Wrigleyville: Past, Present, and Future

[doublem23]

Really, really interesting read...

http://arcchicago.blogspot.com/2013/...p-scaling.html

[MUsoxfan]

That was a great read. Thanks Doub

[tebman]

That really was good. I can remember the 1965 scene he described and I've joked that the Tribune after 1984 and Ricketts now have been gradually turning the place into a Disneyland simulation of a neighborhood. It would be a real shame if those small buildings got swallowed up to build a mall/hotel.

The street-fair thing isn't necessarily a bad idea. Those streets are pretty much impassable on game days anyway. But killing off the little busnesses would be a mistake. It really is a game of follow the money, and who knows how it'll turn out.

[LITTLE NELL]

Very good and can relate to a lot of it. First of all after being born on the Southside in 1946 we moved to the 900 block of west Dakin St about 4 blocks north of the ballpark in 1950. I went to LeMoyne grammar school for 2 years which is just 2 blocks east of the park on Addison st. First time I stepped in Wrigley was around 1951 for a Rodeo, I remember that The Cisco Kid and Poncho were the star attraction of the show. We moved to Rogers Park in 1953 and saw my first game at Wrigley in 1955 against the Cards. It was about 2 weeks after my first Sox game at Comiskey, both games were on bus rides from the YMCA. As a youngster starting when I was 11 years old my friends and I took in many games at Wrigley because of day baseball and it was easy to get to from Rogers Park on the El. Not once did I root for the Flubs. We could sit anywhere in those days, bought a General Admission ticket for a buck and would be sitting in the box seats by the 4th inning. All the games I went to the upper deck was always closed except for one game against the Braves around 1958. 1962 came along and I got a job as a vendor at all the sports venues in Chicago, Wrigley was horrible, was lucky if I made 7 bucks while at Sox park I could haul down 20 bucks with a little bit of hustle. Not once in those days did I ever dream that Wrigley and the neighborhood would turn into a Cash Cow and a must destination for visitors to Chicago. Last game I saw at Wrigley was 1985 and needed a baseball fix so I took my son to a game on the train from Wheaton to the loop and then the EL and saw the Cubs lose another one to the Cards.
The one thing about Wrigley that I loved was that it was a great place to watch the Bears, hardly missed a game there from 1959 to 1962. You were right on top of the action as they put up those temp seats in right field and the field was really squeezed in running north to south. The end zones were only 8 yards instead of the normal 10.
Hope I didn't bore anyone to death but I do have some fond memories of the dump and thought I would pass them along.

[Noneck]

Originally Posted by LITTLE NELL

Very good and can relate to a lot of it. First of all after being born on the Southside in 1946 we moved to the 900 block of west Dakin St about 4 blocks north of the ballpark in 1950. I went to LeMoyne grammar school for 2 years which is just 2 blocks east of the park on Addison st. First time I stepped in Wrigley was around 1951 for a Rodeo, I remember that The Cisco Kid and Poncho were the star attraction of the show. We moved to Rogers Park in 1953 and saw my first game at Wrigley in 1955 against the Cards. It was about 2 weeks after my first Sox game at Comiskey, both games were on bus rides from the YMCA. As a youngster starting when I was 11 years old my friends and I took in many games at Wrigley because of day baseball and it was easy to get to from Rogers Park on the El. Not once did I root for the Flubs. We could sit anywhere in those days, bought a General Admission ticket for a buck and would be sitting in the box seats by the 4th inning. All the games I went to the upper deck was always closed except for one game against the Braves around 1958. 1962 came along and I got a job as a vendor at all the sports venues in Chicago, Wrigley was horrible, was lucky if I made 7 bucks while at Sox park I could haul down 20 bucks with a little bit of hustle. Not once in those days did I ever dream that Wrigley and the neighborhood would turn into a Cash Cow and a must destination for visitors to Chicago. Last game I saw at Wrigley was 1985 and needed a baseball fix so I took my son to a game on the train from Wheaton to the loop and then the EL and saw the Cubs lose another one to the Cards.
The one thing about Wrigley that I loved was that it was a great place to watch the Bears, hardly missed a game there from 1959 to 1962. You were right on top of the action as they put up those temp seats in right field and the field was really squeezed in running north to south. The end zones were only 8 yards instead of the normal 10.
Hope I didn't bore anyone to death but I do have some fond memories of the dump and thought I would pass them along.

