Wrigley Field through the years *Before and After*

[@saints093]

That’s a true ballpark that will NEVER be torn down, the Cubs will be playing there for many many many more years and many more memories to come at Wrigley Field

[@rwboa22]

Same with Fenway Park for the Red Sox. You just can't tear down these historic and iconic landmarks.

[@scottyleitch3214]

@@rwboa22 there are a few others that should have NEVER been torn down

[@genoaoak]

From the weeds on the outfield walls, to the pee troughs, Wrigley is a dump. It will need to be demolished soon.

[@saints093]

Wrigley Field will NEVER be torn down, and the ballpark is FAR FROM BEING A DUMP, nobody calls Wrigley Field a dump, NOBODY!!!!!!😡

[@jeremywj]

Agree... but technically it has been torn down. Very little of the original park is actually still there. I guess just enough to make the claim that it is still the original Wrigley.

[@cheez6934]

I’m biased and I’ll name Fenway and Dodger 2 &3 of the current best parks all time however Wrigley is always gonna be the special place in my heart! May it forever live on!

[@RRaquello]

One correction is that while everyone knows it was originally built as Weeghman Park for the Federal League Chicago Whales, when the Federal League was basically bought out by MLB after the 1916 season, part of the settlement was that Wales owner Charles Weeghman was allowed to buy the Chicago Cubs as compensation for losing his Federal League team (this also happened in St. Louis where the owner of the St. Louis FL team, Phil Ball, ended up buying the St. Louis Browns & Sportsman's Park). PK Wrigley didn't become Cubs owner till the 1920's, when it finally became Wrigley Field.

[@joeycool44]

RRaquello... Very nice. One correction....William Wrigley took control of the team in the 1920's. PK Wrigley, or Phil Wrigley, was his son and took control upon his fathers death in the 1930's.

[@XxmetalHeadxX88]

What's unique about Wrigley Field is that it's one of the hardest fields to hit a home run, despite it not being the biggest stadium in MLB.

[@OldRustySteele]

Mostly depends on the time of year and weather conditions. On a warm summer day, it’s a hitter’s park as the winds come out of the west & southwest. In the spring and in late September when it is cooler, it can be a pitcher’s park. Also, unlike most Midwest MLB parks, you can get an occasional summer day where it’s cool and the wind comes off Lake Michigan from the east, making it a pitcher’s park on those days. So, it’s a real mixed bag at Wrigley! (Same holds true for Guaranteed Rate Field for the White Sox, although the higher grandstand seems to somewhat reduce the wind effects compared to Wrigley.)

[@gregorykrug8034]

@@OldRustySteele I had relatives who went to a Wrigley Field game several decades ago. The story goes that the temperature dropped more than fifty degrees over the course of the game. (I am not sure how accurate the story is, but I can believe it.)

[@DrSkull1939]

Let me tell you about the White Sox of 2005. They along with the Tigers destroyed the Cubs in 2005 with the Homer. It's very easy to hit a Home run at Wrigley Field when the Wind is blowing hard from the South. Barry Bonds in 2008 had no Problem with that(😅). Chris Carpenter was another Cubs killer. When that wind blows out you can expect lots of homers. Remember that Ryan Sandberg game of 1984? I couldn't believe how nice a guy he was and respecting the fans and a worker at Wrigley Field like me. Kerry Wood was another great guy. He always had time to say hello and gave fans autographs.

[@DrSkull1939]

However, you are correct. In April early May, home runs are few

[@OldRustySteele]

@@gregorykrug8034 Hi Greg, I grew up in STL and lived in suburban CHI in the late '80's and early '90's. My first game at Wrigley was July 20, 1989. Was OK in the west burbs where I lived, probably high 60's, but was 52 F at game time at Wrigley. Was drizzling with brisk wind off The Lake. No jacket, only shorts. Brrrr..... In late July in STL, you never worry about being cold. You worry about roasting, especially in the previous Busch Stadium, the concrete donut where there was no wind and the heat could be stifling! That said, Wrigley Field -- AND -- the OLD Comiskey Park were great places to watch baseball. I particularly liked Old Comiskey -- it had that down 'n' dirty, old school baseball feel.

