Old Comiskey Park

[J.R.]

There is no need to get into whether most of the fans at Wrigley are baseball fans or just going to the tourist attraction/beer garden.

The atmosphere at Wrigley is what it is precisely because so many passionate baseball fans are there. Why is it that those in the North park instinctively know when to cheer, while those in the South park look to the scoreboard for instructions?

The Cubs have better fans, in Wrigley or on the road, period.

[monkeypants]

k.

Can you give me a better analogy for the most 'important' structures in America?

I'll not respond to all of your many, many, many posts individually. I would say that anyone who thinks that an old ballpark is the historic or architectural equivalent of one of of the greatest gothic cathedrals in Europe is using a different scale than I, and the conversation will have to end here with an agreement to disagree. Likewise, I would question anyone's conclusion that Brigg's/Tiger's stadium now or ever was one of the most "important" structures in America. Finally, if the number of visitors is the measure of "importance" (architectural, historical), then multiplex movie theaters and shopping malls are as "important," yet I would have a hard time placing those structures on par with (to name just a few off the top of my head) the cathedral at Chartres, or the Colosseum, or St. Patrick's cathedral in NYC, or the Chrysler building or Falling Water, or any other number of truly significant structures in the USA and the rest of the world.

I do not want to see old stadiums torn down and replaced, especially when they are beloved and remain viable structures. But frankly, I find some of the comparisons and rapturous prose a bit silly.

[Philtration]

The atmosphere at Wrigley is what it is precisely because so many passionate baseball fans are there. Why is it that those in the North park instinctively know when to cheer, while those in the South park look to the scoreboard for instructions?


What?
The Cub fans cheer when the camera is pointed at them while they tell whoever is on the other end of their cell phone "Whoooo! Look at me!"
Watch any Cubs home game on TV and see how much time is spent NOT showing the game.
Look at the fans.
Look at the roof tops across the street.
Look at the mailman walking down the sidewalk.
Look at the fire truck zooming away.
Look at the 3rd rate celebrity singing off key.
Look at the frat boys chatting about where they are going to eat later.
Look at that retarded Ronnie "woo-woo" scream for 3 straight hours.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/dsc00821_edited.jpg

[Sean O]

The atmosphere at Wrigley is what it is precisely because so many passionate baseball fans are there. Why is it that those in the North park instinctively know when to cheer, while those in the South park look to the scoreboard for instructions?

The Cubs have better fans, in Wrigley or on the road, period.

I'll preface this by saying I don't have a particular affinity for anything related to chicago except for pizza (which is the best, hands down, in the known universe).

However, Wrigley fans are anything but single-mindedly focused on the game. In all of the games I attended, the fans were only excited about 1). fans of opposing teams, so they can be heckled and accosted, 2). Latroy Hawkins, so they could boo him while he warmed up, and 3). the beer vendors. Wrigley is definitely a place to go for a party, not for in-depth baseball analysis, in my experience.

Now, I can't compare this to the White Sox, since there were never any fans there when I attended the (underrated) US Cell. Maybe if I attended a Cubs/Cards or Sox/Indians game it would've been different, but it didn't seem to be about baseball at either location.

[J.R.]

What?
The Cub fans cheer when the camera is pointed at them while they tell whoever is on the other end of their cell phone "Whoooo! Look at me!"
Watch any Cubs home game on TV and see how much time is spent NOT showing the game.
Look at the fans.
Look at the roof tops across the street.
Look at the mailman walking down the sidewalk.
Look at the fire truck zooming away.
Look at the 3rd rate celebrity singing off key.
Look at the frat boys chatting about where they are going to eat later.
Look at that retarded Ronnie "woo-woo" scream for 3 straight hours.

I didn't realize we were debating the merits of the Cubs' TV crew.

My point stands. Unlike 90% of MLB, the Cub fans don't need "MAKE NOISE NOW" signs to get Wrigley going, and these same fans make a lot of noise in ballparks other than the beloved beer garden.

[J.R.]

However, Wrigley fans are anything but single-mindedly focused on the game. In all of the games I attended, the fans were only excited about 1). fans of opposing teams, so they can be heckled and accosted, 2). Latroy Hawkins, so they could boo him while he warmed up, and 3). the beer vendors. Wrigley is definitely a place to go for a party, not for in-depth baseball analysis, in my experience.

You'd have booed Hawkins if he was on your team. What a POS.

These slobbering fratboys I keep hearing about (1) wouldn't have known who Hawkins was and (2) certainly wouldn't have cared enough about the Cubs to give a visiting fan a hard time.

There are plenty of people at your average Wrigley game who don't know squat about the game, just like any MLB park. I'll grant that there are more of these people than at other places because the Cubs' bandwagon is so big right now, but they aren't the majority. The people paying through the nose for seats in the UD and behind the poles certainly aren't doing it to "be seen."

[Philtration]

I didn't realize we were debating the merits of the Cubs' TV crew.

My point stands. Unlike 90% of MLB, the Cub fans don't need "MAKE NOISE NOW" signs to get Wrigley going, and these same fans make a lot of noise in ballparks other than the beloved beer garden.


I have never seen a "Make Noise Now" sign at U.S. Cellular or at Comiskey Park but the fans did make a lot of noise when they won the World Series.
I bet the Cub fans made a lot of noise when they won it all to...... 100 years ago.

I was not talking about the merits of the WGN TV crew. I was pointing out the fact that WGN, who just happens to be owned by the same people that own the Cubs, spends a lot of time selling Wrigley Field instead of showing the actual game.
They sell the ballpark and that is what brings the people who know nothing about the game out to see it.
You call them Cub fans and I call them Wrigley fans. There is a difference.
If and when the Cubs finally move into a new place then watch the attendance drop by a million fans a year because they is nothing cute or interesting about losing baseball.

[skobabe8]

The atmosphere at Wrigley is what it is precisely because so many passionate baseball fans are there. Why is it that those in the North park instinctively know when to cheer, while those in the South park look to the scoreboard for instructions?

The Cubs have better fans, in Wrigley or on the road, period.

