After a miracle for Chicago Cubs fans occurred last weekend on the hallowed ground of Wrigley Field, the nation’s second-oldest major league ballpark—a World Series game between the Cubs and the Cleveland Indians under the lights of the Friendly Confines—the Cubs have now ended their championship drought, winning the World Series in an incredible extra-inning finish.
It’s not hard to see how Wrigley, a classic ballpark built in 1914 on Chicago’s north side, earned such a congenial nickname: intimate seating, ivy-covered outfield walls, an iconic hand-operated scoreboard designed by Holabird & Root, and mobs of fans packed in the outfield bleachers combine to create the platonic ideal of live baseball.
But the blessing of Wrigley Field extends far beyond the field. Writer George Will observed that for many years, fans had to accept that “Wrigley Field is lovelier than the game played on its field.”
