Wrigley Field
Host to a great pitching duel
Wrigley, built for a mere quarter of a million dollars in 1914, is the only Federal League ballpark still in use. It was known as North Side Ballpark and then Weeghman Park. When the Federal League -- rival to the American and National Leagues -- folded in 1916, Chicago Whales owner Charlie Weeghman bought the Cubs and moved them from the West Side Grounds to what is now Wrigley.
The field got its current moniker in honor of chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr., who bought the team from Weeghman a few years later.
The Cubs may have been a bit disappointing earlier this season, but Wrigley has seen more than its share of baseball magic. Take the 1932 World Series -- New York's Yankees vs. the Cubbies. The legendary Babe Ruth at the plate, facing Chicago's Charlie Root on the mound. The Bambino gestures to the outfield ... and slams Root's next pitch into the bleachers.
Wrigley also hosted one of the most famous pitching duels in baseball history: In 1917, pitchers Jim Vaughn and the Cincinnati Reds' Fred Toney battled through nine innings -- each carrying a no-hitter -- before the Reds' legendary Olympian Jim Thorpe cracked the game's only hit, knocking in the game's only run.
For 6,852 games, baseball's lazy afternoon tradition was king at Wrigley. But facing a threat from baseball officials worried about television revenue, the lights came on for night games. The first, with the Philadelphia Phillies, was rained out after three innings in August 1988.
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