This has absolutely nothing to do with a thread about Old Comiskey Park. :noidea

[skobabe8]

I'm really surprised that the poster who loved Comiskey complained about the neighborhood around Tiger Stadium...I used to hang around Tiger before and after games, I NEVER would have done that around Comiskey. When you left Comiskey at night, there were police about every 50 feet between the park and the subway...believe me, they were needed. It wasn't exactly nice around Tiger, but not nearly as bad as around Comiskey.
The story of Comerica is an example of the right way to replace an aging, unpleasant stadium...that of the Cell or whatever it's called now is an example of the wrong way. Hard to believe, but they built something worse than that smelly, nasty, rotting heap that used to be on the South Side of Chicago. We used to drive to Milwaukee to see the Sox rather than go to Comiskey. The contrast to Wrigley could hardly have been more extreme.

Can you be a little more specific about the time period you are talking about? I dont doubt the South Side of Chicago used to be unsafe, I just want to know what years you are basing it on. And it would be very difficult to say the same about that area today.

As far as Comerica being the 'right way' and the Cell being the 'wrong way', I think it was ALOT easier for the Tigers to follow what everyone else was doing. The White Sox were building the first baseball only venue in a looooong time back in 1990. Completely different situations.

[Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock]

1979 news footage of Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey. Some good shots of the old park.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpQfCcsqQ0E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfGOSyIaCVM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQjgiwr-wdw&feature=related

[banko]

I'll not respond to all of your many, many, many posts individually. I would say that anyone who thinks that an old ballpark is the historic or architectural equivalent of one of of the greatest gothic cathedrals in Europe is using a different scale than I, and the conversation will have to end here with an agreement to disagree. Likewise, I would question anyone's conclusion that Brigg's/Tiger's stadium now or ever was one of the most "important" structures in America. Finally, if the number of visitors is the measure of "importance" (architectural, historical), then multiplex movie theaters and shopping malls are as "important," yet I would have a hard time placing those structures on par with (to name just a few off the top of my head) the cathedral at Chartres, or the Colosseum, or St. Patrick's cathedral in NYC, or the Chrysler building or Falling Water, or any other number of truly significant structures in the USA and the rest of the world.

I do not want to see old stadiums torn down and replaced, especially when they are beloved and remain viable structures. But frankly, I find some of the comparisons and rapturous prose a bit silly.

k.

After this, I won't.

This forum remains the most popular on the site for a very good reason.

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Cathedrals-Ultimate-Celebrations-Ballparks/dp/0201622297

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qXkcPQUfJM

Of COURSE, they should tear-down Chartres.

It's dark, and 'danky'.

Replace it with a new venue...with luxury boxes for the 'eliite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Cathedral

Just let Don and I mourn.

As the 'temples' in which we spent our precious youth 'go to the wrecking ball'.

Someday, you will be old, too...and you will understand.

Just let us mourn.

Just let us mourn.

[banko]

P.S.

(Banko does his best Grandpa Simpson)

As a kid in Seattle, Thanksgiving was really boring.

All the stores were closed...and there were only three TV channels.

The 'highlight' of the day...aside from the feast...was the game at Briggs.

No Astroturf.

Mud...or snow.

Guys who would play for nothing.

No Jacuzzi's.

Again...just let us old folk mourn.

tia.

[monkeypants]

Someday, you will be old, too...and you will understand.

Just let us mourn.

Just let us mourn.

You have no idea how old I am.

In any case, indulge yourself if it makes you feel better.

[banko]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJqvzT8eeHM

[banko]

America has three cathedrals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4y9ml7VhlY&feature=related

One is being razed as we speak.

At 60...I 'cry like a baby'.

[banko]

You have no idea how old I am.

In any case, indulge yourself if it makes you feel better.

Old?

And emotionless?

k.

Better you than me.

[banko]

"We gather here to celebrate the life of Monkeypants.

He believed in air-conditioning."

[monkeypants]

Old?

And emotionless?

k.

Better you than me.

And now you deem that I am "emotionless." Ha-ha-ha! This is really entertaining. Carry on.

[CHiller]

...I don't have a particular affinity for anything related to chicago except for pizza (which is the best, hands down, in the known universe).

Except for one thing... it ain't pizza. Maybe that Chicago deep dish, sliced tomato concoction is tasty, but whatever it is, it ain't pizza. You want a real pizza, you gotta go to New York City, period, end of discussion.

[CHiller]

I was at Old Comiskey the season before they tore it down. It was truly like going back in time. The feeling of being surrounded by, or maybe even immersed, in the game was not duplicated in any of the ballparks I've been at. I sat in the lower deck beyond third base, in the old wooden seats a couple of rows above where they had replace the wooden seats with modern plastic seats. It's a pity they did not maintain the place, because I'll tell you, it was one of the most uncomfortable seats I've ever sat in. I'm 5'10 170 lbs, and I was squeezed on all sides. There was a pipe along the back of the row of seats in front of me right at knee height that cut into my kneecaps. I couldn't spread my legs apart to make more knee room because of the narrownesss of the seats. Were people smaller back then, or did they just not expect any level of comfort at a ballpark?

The bathrooms were unspeakable. They reeked of old urine. I could live with the trough style urinals, but the toilets were out in the open- no doors, no booths!

If Chicago and the Sox had wanted to invest the money to rehab the old place, maybe we'd still have another old survivors around. Too bad.

[Sean O]

Except for one thing... it ain't pizza. Maybe that Chicago deep dish, sliced tomato concoction is tasty, but whatever it is, it ain't pizza. You want a real pizza, you gotta go to New York City, period, end of discussion.

Well, all the NY and New Haven pizza i've had is totally tasteless, so I'll definitely take the Chicago brand. Even their thin crust is better.

Bacci's by Wrigley is the only thing I like about Wrigleyville, including Wrigley.

[Greg B.]

I was at Old Comiskey the season before they tore it down. It was truly like going back in time. The feeling of being surrounded by, or maybe even immersed, in the game was not duplicated in any of the ballparks I've been at. I sat in the lower deck beyond third base, in the old wooden seats a couple of rows above where they had replace the wooden seats with modern plastic seats. It's a pity they did not maintain the place, because I'll tell you, it was one of the most uncomfortable seats I've ever sat in. I'm 5'10 170 lbs, and I was squeezed on all sides. There was a pipe along the back of the row of seats in front of me right at knee height that cut into my kneecaps. I couldn't spread my legs apart to make more knee room because of the narrownesss of the seats. Were people smaller back then, or did they just not expect any level of comfort at a ballpark?

The bathrooms were unspeakable. They reeked of old urine. I could live with the trough style urinals, but the toilets were out in the open- no doors, no booths!

If Chicago and the Sox had wanted to invest the money to rehab the old place, maybe we'd still have another old survivors around. Too bad.

