When I revisited my hometown of Chicago after a long absence, there were two places I had to revisit. One was the beautiful Buckingham Fountain, and the other one was Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team.
I went to this baseball ground many times as a boy and a man. I always had a fabulous time there. Every time I go back it brings memories of my youth.
Wrigley Field is one of baseball’s oldest parks, built in 1914 as a 14,000 seat park. It is beautiful with ivy growing on the outfield walls. It seats over 41,000 now, after many years of adding seats. It was named Wrigley Field after the chewing gum man who bought the club in 1920.
One of its distinctive features is a hand-operated scoreboard, which is 30 feet by 75 feet. In this electronic age, Wrigley Field remains one of baseball’s most old-fashioned parks.
I can remember going to the park, one day, with my friends when I was 10 years old. We would take our baseball mitts just in case a foul ball came our way. At the “Seventh Inning Stretch” everyone gets on their feet and sings, `’Take Me Out To The Ballgame”. It’s a great atmosphere!
I remember one incident vividly. After the game, kids would wait for an hour or so for the players to come out of the dressing room and we would get autographs of our heroes.
Well, this particular time, we caught up with Hank Sauer, a big home run hitter at the time. He was the first player to hit three homers in one game off of the same pitcher!
My friend and I went up to him and he was like a giant compared to us. We probably looked like a couple of waifs!
“Will you sign our scorecards and shake our hands, please?” I said, timidly.
He looked down at us and said, “Lets see your hands.”
We turned our hands palms up.
He looked and said, “They’re too dirty!” Then he walked away.
That remark left us standing there with our mouths open!
Needless to say, we changed our allegiance to a more affable player. This memory still makes me smile today.
So whenever I get back to the “Windy City”, I have to see a ballgame at good old Wrigley Field.
Oh, DAVE! I loved this piece! I love evocative prose that takes one to another time and place, I swear I could hear the sounds of the game, hear the singing and smell the “dawgs.”
The scoreboard, is that the one they nicknamed “The Green Monster?”
Living my entire life in small town west Texas, I have never been to anything like that. Other than high school and a few college games, I have never even been to any kind of sporting even other than football (the American variety, of course, have never seen the other style) and I was playing in most of those. I do love the SOUNDS in a stadium, though. The sounds and the smells of the hotdogs and popcorn etc,
Thanks for posting this, it took me back in time and that is what good writing is supposed to do; carry the reader away to a dream world or back to another time and place.
Your piece reminded me of my own childhood. Although my ball game was what the Americans call Soccer. I can still smell the burger bars and smell of ale sweeping onto the pavements of Liverpool as we made our way towards Anfield, donning our red scarfs and hats. Men, women, children of all races brought together as One in the name of a sport.
To J.L.
A couple of years ago I revisited Chicago and went to a Cubs game. I had beer and hot dogs with everything on it (piccalilli, onions and mustard). These dogs are the jumbo variety! We yell at the opposition and cheer for the Cubs. Great Stuff!
My friend Rose said:
“Many years have passed since I visited my hometown of NYC. Central Park, most treasured, secondly a visit/tour of childhood haunts and all the places my family and I lived…
Never ventured across the pond! Today my hairstylist was telling me abt her recent trip to NY….
I’ll have to make do w/ Sinatra …..{^_^}
I tend to talk about the past a lot, it is surprising that you wrote this type of blog.
I loved your story totally. I felt like I was there with you. Great writing, I only hope
I will be able to express myself as well.