[@TheBricksAndIvyArchive]

Wrigley Field is the last ballpark still in existence where Jackie Robinson played a game.

[@bebobebo4407]

Did he also ever played at Fenway Park?

[@brandonneumann5294]

@@bebobebo4407no interleague play wasn’t invented until 1997. They could only play American League teams if they met in the World Series

[@jonpike9991]

I saw a game there once in 2000. Cubs vs Giants. Got an autograph from Chip Carry. I remember coming from school the Cubs would be on WGN.

[@gregthegroove]

I was there for 2016 WS Game 3. I’m born from Chicago. Huge fan. Wouldn’t miss it for the world. $1800. And worth every penny. I’ve been going there since I was a kid in the 80s. We always sat Bleachers. My older cuz worked as a vendor and I got free ice cream and hot dogs all day long! We lived about 10 mins away, I could ride my bike there and ball hawk and play catch behind on Waveland Ave. Nothing beats the day game vibe, grab your glove, throw sunflower seeds in your pocket and go watch a game for a few bucks back in the 80s. It’s Disney today but still special.

[@elwoodblues6663]

you are correct the difference with the winds are because of the big signs and boards and seats on top of the buildings. i lived 2 blocks away as a child and i can tell you when that wind was blowing in you couldnt hit it out of there with a rocket launcher. and when it was blowing out pop ups were leaving the yard

[@OldRustySteele]

Here’s a great trivia question for baseball history loonies like me: “Where was the first Wrigley Field?” It was in Los Angeles! Chicago’s Wrigley Field was built earlier, but originally called Weeghman Field. Cubs owner Phil Wrigley (the chewing gum magnate) purchased the team and the stadium and renamed it Cubs Park. A few years later, Wrigley had a new stadium built in LA for the Cubs’ minor league club in 1925 and it was called Wrigley Field. Meanwhile, in Chicago, Cubs Park was not renamed Wrigley Field until 1927.

[@marblox9300]

As a former NW Side Chicago resident I'm OK with all the renovations except hiding the old school warm up mounds. But those 2 huge added scoreboards are too much and they drown out the classic scoreboard.

[@kapturedbyj_]

I just took a trip to Boston for memorial day weekend, and got to visit Fenway on a tour, next stadium is Wrigley... Amazing video, man!

[@marblox9300]

There was something special about only playing day games.

[@rickieg9870]

Greatest stadium in baseball

[@noone-ft9lw]

Growing up in the 80's and coming home from school and watching the cubs was a thing. Fuck lights

[@TheBrooklynbodine]

There was a country song from 1981 titled "Don't Wait on Me" by the Statler Brothers. They were singing to a woman with whom they wanted nothing more to do with. One of the lines was "When the lights go on at Wrigley Field, I'll be coming home to you.' With the advent of lights, the song was updated, and they made the lyrics about Wrigley Field getting a dome. A dome would be the ultimate sacrilege. i'm a Yankee fan (don't hate me!), but there are some things you just don't change.

[@DrSkull1939]

I worked for the Cubs for 4 years. I was there when the old bleachers ended in 2005 and when they had the walking area in back of the bleachers along with that restaurant behind the Ivy in 2006. Yes I had to go in that middle area to get a home run ball out. Gave it to a kid on many occasions. Oh yeah, I was there for the Jimmy Buffett Concert in 2005 and Sting was next. That old field in 2005 was really bad. They got a new field in 2006.

[@alanzemsky7695]

Great video! I do miss the tiny scoreboard under the centerfield one. They took it away once the two new ones were put up, when you are watching a game it’s very hard to see basic stats like balls strikes and outs etc. that mini board used to help with that stuff too.

[@areyoufriendly]

I like the new scoreboards, but when I need to know the count, outs, and score my eyes dart directly to the old scoreboard. It’s like once you’re used to it, that’s the only way, even with the additions.

[@chalesgolding5314]

You are 100% spot on D.G. with regard to the wind at Wrigley Field , the jet stream has made a dramatic shift over the last 15 years and is now settled over central Kentucky ; may sound crazy but it’s true. Sidebar , I hate those giant video boards ….

[@donkraemer50]

One of the quirks for football is they always have the offense going towards the same endzone. So when possession changes they turn the teams around.