Your post brought back memories of my one and only trip to Comiskey. In May of 1984 I went on a solo vacation trip around the midwest. I had a Plymouth Horizon rental car and visited Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. Part of my plan was to catch some sporting events, so when I checked the newspapers and saw that the White Sox were on a homestand I decided to go to Chicago and see a game, even though I was really hoping to go to Wrigley instead, but the Cubs were away.

I remember driving into Chicago on the Dan Ryan around lunchtime and being absolutely intimidated. With one eye on the map on the passenger seat and one eye on the road I somehow managed to find the exit for Comiskey. It was obvious that the area wasn't the best but I was pleased to find a parking spot on the street near the ticket windows. I got to an open ticket sales booth and was first impressed by what appeared to be about an inch thick slab of bulletproof glass in front of the ticket agent. I bought my ticket and asked the fellow behind the glass if there were any good places to stay nearby, not knowing any better. The look on his face was priceless as he told me, "No way man... you don't want to stay anywhere around here!" I made my way back to the car and was sitting there looking at my map trying to figure out where I could find a decent place to stay when I noticed a Chicago PD cruiser pull up behind me and cycle his takedown lights. I guess I wasn't in a legal parking spot after all, or maybe they just wanted the spot for themselves.

I drove around for a while before settling on a motel in Cicero that didn't seem too bad. I decided to have dinner at the ballpark based on an article in Sports Illustrated that said it had some of the best ballpark food. I drove to the park and parked next to the stadium in the White Sox lot with no problem. Entering the stadium was like going back in time and not at all what I expected. The concession area under the stands didn't look promising for food, though there were enough choices... just that none of them seemed too appetizing and the grubby wooden picnic tables were even less so. Nevertheless I settled on a Mexican place and had burritos (funny how you remember things like that) and a Dos Equis beer. If that was SI's good ballpark food I would hate to have the bad stuff, but I survived.

It was getting close to game time so I went to find my seat. It was a good one. lower deck 3rd base side, about 15 rows back, between home and 3rd. The Sox weren't drawing too well in those days so there were a lot of empty seats around me. The fact that it was a cool, damp evening early in the week didn't help either. The Sox were playing Kansas City. The game was fine if a little dull and I spent most of my time after the first few innings just getting a sense of the atmosphere. The thing I remember most was that 2-3 rows ahead of me was the most stunning 20-something redhead in the company of a couple of guys (which tells you how gripping the game was!) and that she spent the whole game talking, chainsmoking Parliaments, and drinking beer after beer. I don't think she watched more than a half-inning of the game but her companions didn't seem to mind and I probably wouldn't either if I had been with her.

Having been to Comiskey I could understand why it needed to be replaced. The interiors were dingy and dirty, the seats cramped, and while the views of the field were fine, I didn't remember anything compellingly charming about it. Sometimes a place just gets past its time.

[Pelt]

1919 WS from Comiskey.

48578

[Cubs1945]

Did Comiskey have falling concrete problems? The Cell will never compare to comiskey never. Comerica and Us Cellular biggest problems is they aren't Tiger stadium or Comiskey Park. I went to Comiskey a few times. Yeah the seats were small, the bathrooms sucked but that joint smelled like baseball.

[Philtration]

Well, all the NY and New Haven pizza i've had is totally tasteless, so I'll definitely take the Chicago brand. Even their thin crust is better.

Bacci's by Wrigley is the only thing I like about Wrigleyville, including Wrigley.

To be honest... most of the pizza in Chicago is thin crust.
The whole deep dish thing is a myth that out of towners see on TV. We all grew up on thin crust here.
I did not eat pan style pizza until I was like 20 years old.
It is good but I think the thin crust is better.

[Sean O]

To be honest... most of the pizza in Chicago is thin crust.
The whole deep dish thing is a myth that out of towners see on TV. We all grew up on thin crust here.
I did not eat pan style pizza until I was like 20 years old.
It is good but I think the thin crust is better.

Guh? I lived in Chicago for four years, and the thin crust was well, well, well behind deep dish virtually everywhere I went. Carmen's was the closest pizza place that had at least equal parts thin and deep, while everywhere else were just pretty mediocre thin crust places like Gigio's. Sure Giordano's, Uno's/Due's, Malnati's and Gio's cater to the tourist crowd, but other than Bacci's (which was only notable for the fantastic value), I was never remotely impressed by the thin crust.

Then again, the Giordano's near me had half-price Mondays, so that was the go-to joint.

[Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock]

From baseballtrips.net (http://www.baseballtrips.net/)

Sox vs. Twins May 1990
http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom17.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom18.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom2.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom21.jpg

This shot really shows how huge the new Coniskey was compared to the old
http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom20.jpg

Fireworks after final night game
http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom4.jpg

Demolition
http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom14.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom13.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom9.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom16.jpg

[Mr.Prince24]

From baseballtrips.net (http://www.baseballtrips.net/)

Sox vs. Twins May 1990
http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom17.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom18.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom2.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom21.jpg

This shot really shows how huge the new Coniskey was compared to the old
http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom20.jpg

Fireworks after final night game
http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom4.jpg

Demolition
http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom14.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom13.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom9.jpg

http://www.baseballtrips.net/ocom16.jpg


amazing pictures. I wonder if they can mix modern with old fashion with the likes of Comisky?

[Zoso]

Wow, as a Sox fan, there's so much ignorance in this thread it's hilarious.

Maybe 2% of you know what you're talking about.

[Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock]

Wow, as a Sox fan, there's so much ignorance in this thread it's hilarious.

Maybe 2% of you know what you're talking about.

I assume you're part of the 98% who doesn't.

[Pelt]

I assume you're part of the 98% who doesn't.

Perfect. :applaud:

[J.R.]

Those pics showing new Comiskey's upper deck towering over the old park are an eternal testimony to the utter failure of the new stadium's design. WTH were they thinking?

[RoastedPeanut]

Rochester has a stadium in this image..

[History Of Baseball Fan]

Those pics showing new Comiskey's upper deck towering over the old park are an eternal testimony to the utter failure of the new stadium's design. WTH were they thinking?

I have never been to either stadium, but the new one looked like garbage when it opened... i still can't believe a nice looking park like old Comiskey was ripped down because of that new one.

[DrBear]

Those pics showing new Comiskey's upper deck towering over the old park are an eternal testimony to the utter failure of the new stadium's design. WTH were they thinking?
Three things:
Money.
Money.
Money.

