Opened: 1914
Capacity: 41,160
What the authors say: ”Wrigley still offers a strikingly similar environment to the one it provided at its debut in 1914. Sure, it has been renovated to add more seats and there are lights now, but the fact remains that a JumboTron remains conspicuously absent.”
Learned from the book:
• Baseball innovator Bill Veeck is credited with planting the ivy in 1937 that grows on Wrigley’s outfield walls. Besides two types of ivy, eight potted Japanese elm trees were placed in the bleachers, but when they began to shed their leaves onto the field they were removed.
• The Cubs were all ready to put up lights for night games in 1942 when team owner Philip Wrigley decided to contribute the steel light standards to the war effort. Wrigley became the last team to begin night baseball games in 1988.
• Among the reasons cited for Wrigley’s reputation as a home run hitter’s park: winds that often blow toward left field; hot summer days that provide struck balls with more carry; and many daytime games that are ideal for a hitter’s vision.
• A popular tradition started at Wrigley is flying team pennants on six flagpoles in the order of current divisional standings.
• Another popular Wrigley tradition, begun by broadcaster Harry Caray in 1982, is to have celebrities lead the crowd in singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
• Part of Wrigley’s appeal is its genuine lack of modern amenities. Live organ music, rather than programmed soundtracks, keeps the atmosphere charmingly old-timey.
