Durbin Recognizes 100th Birthday of Wrigley Field
[WASHINGTON, DC] – In a statement for the Senate record, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) yesterday recognized the 100th birthday of Wrigley Field, the second oldest Major League ball park and oldest in the National League. Wrigley has been home to the Chicago Cubs since 1914, home to the Chicago Bears from 1921 to 1971, and has hosted a variety of sporting events and concerts over its 100 year history.
“From the ivy covered outfield walls to its hand turned score board to the bleachers and the marquee, you always know you’re at Wrigley Field. It was the last baseball stadium to have lights installed in 1988. It was the first stadium to have an organ playing music, and that music remains to this day. The first to build permanent concession stands. The first to have live broadcast of games,” Durbin said.
“Mr. President, it is with great pride that I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 100th anniversary of one of America’s greatest landmarks, Wrigley Field. Holy Cow, what a ride it has been for such a wonderful place at 1060 W. Addison in Chicago, Illinois.”
The full text of Senator Durbin’s statement for the record is below:
Senator Richard Durbin
Statement for the Record
April 29, 2014
Recognizing 100 Years With Wrigley Field
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 100th birthday of an American Icon: Wrigley Field. As the second oldest Major League ball park and oldest in the National League, Wrigley Field has hosted millions of fans and easily earned its nickname, The Friendly Confines.
On April 23rd, 1914, it opened its doors not to the Chicago Cubs and it wasn’t even called Wrigley Field. It was called Weeghman Park, and the Chicago Chifeds of the short lived Federal League played there. The Chicago Cubs moved into their home in1916.
From the ivy covered outfield walls to its hand turned score board to the bleachers and the marquee, you always know you’re at Wrigley Field. It was the last baseball stadium to have lights installed in 1988. It was the first stadium to have an organ playing music, and that music remains to this day. The first to build permanent concession stands. The first to have live broadcast of games. And, while some dispute whether Wrigley was the first place to allow fans to keep the balls hit into the stands, it certainly is where the custom began of throwing back the opponent’s homerun balls.
Wrigley hasn’t always been home to the Cubs exclusively. The Decatur Staleys moved to play football there in 1921. You know them today as the Chicago Bears and from 1921 to 1970, Wrigley was their home too. And the reason they’re called the Bears is because the Cubs were already playing there. Wrigley has hosted soccer matches, concerts, and even a National Hockey League game. The first All-American Girls Professional Baseball League’s first All Star Game during the 1943 midseason was played at Wrigley Field. They brought in temporary lights for that game.
The Wrigley experience means people come to have fun at the game and be involved in the game. It was as true in 1920 as it is today. Generations of kids have come to Wrigley to watch their first ballgame in the same seat their parents and grandparents watched theirs. For Cubs fans, the ballpark is a community as much as a place where baseball is played. Wrigley Field is surrounded by small businesses that depend on the community. Fans go every day by foot, by bicycle, by train or by car into the neighborhood known as “Wrigleyville” to see the Chicago Cubs play at their treasure of a stadium.
And they have seen legends. On June 26, 1920, a 17 year old high school player hit a game winning grand slam completely out of the park when his New York School of Commerce team played Chicago’s Lane Tech High School. That was Lou Gehrig. Babe Ruth’s called shot? It was at Wrigley Field in 1932 in the World Series. It’s still debated. My boyhood hero, St. Louis Cardinal Stan Musial, recorded his 3000th hit in Wrigley. In fact it has been said that the visiting club house has had more Hall of Famers in one room than any other facility that exists in sports.
It is not just those visiting Wrigley that made the memories, but those we claim as our own. Harry Caray was an announcer for decades but it was at Wrigley Field where he became a legend with his dark framed glasses, joviality, and his singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” with the crowd. It’s a tradition still carried today. Ernie Banks’ boundless energy and joy for the game, “Let's play two!" Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, Hack Wilson, Andre Dawson, Kerry Wood and so many others are beloved for their time playing for the Cubs in The Friendly Confines.
“There is always next year,” a phrase too often uttered by Cubs fans, could just as easily be a promise that our field, Wrigley Field, is as much a part of the future as it is our past.
Mr. President, it is with great pride that I ask my Colleagues to join me in celebrating the 100th anniversary of one of America’s greatest landmarks, Wrigley Field. Holy Cow, what a ride it has been for such a wonderful place at 1060 W. Addison in Chicago, Illinois.