[ericlc129]

amazing pictures. I wonder if they can mix modern with old fashion with the likes of Comisky?

They do *COUGH*HOK*COUGH....:banghead::banghead:

[ericlc129]

I have never been to either stadium...

The problem is it's in a bad area of town. Just south and west (maybe a block or two) are some big project buildings...My wife and I drove past Comiskey a few years back and we were almost assaulted in our car.

[Pelt]

Good Chicago Cardinals pic.

[DJ Starion]

The problem is it's in a bad area of town. Just south and west (maybe a block or two) are some big project buildings...My wife and I drove past Comiskey a few years back and we were almost assaulted in our car.

That area has changed leaps and bounds in the past year or so

[Philtration]

Guh? I lived in Chicago for four years, and the thin crust was well, well, well behind deep dish virtually everywhere I went. Carmen's was the closest pizza place that had at least equal parts thin and deep, while everywhere else were just pretty mediocre thin crust places like Gigio's. Sure Giordano's, Uno's/Due's, Malnati's and Gio's cater to the tourist crowd, but other than Bacci's (which was only notable for the fantastic value), I was never remotely impressed by the thin crust.

Then again, the Giordano's near me had half-price Mondays, so that was the go-to joint.

I have lived here all of my life (46 years) and the places that you named are the typical yuppie/tourist pizza places.
I am talking about your mom and pop neighborhood pizza.

[alpineinc]

Sporting News, 1937.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj90/alpineinc/comiskeysn37.jpg?t=1225636068

[Philtration]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/1.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/2.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/4.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/5.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/6.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/7.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/10.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/8.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/9.jpg

The last game

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/11.jpg

[Pelt]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/1.jpg


That first pic really sets off the wonderful brickwork detail of the exterior. She really was beautiful and white-washing the exterior pretty much ruined it.

[ChineseDemocracy]

I'd kill for a color picture of Comiskey before they painted it all white.

[curb my enthusiasm]

It's amazing how similar Old Comiskey Park and Tiger Stadium were to each other.

[The Monument]

Heres my Old Comiskey story. In Dec '89, in anticipation of the final season at Comiskey, I buy 4 tickets to each of the fri-sat-sun games around July 4. Yanks at Sox. Road trip for me and the three guys that I had a Yanks ticket plan with. Around April-May of '90, I figure it's time to get plane tickets, as it's an 18 hour drive from NY. One of the guys says he can't go, his wife is already pissed because he's going on a Wash DC trip. The next guy can't afford the plane tix. The third guy says "Well, if it's just me and you, I'm not going either". So here I am with 12 tickets and 3 almost-former friends. A week before the game, I give all 12 tix to a co-worker who goes to Chicago with 7 of his friends in a van, drinking and laughing all the way. They go to one game, 4 guys use my tix and 4 other guys buy tix to the fri nite game. They try to sell my other tix but have no luck. They drive all the way back home and my co-worker pays me for the one game that they went to. He gives me back 6 of the 8 unused tickets. He wants to keep 2 for himself--from the Sunday game when the Yanks Andy Hawkins pitched a no-hitter, and lost! This guy took about 100 photos and told me it was the best time of his life. I don't know why they didn't go to 2 games, and looking back I don't know why I didn't just go with them. A year or two later I consoled myself by buying a seat and a brick from Old Comiskey {or 'Kaminsky' as the DC guy always called it}. Sad but true, that's my story.

[locke40]

Heres my Old Comiskey story. In Dec '89, in anticipation of the final season at Comiskey, I buy 4 tickets to each of the fri-sat-sun games around July 4. Yanks at Sox. Road trip for me and the three guys that I had a Yanks ticket plan with. Around April-May of '90, I figure it's time to get plane tickets, as it's an 18 hour drive from NY. One of the guys says he can't go, his wife is already pissed because he's going on a Wash DC trip. The next guy can't afford the plane tix. The third guy says "Well, if it's just me and you, I'm not going either". So here I am with 12 tickets and 3 almost-former friends. A week before the game, I give all 12 tix to a co-worker who goes to Chicago with 7 of his friends in a van, drinking and laughing all the way. They go to one game, 4 guys use my tix and 4 other guys buy tix to the fri nite game. They try to sell my other tix but have no luck. They drive all the way back home and my co-worker pays me for the one game that they went to. He gives me back 6 of the 8 unused tickets. He wants to keep 2 for himself--from the Sunday game when the Yanks Andy Hawkins pitched a no-hitter, and lost! This guy took about 100 photos and told me it was the best time of his life. I don't know why they didn't go to 2 games, and looking back I don't know why I didn't just go with them. A year or two later I consoled myself by buying a seat and a brick from Old Comiskey {or 'Kaminsky' as the DC guy always called it}. Sad but true, that's my story.

Wow man, that was actually a very depressing story. Looking at the above photographs, you really missed out on experiencing a gem of a ballpark.

[skobabe8]

The problem is it's in a bad area of town. Just south and west (maybe a block or two) are some big project buildings...My wife and I drove past Comiskey a few years back and we were almost assaulted in our car.

It must have been more than a few years ago. Not only have those big project buildings been torn down, there is now mixed income housing where they used to stand. Not to mention a Starbucks.

[locke40]

It must have been more than a few years ago. Not only have those big project buildings been torn down, there is now mixed income housing where they used to stand. Not to mention a Starbucks.

I went to that Starbucks during my one and only trip to Chicago. We went to Wrigley on a Saturday, and the Cell the next day. Now I love old ballparks and all that, but I honestly enjoyed the game more at the Cell than at Wrigley.

[skobabe8]

I went to that Starbucks during my one and only trip to Chicago. We went to Wrigley on a Saturday, and the Cell the next day. Now I love old ballparks and all that, but I honestly enjoyed the game more at the Cell than at Wrigley.

35th and State Street:

http://cribchatter.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/starbucks-in-bronzeville.jpg

Glad to hear you had a good time!

[mandrake]

. A year or two later I consoled myself by buying a seat and a brick from Old Comiskey {or 'Kaminsky' as the DC guy always called it}. Sad but true, that's my story.

And here I am , thinking I am the only nut in NYwith a box seat from Comiskey ! BTW, which type seat do you have? I was given one of the very old, square looking box seats.

[Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock]

I'd kill for a color picture of Comiskey before they painted it all white.