[@zachlafleur6651]

That was before they remodeled the lower deck and made a few sections retractable behind third base as well as the Cubs dugout being removable for football as well. Anyhow, the football field as laid out for the Northwestern Wildcats goes in the complete opposite direction as it compared to when the Bears played there up to the 1970 season. It was a really tight fit for them back then as well, with the corner of the south end zone going into the visiting team's dugout which had to have padding put up on its back wall and possibly the floor and bench. In fact, the north end zone was up against the left field wall back then as well. Bronko Nigurski once said to his head coach George Halas that the last guy gave me quite a lick when charging through the line and ending up hitting his leather helmeted head on the left field wall during a scoring play!

[@al1976-v7m]

One of those corks, as DG would say

[@zachlafleur6651]

As far as I know the NFL Cardinals when they were based in Chicago never played football at Wrigley Field. Instead, they played at the larger capacity old Comiskey Park from 1929-59 before moving to Sportsman's Park in St. Louis in 1960. However, the Chicago Bears played football on Wrigley Field from 1921-70 even though they had the far larger and much more football appropriat demensionally Soldier Field since 1924 on the lakefront.

[@randomcub922]

That is actually the reason the Bears have that name. They named themselves after their landlords but figured football players were bigger than baseball players. So they went with Bears over Cubs. The bears logo is the old Cubs logo but orange instead of red

[@zachlafleur6651]

@RandomCub True, they had moved in from Decatur, IL where they started out playing in the NFL as the Staleys and changed their team name to the Bears for just that reason that you stated.

[@DrSkull1939]

The wind isn't as crazy as it was in the 1970's The weather was pretty wild in Chicago from 1976 to about 1984. In 1983 we had a massive summer Heatwave after years of very cold winters

[@tcdahn7]

Don't mess with perfection.

[@DFC-d1d]

Wrigley Field is a major contributing factor the Cubs have suffered so many losing seasons over the last century +. Playing all day games until 1988 was a disadvantage for the Cub players. With Chicago’s night life, many players would show up hungover from the night before.

[@DrSkull1939]

I can tell you that the bar area around Wrigley field was/is tremendous. I met so many Stars. I can tell you that they hated Steve Garvey( 1984 Padres), Joe Morgan( Comments he made about the Cubs), the White Sox/ Brewers and the Fardinals 😅. Oh yeah, at that time Steve Hartman. Steve Garvey was very nice to me when talking to me. Those guys I grew up watching in the 1970's and 80's.

[@gymrat2647]

Great video of Wrigley and very interesting. Learning about the history of Wrigley

[@jnejdl95]

Wrigley Field is a Cathedral to baseball

[@the1stmikec]

Weeghman Park’s construction did not start in 1911 as the video claims at 0:23. It started March 4 1914 and was finished just 6 weeks later for the home opener April 23 1914. Source: Early Wrigley Field: Weeghman Park 1914-23 by Ron Selter in the 2007 Baseball Research Journal.

[@jimfischer63]

It was mentioned that Wrigley Field "moved the fences" in reference to the layout for the Northwestern football games. Please note: about 80 to 90 years ago, once the outfield fences were set at 355 down the left field line and 353 down the right field line, THE FENCES WERE NEVER MOVED.AGAIN. The reason that there is very little space in the east end zone is because they moved the INFIELD walls in recent years, adding three rows of seats closer to the field. So, foul territory was made slightly smaller, hence the fact that there is less room for a football grid. Those three new rows, since they're closer than row 1, have been named rows A, B, and C. Do not buy tickets in those rows. They actually sit lower than the field. Instead of looking straight out at the field, it feels like you are looking slightly UP at the field. A few years back, I shelled out a lot of money to sit in row A on the first base side. Trying to watch the game from that strange angle was unsettling.

[@MFPhoto1]

Two things you got wrong. The Whales were in Wrigley, then called Whales Park or Weeghman Park, for two seasons. Whales owner Charles Weeghman later purchased the Cubs and he, not Wrigley, move the team to the Northside.