Not bored at all and btw I hope you had a nice one today. Now my turn to put some to sleep.

Mid to late 60's my mother worked near belmont and clark so my father would pick her up from work. Sometimes I would go with him. On occasion if traffic was good my dad would stop at Henrys across from cubs park to get a shake. Sometimes we used to just drive around the park, when games werent being played. On occasion there were houses on waveland or sheffield for sale and the old man used to always say "Who the hell would want to live across the street from this park". I asked how much those houses cost, he said maybe 20-25k but he wouldnt give them 10. A keen eye for real estate the old man had.

[LITTLE NELL]

Originally Posted by Noneck

Not bored at all and btw I hope you had a nice one today. Now my turn to put some to sleep.

Mid to late 60's my mother worked near belmont and clark so my father would pick her up from work. Sometimes I would go with him. On occasion if traffic was good my dad would stop at Henrys across from cubs park to get a shake. Sometimes we used to just drive around the park, when games werent being played. On occasion there were houses on waveland or sheffield for sale and the old man used to always say "Who the hell would want to live across the street from this park". I asked how much those houses cost, he said maybe 20-25k but he wouldnt give them 10. A keen eye for real estate the old man had.

Your dad would not have been the only one, who would have thunk it.

[SI1020]

Originally Posted by LITTLE NELL

The one thing about Wrigley that I loved was that it was a great place to watch the Bears, hardly missed a game there from 1959 to 1962. You were right on top of the action as they put up those temp seats in right field and the field was really squeezed in running north to south. The end zones were only 8 yards instead of the normal 10.
Hope I didn't bore anyone to death but I do have some fond memories of the dump and thought I would pass them along.

Not boring at all. I mentioned the Clovis Indians in the thread about BP. I wouldn't doubt if that glazed a few eyeballs. I was wondering. Did you happen to go to the Bears/Steelers game on Dec. 6, 1959? Bears QB Ed Brown had a hot hand in the first half but the Steelers mounted a furious comeback in the second half and fell short 27-21.

Originally Posted by Noneck

Not bored at all and btw I hope you had a nice one today. Now my turn to put some to sleep.

Mid to late 60's my mother worked near belmont and clark so my father would pick her up from work. Sometimes I would go with him. On occasion if traffic was good my dad would stop at Henrys across from cubs park to get a shake. Sometimes we used to just drive around the park, when games werent being played. On occasion there were houses on waveland or sheffield for sale and the old man used to always say "Who the hell would want to live across the street from this park". I asked how much those houses cost, he said maybe 20-25k but he wouldnt give them 10. A keen eye for real estate the old man had.

The Lincoln Park neighborhood got the gentrificiation ball rolling on the lakefront north side in the late 60's. I seem to recall a Lerner newspaper article around 1973 that quoted a real estate agent saying it was only the beginning of the trend. He complained that he hadn't been ready for the initial wave but he would now be primed to take advantage in the future. In 1966 there was another Lerner paper article that stated if you had a home anywhere east of Western Ave your property values were sure to drop. My how things have changed. Most folks were like your dad and just didn't see it coming. This was in an era when middle class families were rocketing to the suburbs, and that is what most people were seeing. Decline almost everywhere.

Originally Posted by DumpJerry

Nice read, but Koufax had only nine saves in his career, odds are none of them were at Wiggley.



Typical Cub fans, they just don't know the game of baseball.

I was thinking it was a hypothetical written by someone weak in baseball history.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by DumpJerry

Nice read, but Koufax had only nine saves in his career, odds are none of them were at Wiggley.



Typical Cub fans, they just don't know the game of baseball.

Originally Posted by SI1020

I was thinking it was a hypothetical written by someone weak in baseball history.

The writer is undoubtedly referring to this, actual specific game... September 1965, 550 people in attendance, Koufax gets the save for the Dodgers:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...96509160.shtml

I'm going to guess he was one of those 550 and that the "hypotheticals" he's referring to actually happened.

**** guys, it's so easy to check this stuff.

[DumpJerry]

Nice read, but Koufax had only nine saves in his career, odds are none of them were at Wiggley.



Typical Cub fans, they just don't know the game of baseball.

[TheVulture]

Originally Posted by DumpJerry

Nice read, but Koufax had only nine saves in his career, odds are none of them were at Wiggley.



Typical Cub fans, they just don't know the game of baseball.

Definition of an invalid argument right there.