No need to do that:)

Here's one from 1959 (from the David Jackson collection)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/3008335093_e0f376a69a_o.jpg

[locke40]

Sporting News, 1937.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj90/alpineinc/comiskeysn37.jpg?t=1225636068

I love how he calls Yankee Stadium "palatial." What shame about the renovations.

[Philtration]

I'd kill for a color picture of Comiskey before they painted it all white.

Here you go.
This is from 1957.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/50smaingate.jpg

[ChineseDemocracy]

Mario, Philtration...these shots are awesome!

Thanks SO much for these!

What a beautiful ballpark Old Comiskey was.

[mrakbaseball]

I love how he calls Yankee Stadium "palatial." What shame about the renovations.

Those renovations allowed Yankee Stadium to see the '80's,'90's and exist thru the 2008 season. Yankee Stadium wouldn't exist at all, in any form beyond the mid '70's if not for those renovations. The renovations allowed the Yankees to draw 4 mil+ a season, lead MLB in payroll and revenue. Wait a second, the Yankees are getting a brand new stadium aren't they? Oh well, Comiskey lasted 81 seasons, Yankee lasted 84 seasons.

[soup]

Those renovations allowed Yankee Stadium to see the '80's,'90's and exist thru the 2008 season. Yankee Stadium wouldn't exist at all, in any form beyond the mid '70's if not for those renovations. The renovations allowed the Yankees to draw 4 mil+ a season, lead MLB in payroll and revenue. Wait a second, the Yankees are getting a brand new stadium aren't they? Oh well, Comiskey lasted 81 seasons, Yankee lasted 84 seasons.

this really isn't the thread to discuss it, but the argument could (and can) by made that while the renovations did allow Yankee Stadium to live on for 30 more years, the changes innately changed the character and overall charm of the original stadium.

[alpineinc]

1946 Sporting News, from Gene Mack of the Boston Globe.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj90/alpineinc/sn4601mackcomiskey.jpg?t=1226248801

[The Monument]

And here I am , thinking I am the only nut in NYwith a box seat from Comiskey ! BTW, which type seat do you have? I was given one of the very old, square looking box seats.

I have one of the curved back seats. Bought it from Seitz and Co. I believe they operated out of Minneapolis. They used to send me flyers with pix of the seats that they had available, but I haven't heard from them in years. Also bought a straight-back Cleveland Municipal seat from them, in yellow. The Comiskey seat was completely redone,scraped clean and repainted. The Cleveland seat is not redone, it has some peeling paint but overall it's in good shape. I think Seitz used to sell them as either Rookie, All-Star or Hall of Famer seats, depending on how much restoration was done. The Comiskey brick was ordered from either HSN or QVC on tv when I came home loaded one night. I was surprised when it showed up in the mail a few weeks later. My wife thought I was an idiot. Wait til she sees various pieces of Yankee Stadium showing up. Took her to a game last year and after photographing the old ticket booths, I asked her how one would look in our backyard. She just asked me how I would get it home. That guys nuts! Grab 'em!

[J.R.]

Here you go.
This is from 1957.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/50smaingate.jpg

Sooooooooooo much better. The whitewash ruined her.

[alpineinc]

First All-Star Game, 1933.

http://72.37.159.45/App_Themes/Images/Auctions_Images/611/popups/45085a.jpg

[alpineinc]

Friday night, 8/23/57, Billy Pierce warming up, Ted Williams waiting to bat, to eventually strike out. Pale Hose win 4-1 to move 5 1/2 games behind the Yanks for Pierce's 17th. He would win 20 (exactly) for the second and last time that year.

http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=4ee3d8abcb1f8b9b_large


Bill Veeck, 1959.

http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=2618950bbd33b5b8_large

http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=b6592b41faaefe76_large


Tuesday night, 6/21/60, Gerry Staley coming in to save it for Billy Pierce but would allow the O's to tie the game. Jim Landis, batting in the 8th spot (although he would win the AL CF Gold Glove that year), would win it on a walkoff HR in the 9th, 4-3. The 2 spot put up by Baltimore was an upper deck shot by Walt Dropo.

http://tbn0.google.com/hosted/images/c?q=197c1a1b676e72c0_large

[alpineinc]

From OldTimeBaseball (http://picasaweb.google.com/rriescher/OldTimeBaseball#) on Picasa.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj90/alpineinc/00365_s_8ac95rbc70450.jpg

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj90/alpineinc/00363_s_8ac95rbc70448.jpg

[whitesox901:]

I love the pics in this thread :clapping

[Philtration]

I loved this park. A lot of great times there over the years.
The first row of the upper deck anywhere around the field was such a great seat.

Here is another old one before the addition of the upper deck in the outfield.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/1917-white-sox-team-cropped.jpg

[Philtration]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/OldComiskeyParkChicagoIllinois.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/1445037333_35a9978c02.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/1445038515_670c59c9df.jpg

1959 World Series
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/october_3_1959.jpg

Yes...disco did really suck.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/Disgodemolitioncopy.jpg

The last game and final game program
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/Lastgame.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskeyfinal.jpg

[Philtration]

The BEATLES at Comiskey
August 20th, 1965

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/BeatlesComiskey2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/BeatlesComiskey3.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/BeatlesComiskey.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/LennonComiskey2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/McCartneyComisky.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/PaulGeorgeComiskey.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/LennonComiskey.jpg

[mandrake]

I can't compete with the Fab Four but here is a picture of my wife (my fab) at Comiskey :

[MontanaJim74]

The BEATLES at Comiskey
August 20th, 1965

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/BeatlesComiskey2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/BeatlesComiskey3.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/BeatlesComiskey.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/LennonComiskey2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/McCartneyComisky.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/PaulGeorgeComiskey.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/LennonComiskey.jpg


Cant believe there are so many empty seats!

[PurpleMustReign]

Sooooooooooo much better. The whitewash ruined her.

Does anyone know why they painted it white?

[PurpleMustReign]

Cant believe there are so many empty seats!



I think most of those pics are rehearsals.

[87Twins91]

Old Comiskey was a beautiful park. Really wish I could have caught a game there. It was one of my favorite parks as far as watching games on TV. The picture of Gary Gaetti posted earlier was one of my favorite shots of the park, where you could see outside through those arches between the two decks.

[mandrake]

I think most of those pics are rehearsals.

I think they played a day show and a night show:

20th Aug 1965 Comiskey Park, Chicago USA Attendance: 25,000 and 37,000
www.beatles-discography.com

[J.E.Fullerton]

I've read that the Comiskey cornerstone was laid on St Patrick's Day, and painted green, but I've never seen a photo of it, or have any idea what part of the park it was in. Anyone know?

