Wrigley Field Celebrates 100th Anniversary with Oral History Book

Courtesy of Stewart, Tabori and Chang.

An oral history book, written by Ira Berkow, was released to mark the 100th anniversary of the Friendly Confines, Wrigley Field.

Originally published February 5, 2014 at Fansided Radio:

This spring marks the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Cubs longtime home, Wrigley Field. As such award-winning sportswriter Ira Berkow is out with a new book, Wrigley Field: An Oral and Narrative History of the Home of the Chicago Cubs. Josh Noel contributes with special interview reporting. Former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood, not the iconic Ernie Banks, writes the foreword while U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens pens the preface.

At 100 years old, Wrigley Field is one of the few ballparks still standing at its age along with the Boston Red Sox home, Fenway Park. It’s hard to imagine the world of baseball without Wrigley, no matter what one’s feelings are about the Chicago Cubs. There’s a respect for the history at Wrigley, even if it is cursed by a billy goat being denied entrance to the park.

It’s hard to believe that it only took six weeks to construct the park in 1914 but it’s true. While it was originally built for a Federal League team, it became the Cubs’ home in 1916.

Even though the fans are loveable losers for supporting a team that hasn’t been to the World Series since 1945 and haven’t won a championship since before man’s first flight, they still come. Win or lose, they are always there to root for the Cubbies. No matter how many pennants get blown or standout players traded, they are there.

Some of the things that are covered include the 1932 World Series in which Babe Ruth called his shot, how Ernie Banks became the Cubs’ first African-American ballplayer in 1954, the sixty year reign of the Wrigley family, losing the NL pennant in 1969 to the New York Mets, the loss to the San Diego Padres in the 1984 NLCS (with a World Series trip on the line, the Cubs lost three straight games after taking a 2-0 lead in the series), the long holdout for installing lights, and the Steve Bartman catch in the 2003 NLCS against the Florida Marlins.

Least we forget how the Cubs watched the Boston Red Sox take home a World Series in 2004 to end their 86-year curse. A year later, interleague rival Chicago White Sox do the same after 88 years. Not to make it any better for Cubs fans, the St. Louis Cardinals would do the same in 2006.

There are so many classic photos that add to the history while celebrities add their own memories. With lyrical prose and humor, Berkow has a hit on his hands as he takes readers back 100 years.

Fans from all over the country have made a pilgrimage to “the friendly confines” at one point or another. This baseball fan did so in 2005 during a two-game baseball vacation.

Over a number of years, Wrigley has played host to Hack Wilson, Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, Greg Maddux, and Sammy Sosa, to name a few. In the future, Wrigley will play home to the likes of Kris Bryant, the Arizona Fall League MVP and likely face of the Cubs future.