Chicago Cubs:
All eyes on Wrigley:
“With the Cubs advancing in the playoffs for the first time in 12 years and igniting hope that — at long last — a World Series title is in reach, the Friendly Confines are getting a rare moment on a big stage. The NL Championship Series shifts to Chicago for games 3 and 4 after the Mets grabbed the first two in New York over the weekend.
The Cubs had never clinched a playoff series at Wrigley Field until they knocked off St. Louis in the division series, and Tuesday’s Game 3 is the latest the Cubs have ever played a game in the ballpark. They lost at home to Philadelphia on Oct. 23, 1910, giving the Athletics the World Series in five games. But back then, the Cubs played at the old West Side Park. And they were a mere two years removed from winning their last World Series.
Wrigley Field did not open until 1914, two years after Fenway, and the Cubs did not start playing there until 1916. Over the years, it has hosted everything from boxing to soccer to pro wrestling to the circus to the rodeo and college football and even ski jumping.
The ballpark might be viewed as a throwback, but it has been a trailblazer, too: It was the first to let the fans keep foul balls. It was the first with organ music. And it was the first to be cleaned up in an effort to attract women and children.”
The Associated Press, “Spotlight on Wrigley Field as NLCS arrives in Chicago,” October 20, 2015