[Chevy114]

Does anyone know why they painted it white?

I know the tigets did it around the same time. I had always heard that they thought the white looked cleaner and was easier to mainstain.

[DJ Starion]

My first ever baseball game was in 1987 at Old Comiskey. It was White Sox vs. Yankees and I remember us winning 1-0. We had front row seats behind the Sox dugout, and Ozzie Guillen tossed me a ball he had just caught off a line drive

[Zoso]

The problem is it's in a bad area of town. Just south and west (maybe a block or two) are some big project buildings...My wife and I drove past Comiskey a few years back and we were almost assaulted in our car.

There has never been a project a block or two west of the park..

Years ago there were high rise projects across the expressway. They really had no bearing on people going to the game as parking lots and the stadium were on the other side. That's not even technically the same neighborhood.

It's amazing how similar Old Comiskey Park and Tiger Stadium were to each other.

They weren't really similar except for they both had (nearly) wraparound bowl designs poles. Tiger stadium was a bandbox everywhere except the deep center field, hence putting one on the roof of Comiskey was a much more unusual event.

Comiskey was a cleaner design and the see through arches were pretty unique. Houston copied that look as one of their many contrived, garish, Texas style tributes to past parks that had nothing to do with their own history (the Rangers did the same thing). Speaking of which, the home run porch in Arlington is really more reminiscent of Comiskey's, yet it's inevitably compare to old Tiger Stadium which is really an inferior park. Although I can understand the fonder memories since the Tigers had a much richer history in theirs. The Sox more or less stunk it up in old Comiskey for its existence, save for the teens and the 50s-60s. Nevertheless..

Green seats, green roof, 335+ from the plate = Comiskey

Blue seats, blue roof, 250 feet from the plate, hovering over the field = Tiger Stadium

Which one more closely resembles this one:

http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/Photos/BallparkArlington_RF.jpg

[ol' aches and pains]

George Brace was a well-known photographer for many years in Chicago. Here are a few samples from the website selling his prints (sorry for the watermarks).

[Philtration]

This was such a sad sight to see in person.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskeydemo.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskeydemo2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskeydemo3.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskeydemo4.jpg

[Philtration]

1914 Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/1914Sox.jpg

White Sox vs, St. Louis Browns at Comiskey Park 1926

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/SoxvsBrowns1926.jpg

Shoeless Joe Jackson at Comiskey Park 1915

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/ShoelessJoe1915.jpg

[Philtration]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/soxdanryan.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/Soxoldnew.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/soxsun.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/soxarch.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/Soxcorner.jpg

The final out at Comiskey Park

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/soxlastout.jpg

[DiggerODell]

By God Phil . .. these are magical! You've posed some fabulous photos lately! Don't think for a moment I didn't notice and appreciate them. You've also had some great discourse with fellow posters . . . dang I wish I was as good a debater . .. ha! Always I must, admire an educated individual. You are very well versed, and ring a good word.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/soxdanryan.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/Soxoldnew.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/soxsun.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/soxarch.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/Soxcorner.jpg

The final out at Comiskey Park

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/soxlastout.jpg

[Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock]

Great pics Philtration. Felt as if I was there.

[ChineseDemocracy]

Did you take those photos, Philtration? If so, marvelous job!

That green on white paint job is beautiful! And Old Comiskey was a beautiful ballpark. I dig the new place as well, but it wouldn't be half as nice if it didn't have its inspiration from her neighbor.

[skobabe8]

Did you take those photos, Philtration? If so, marvelous job!

That green on white paint job is beautiful! And Old Comiskey was a beautiful ballpark. I dig the new place as well, but it wouldn't be half as nice if it didn't have its inspiration from her neighbor.

You like the paint job??

I always wished they would have left the brick alone. You barely notice all of the intricate details with the brick painted over.

[ChineseDemocracy]

I prefer the unpainted brick facade, but green on white still looks good to me.

[DiggerODell]

I love the pics in this thread :clapping

Hey sox . . . if they keep this up . . . mandrake . .ole .. phil . . . I'm gonna pack up and move back to Chitown . . .ha . . . And when you wrote this, it hadn't even gotten good yet! Excellent photos everyone . . .

[Philtration]

Did you take those photos, Philtration? If so, marvelous job!

That green on white paint job is beautiful! And Old Comiskey was a beautiful ballpark. I dig the new place as well, but it wouldn't be half as nice if it didn't have its inspiration from her neighbor.

No, I did not take those.
I had a lot of pics of Comiskey, Wrigley, Chicago Stadium and Soldier Field that were taken from the 70s and 80s that I left at my mom's house.
She died two years ago and I was never up to going through her stuff.
I asked my brother if he knew where they were a few months ago and he said that he could not find them so I let it go.
They may still turn up and if they do I will scan all of them to post here.
Three of the four places are gone now (Soldier Field is not the same place to me) and Wrigley looked a lot different back then.

For the one taken of the last out at the old ballpark... I was sitting just opposite of that image on the first base side so I had a mirror view of that pic. I met Kurt Russell who was walking around the park before the game and he was pretty cool.
He wanted to see the place one last time just like the rest of us.
I agree about the old park being the connection to the new one and it makes Comiskey being gone a little easier to swallow.

[Philtration]

There is a John Candy film called "Only The Lonely" that has a cool scene filmed at Comiskey.
What makes it cool, and a little sad, is that they filmed it right after the final game played there and before the demolition was started.
It was nice to the place lit up one last time and everything is just as it was when they played the final game.

The movie is kind of a chick flick but if you love ballparks then it is worth renting just to see Comiskey in all its glory for the last time.
It was nice that they did not go for the stereotypical Chicago location of having Wrigley thrown in there.

[ol' aches and pains]

Old Comiskey wasn't known in its time as a small or intimate ballpark, but in this pic you can see that the upper deck in the new park begins where the old one left off; i.e. the highest seat in the upper deck of the old park is lower than the lowest seat in the upper deck of the new park. :sigh:

[Philtration]

Old Comiskey wasn't known in its time as a small or intimate ballpark, but in this pic you can see that the upper deck in the new park begins where the old one left off; i.e. the highest seat in the upper deck of the old park is lower than the lowest seat in the upper deck of the new park. :sigh:

True.
I was at the opening day game in 1981 when they had over 51,000 packed in there yet you were always close to the field no matter where you were in the park.
It was just laid out very well.

