I only saw him on t.v. I didnt get there till 77 , what an exciting year and many great memories. But I hated that softball uniform till they improved it around 1980.

[@stevemeinecke]

That was a cool video ❤

[@mackbee628]

I wish I could have been that kid, let alone to have caught a game there! I was blessed to catch a game at old Tiger Stadium when I was 9.

[@alxf66]

Thank you so much for sharing.

[@rogerlambert9316]

Lucky boy having fun at his favorite ballpark!🙂⚾️

[@rogerlambert9316]

So sad that Old White Sox Park is now a parking lot.😔

[@rogerlambert9316]

So sad that Old White Sox Park is now a parking lot.😔

[@josephbunzol1964]

This is really great!

[@kennethcurtis1856]

Luis Aparicio, Nellie Fox, Minnie Minoso, Greg Luzinski, Ron Kittle, Pudge, and who can forget the Williams, Mantles, Yazstremski, among a few of the greats....

[@timdailey2690]

12 years later, kid was back as a hooligan at disco demolition night

[@mariocisneros911]

His hair looks like 72-79 , not the 60's, most kids had short hair than . Unless he came from a wealthy family where there were few rules.

[@willdrucker4291]

Hey kid.....where ya goin?....we're going into extra innings...get back here...

[@ronaldstubbs9450]

I never saw this, wow great film.

[@charlessmith263]

Comiskey Park had a long, long history. From Sox player Minnie Minoso to the stadium's exploding scoreboard pyrotechnics, to Bill Veeck all the way to Carlton Fisk - and of course - organist Nancy Faust - it was exciting for some 80-plus years. Comiskey did not just provide baseball to its Sox fans. It provided pure entertainment beyond baseball! Sadly, that "Disneyland-themed" ballpark was demolished in 1990.

[@zellah]

Swoooooon!

[@RICHBLACKCOCK]

C those COOL ASS ARCHES!!!! in left field at the 7:38mk??? THAT architectural feature right there is what endured me to COMISKEY PARK. Zachary Taylor, architect

[@gmaneis]

Same for me. It was beautifully designed, except for the posts!

[@TN-we3zt]

​@gmaneis Posts were inevitable in the old classic ballparks. The price paid for their elimination in post-1960 ballparks is seating farther away from the field. The one (partial) exception to this was the renovated Yankee Stadium (1976-2008), which eliminated the posts. That was accomplished by increasing the height of the upper deck to cantilever it over the deck below. Even with the cantilever, however, the new structure wouldn't support a roof over the upper deck, which meant that the frieze couldn't be refitted there. That's why a new frieze was added to the outfield.

[@ImperatorPenguin]

Well that was... abstract.

[@edramsay6481]

Comiskey hip!

[@MaySecond07]

Reminds me of any Columbia College student film made between 1965-1985. Mine included. Some sort of protagonist wandering visually compelling locations in Chicago. About 12 minutes too long. But that was par for the course. Historically interesting.

[@williamsmith3727]

The real question though would be did he get to the plate without being thrown out by the left fielder and cut down. Love the short film though and it reminds me of so much of Comiskey Park when I was there in the 70s and 80s before they tore it down instead of refurbishing it. However, the current owners needed a new stadium to increase their revenues which dwindled after about 1985 when they had 4 straight 85 to 90 loss seasons. Those were dark days for Sox fans just like the last several years of incompetence by the current regime. Maybe someday the Sox will get it back together and go on a 2005 like run but hopefully with a different owner.

[@gmaneis]

This was a kid's fantasy, a dream, so he would have scored on that play for sure. I started going to Old Comiskey in 1955. Really miss that grand old lady of parks. Her crowds could really roar!

[@daniellinehan63]

Reinsdorf let it deteriorate after '83 All-Star game- a shame

[@gregv79]

No, but I was at a night game in the 80's and saw Kittle hit a roof shot over left to dead center. Hit 2 of em that same season.

[@bigbird9093]

It feels like a Louie C.K. short.

[@morleysobol6656]

I believe this was the pilot episode for the series "Jimmy After The Nuclear Apocalypse."

[@TN-we3zt]

Anyone who is a baseball fan MUST watch this! I'm sharing this with my ten year-old son as soon as he gets home from school. I'm a Cub fan who grew up in NW Indiana, but I've never been a Sox hater and have fond memories of the Old Comiskey. One of my fondest memories from a baseball game that I've attended in person was a 1981 game vs. the Yankees, when I sat in right field. Reggie Jackson, my favorite player growing up, was playing RF for New York and the fans were throwing money (both bills and coins) his way. Today, of course, those fans would've been arrested faster than you can snap your fingers, but back then no one looked askance. It's a shame the park was not renovated in the 1980s. It was such a historic park. A living part of baseball history went with it.

[@wewin03]

Alternate ending has kid mauled to death by guard dogs

[@wadegarrett2053]

wewin03 I have a better ending. after leaving comiskey park, he takes a wrong turn and ends up at the Robert Taylor homes where he is robbed, raped, and severely beaten. the end.

[@dominicdefilippo9877]

brutal, but funny as hell!

[@jonnydanger7181]

wewin03 I laughed

[@brucecarlevato8061]

This film seems a bit strange. The old Comiskey film is definitely real but the film of the boy looks to be current. Anyone else get that impression?

[@charlessmith263]

Who was that gatecrasher in that movie who acted the part?

[@parkman35]

Peter Sandquist

[@lalathebenificent1335]

My grandpa sold peanuts there!

[@kevinmiller6380]

Bet that kid had fun making this video. Wonder if he got paid for it?

[@mariocisneros911]

The park looked the same in the 70's , till they put a new scoreboard in 83 or around than

[@davidlafleche1142]

This is nothing. In 1961, the Montreal Canadiens were about to lose a playoff series against the Chicago Blackhawks. This meant the Canadiens had to give up possession of the Stanley Cup immediately. Canadiens fan Ken Kielander was so upset, he ran to the arena lobby, broke into the display case, and tried to steal the Stanley Cup. Of course, Chicago's Finest busted him on the spot. In court, the judge asked Kielander, "What were you thinking?" He answered, "I just wanted to bring the Stanley Cup back where it belongs!"

[@rogerlambert9316]

Who really gives a rat's rump about the NHL? After all the lockouts, Monkey Boy's DONE with the NHL. I'd rather watch 2 Girls, 1 Cup, then follow the NHL. NHL sucks donkeys!

[@jamespicklehead5610]

In the modern version he's killed by gunshots.

[@brianwilliams5662]

Way before he ever gets into the park

[@wadegarrett2053]

he takes a wrong turn and ended up at the Robert Taylor Homes where he is robbed, raped, and brutally beaten.

[@kevinmiller6380]

There was no Game 7 of the 1959 World Series; Sox lost in 6.

[@gmaneis]

Too bad they couldn't have used Vince Lloyd or Jack Brickhouse. Bob Elson was a pathetic Yankee fan doing Sox games, but at least for this film, he upped his normally zombie excitement level about 100 notches.

[@brianwilliams5662]

They could have picked a kid that actually played sports. When he was on the mound he threw like a girl.

[@rogerlambert9316]

The toughest pitcher that I ever faced in Little League, was a girl named Darcy Page.