[@scottyleitch3214]

no "alright guys" in the intro and I almost exited the video

[@thpisland2423]

This is one of your best videos

[@nishanthanarudsivam9427]

bro i just watched the documentary of saving wrigley on the cubs youtube page

[@janoswimpffen7305]

some confusion here; Wrigley Field Los Angelese was only built in the mid 1920s; Wrigley Field Chicago was originally called Weegham Field and was rename Wrigley in the 1920s. The Chicago Cardinals never called Wrigley home. They played at Comiskey Park until they left for St. Louis in the late 1950s. I'm an old fart (73) and grew up on the North Side. Would bike or take the L to games in the 1960s. Weekday "crowds" were rarely over 4,000, bleacher seats 75 cents, grandstands $1.25, box seats $3.50, hot dogs 25 cents. I can't even begin to desribe how different everything about the place was back then.

[@Sh00terMcGavinXL]

2050? Are you crazy? They're never going to tear down Wrigley Field

[@areyoufriendly]

10:38 He didn’t touch on this part of the renovation, and it’s quite impressive. Actually, the whole recent renovation is impressive. There’s a great 15 minute video on KZbin about it.

[@howardjohnson8831]

I have not been to Wrigley since they put in the lights.and I won't either.

[@hardlines4]

I miss the old Wrigley Field with the brick wall! I don’t care for the new renovation whatsoever!

[@mariocisneros911]

Better looking with 1 scoreboard on top of the bleachers . Not 2 more added

[@jesusm2159]

Great stadium 🏟

[@markprad]

Wrigley has the worst restrooms in the MLB. 😅😅

[@jesusm2159]

Zachary smart unlike current designers

[@sirchi8731]

👉🏿 this is a message to all teams that have a stadium get it done right the first time with clever engineering and also in a good location therefore you never have to worry about Stadium politics

[@SeanSully5]

Greatest place to watch a baseball game

[@iZipTiedMyPenisToABrick]

Oracle Park >

[@mrnosaj71]

I do hate the cubs but Wrigley Field is a rare gem. A gift of the past.

[@bobbowie9350]

Love the classic aspects of Wrigley but its a really boring ballpark. Sadly the better ones werent saved

[@alanzemsky7695]

Also I do wish they would modernize some of the stands too like you had mentioned before. There are massive poles in the lower stands which really block views if you are sitting close to them.

[@WindyCityHawkey]

It's Friday at 1:20pm not 2:20

[@DebitAdams]

Maybe in his timezone it is 2:20

[@johnalbertson79]

He explained the timezone difference.

[@GamesNewsGuy2017]

I just realized it doesn’t add to 2023 it adds to 2029 it has really existed for 106 years😅

[@alextheisen7166]

Go Cubs!

[@maureencora1]

Go Cubs!

[@chiHAWKShky]

Lol thats not the new clubhouse design you just threw in one of the proposals that wasn’t picked

[@ryankothrade3567]

Lambeau field next please

[@sethland]

Haha.. tear it down in 2050? If you want to troll, put a video of “leaked renderings” of a proposed dome, luxury boxes, and outfield fun zone.

[@Icemaskgang]

Once a dump, always a dump

[@Hannah-lq2ps]

Hater

[@neuman35]

This guys spouts a lot of non-sense. They never moved in the fences. They moved the infield walls to create more seating along the foul lines.

[@timothygingras7950]

Most is very good and interesting, but the narrator said some things that were flat wrong. Maybe it's his youth. I grew up within blocks of Wrigley, and have been a life-long fan of the team and the facility. The voice needs to learn decibel and "ONE TONE" discipline. As I listen and write this, you keep saying things that are totally improved, and not correct. I saw Bears play there. Gosh, this narrative is terrible. Shame.

[@timothygingras7950]

PS: Just call Wrigley Field a wonderful "National Antique".

[@jesusm2159]

No keep it

[@Xxxomar880]

Wrigley field needs more design too and add new design too it getting old too 😂

[@Dr._Kołaczki]

We're still better.

[@brendobiscuit8]

Keep telling yourself that pal

[@Hannah-lq2ps]

When people elsewhere around the country think baseball in Chicago, they think Wrigley Field....

[@Redsox3600]

You do a great job and stadiums are my favorite. However, you are good enough to make better transitions at the end of you vids. Lol. Keep up the great work! We should do some games and tours for your channel?

[@telexanave2644]

There’s nothing in baseball like a Wrigley bleacher game