[Zoso]

Old Comiskey wasn't known in its time as a small or intimate ballpark, but in this pic you can see that the upper deck in the new park begins where the old one left off; i.e. the highest seat in the upper deck of the old park is lower than the lowest seat in the upper deck of the new park. :sigh:

I'll take a pole-less lower bowl. Baseball's better seen from in the sun, and when you can see fly balls.

[ol' aches and pains]

Agreed, the lower bowl is great, but I won't sit upstairs, you need mountain climbing gear to get up there.

[Chevy114]

Any white sox fans know this: Do fans still say they wish they had old comisky while at games or anything still about how the old one was better?

[Zoso]

No, I don't think I've never heard that.

Sox fans aren't a romantic lot. You don't hear about curses or sappy b.s. about ye olde ballparks of yore. As a result, Comiskey is probably the most properly rated ballpark of all time.

[Chevy114]

No, I don't think I've never heard that.

Sox fans aren't a romantic lot. You don't hear about curses or sappy b.s. about ye olde ballparks of yore. As a result, Comiskey is probably the most properly rated ballpark of all time.

I love the shape of old comiskey and I love the outside before being white washed, but it definately gets lost in the shuffle because they have done little to remember it. But maybe that's why there is so little drama about the post renovated us celluar and how it can't compete with the old.

[Zoso]

I've always heard it was old, cramped, smelled, had too many poles, etc. All the things true of the old parks, but that you never hear anyone talk about, but you hear it about Comiskey. Some people realize all things must pass. The old home plate is preserved in concrete and marble in the parking lot. That's good enough.

I only went there when I was < 8 years old.

[PeteU]

Speaking of which, the home run porch in Arlington is really more reminiscent of Comiskey's.....
Which one more closely resembles this one:

http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/Photos/BallparkArlington_RF.jpg

I always thought so myself. But perhaps it is just the green color scheme that had me thinking Comiskey Park before Tiger Stadium when I saw the right field porch at Arlington.

[PeteU]

Sox fans aren't a romantic lot. You don't hear about curses or sappy b.s. about ye olde ballparks of yore.

I always wondered why the Black Sox Curse wasn't romaticized like the Curse of the Bambino or the Billy Goat Curse. In 2005, one year after the Red Sox won their series, the White Sox won theirs, but there wasn't nearly as much attention paid to it.

[Zoso]

Because there was no Black Sox Curse. Ever thus, there was no Bambino nor is there currently a Billy Goat curse.

I'm sure thousands of people have cursed the Yankees over time, but it doesn't appear to have worked. You only hear about the ones that do seem to work.

[tdinan]

Because there was no Black Sox Curse. Ever thus, there was no Bambino nor is there currently a Billy Goat curse.

I'm sure thousands of people have cursed the Yankees over time, but it doesn't appear to have worked. You only hear about the ones that do seem to work.

"There was a Bambino, his name was Babe Ruth. He was a great ballplayer. Why would Ken Burns put him in that documentary if there was no Bambino? When I go to Yankee Stadium I see all kinds of pictures with him on it and I even saw a Yankeeography that was all about him hosted by John Sterling who does the radio for the Yankees."

-jimmyjimjimz

:laugh

[Chevy114]

I've always heard it was old, cramped, smelled, had too many poles, etc. All the things true of the old parks, but that you never hear anyone talk about, but you hear it about Comiskey. Some people realize all things must pass. The old home plate is preserved in concrete and marble in the parking lot. That's good enough.

I only went there when I was < 8 years old.

I have heard people say that about tiget stadium when it was on its last leg, so I know it's not just comiskey that was run down.

So I wonder if the love for tiger stadium is something that was always there or a case of you don't know what you have until its gone. But I never got the same vibe from comiskey.

Now I can't tell if the getting over comiskey so fast was because the owner at the time didn't seem to care, or if the fans did a better job dealing with it compared to some historic stadiums, or even if they were tired of being in wrigley's shadow since people seemed to like it more.

I hope my theories don't offend people, I am just trying to figure things out so it makes more sense to me. P.S. every stadium I have named are all in my all time favorties for numerous reasons!

[Philtration]

Any white sox fans know this: Do fans still say they wish they had old comisky while at games or anything still about how the old one was better?

No.
It was great while it lasted, I had a lot of great times there and I miss it but it was time.
Even if it were renovated it would be time again right now.
I can't imagine how it would have looked after another 20 years.
Cub fans need to start getting real about Wrigley because the same thing has happened there. It is time.

What made people mad was that Reinsdorf acted like such a jag off and blackmailed the city into paying for a new park.
He rushed into getting a new stadium and it took almost 20 years to correct his blunders.
I loved Comiskey but I love U.S. Cellular too.

[Chevy114]

Yeah I can tell it was very rushed and very bland, but then again most stadiums built in athe 80s (skydome and the trop are the first I can think) weren't much better. Skydome at least had a cool retractable roof and a mall feel that has saved it in most people's eyes.

[marlins739]

I wonder what a new White Sox park to replace Comiskey would look like if they built it now. Would Comiskey have been so rundown by this point that people would be trying to forget about it? They'd probably face it towards the skyline, but I hope it would be a symmetrical design like Old Comiskey and the Cell now and they wouldn't try to make a Citi Field or Arlington type of contrived mess in the middle of a parking lot

[Philtration]

I have heard people say that about tiget stadium when it was on its last leg, so I know it's not just comiskey that was run down.

So I wonder if the love for tiger stadium is something that was always there or a case of you don't know what you have until its gone. But I never got the same vibe from comiskey.

Now I can't tell if the getting over comiskey so fast was because the owner at the time didn't seem to care, or if the fans did a better job dealing with it compared to some historic stadiums, or even if they were tired of being in wrigley's shadow since people seemed to like it more.

I hope my theories don't offend people, I am just trying to figure things out so it makes more sense to me. P.S. every stadium I have named are all in my all time favorties for numerous reasons!

I just don't think that White Sox fans are overly sentimental. They are not into "whimsical".
Not the ones that I know anyway.
We know our teams history and celebrate it but we tend look to today and tomorrow more.
The fans here were just glad that the team was not moved to Tampa and if having Comiskey gone was the price for that then it was worth it.
Comiskey would have been 100 years old next year and that is just too damn old for a sports stadium.

After all the games that I saw at Comiskey, it was at the Cell where I finally got to see them play in a World Series and that was bigger than any game I saw at the old park.
The biggest difference for me was I loved Comiskey right from the very first time I went inside while U.S. Cellular had to grow on me.

[KingmanIII]

What made people mad was that Reinsdorf acted like such a jag off and blackmailed the city into paying for a new park.
He rushed into getting a new stadium and it took almost 20 years to correct his blunders.
That, and the fact that he didn't even give Philip Bess' Armour Field (http://www.thursdayassociates.net/Baseball%20Projects/armour_field.htm) proposal so much as a sniff.

[Philtration]

Yeah I can tell it was very rushed and very bland, but then again most stadiums built in athe 80s (skydome and the trop are the first I can think) weren't much better. Skydome at least had a cool retractable roof and a mall feel that has saved it in most people's eyes.

I would have loved for them to build a park like PNC for the White Sox.
Put it in the South Loop around Roosevelt Road and the river with this as the backdrop.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/Chicago/Southloop.jpg

Cub fans should look at it the same way.
Maybe come to grips with the fact that Wrigley is really old and has run its course and start looking at how great a new ballpark can actually be.

I have never been to Fenway but I would imagine that it is the same situation there.

[DiggerODell]

Yeah I can tell it was very rushed and very bland, but then again most stadiums built in athe 80s (skydome and the trop are the first I can think) weren't much better. Skydome at least had a cool retractable roof and a mall feel that has saved it in most people's eyes.

Have you ever heard . . of the sport of baseball? Chevy, I'm disappointed. I've read some good reads, but this isn't one of em.

note: just to qualify this, my wife and i are disagreeing tonight, so i'm not in a very good mood . . .could have something, but very little me thinks . . .to do with my message.

[Philtration]

That, and the fact that he didn't even give Philip Bess' Armour Field (http://www.thursdayassociates.net/Baseball%20Projects/armour_field.htm) proposal so much as a sniff.
True.
There was another design that was floated around about the same time and it looked pretty cool.
The city owned the land that I mentioned in the South Loop and it was offered as a location for the new stadium. It was a great location but Reinsdorf wanted to build in suburban Addison because he is a clueless jerk.
He really likes parking lots.
The Illinois voters shot it down and that is when he started his threats to move to Tampa where they were building a new dome.
One thing lead to another and the vote passed at the last minute.
If he had been patient the city was willing to build the Sox a new home but he wanted it his way and he wanted it now.:hissyfit:
The park was 100% funded by the taxpayers yet they still let Jerry have his way in saying how the place would be designed.

That has never set well with a lot of people here.

[Pelt]

That, and the fact that he didn't even give Philip Bess' Armour Field (http://www.thursdayassociates.net/Baseball%20Projects/armour_field.htm) proposal so much as a sniff.

To this day I still can't believe they didn't go with this. :banghead:

[Zoso]

I would have loved for them to build a park like PNC for the White Sox.
Put it in the South Loop around Roosevelt Road and the river with this as the backdrop.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/Chicago/Southloop.jpg

Cub fans should look at it the same way.
Maybe come to grips with the fact that Wrigley is really old and has run its course and start looking at how great a new ballpark can actually be.

I have never been to Fenway but I would imagine that it is the same situation there.

Yeah, hopefully HOK can bomb it too, so the Cubs will cease being a cult attraction and have to actually win things.

True.
There was another design that was floated around about the same time and it looked pretty cool.
The city owned the land that I mentioned in the South Loop and it was offered as a location for the new stadium. It was a great location but Reinsdorf wanted to build in suburban Addison because he is a clueless jerk.
He really likes parking lots.
The Illinois voters shot it down and that is when he started his threats to move to Tampa where they were building a new dome.
One thing lead to another and the vote passed at the last minute.
If he had been patient the city was willing to build the Sox a new home but he wanted it his way and he wanted it now.:hissyfit:
The park was 100% funded by the taxpayers yet they still let Jerry have his way in saying how the place would be designed.

That has never set well with a lot of people here.

Addison would've been an absolute nightmare. You have to take two different expressways from the city to get to it. It's just remarkably stupid to have ever considered that. Makes you grateful for the clunker that took 30 million in renovations to turn into a nice park.

[Chevy114]

Have you ever heard . . of the sport of baseball? Chevy, I'm disappointed. I've read some good reads, but this isn't one of em.

note: just to qualify this, my wife and i are disagreeing tonight, so i'm not in a very good mood . . .could have something, but very little me thinks . . .to do with my message.

Its cool, I can't win them all.

[Philtration]

Yeah, hopefully HOK can bomb it too, so the Cubs will cease being a cult attraction and have to actually win things.

Addison would've been an absolute nightmare. You have to take two different expressways from the city to get to it. It's just remarkably stupid to have ever considered that. Makes you grateful for the clunker that took 30 million in renovations to turn into a nice park.

The Cubs were also considering Addison as a new home for a while.
They decided to spruce up Wrigley and sell it to their T.V. viewers instead and it turned into a gold mine.
Not that it has translated to any real success on the field but most of them don't seem to mind.
Tourists don’t care what the team does. They come for the cute ballpark and to get hammered.

[ol' aches and pains]

Any white sox fans know this: Do fans still say they wish they had old comisky while at games or anything still about how the old one was better?

At first, yes. The new park was a pretty drab, cheerless place when it oppened, but over the years it's been greatly improved, and you really don't hear much nostalgia for the old one anymore.

[Wrigley Wax]

The Cubs were also considering Addison as a new home for a while.

Actually, the Cubs were considering Schaumburg, since Tribune owned property out there - it's where the WGN radio towers are located. I doubt they were actually thinking about moving, but instead used Schaumburg as leverage to get the city to allow lights at Wrigley.

[MattD1972]

I just don't think that White Sox fans are overly sentimental. They are not into "whimsical".
Not the ones that I know anyway.
We know our teams history and celebrate it but we tend look to today and tomorrow more.
The fans here were just glad that the team was not moved to Tampa and if having Comiskey gone was the price for that then it was worth it.
Comiskey would have been 100 years old next year and that is just too damn old for a sports stadium.



Thank you Phil, for stating what some on BBF refuse to acknowledge. By 1988, there were two - AND ONLY TWO - options for the White Sox franchise - a new stadium or a move to Tampa Bay. Yes, the new stadium was extorted; Yes, the fans were forced to watch the torturous demolition of old Comiskey in 1991; and Yes, New Comiskey wasn't a great ballpark when it opened. But it has improved over the years. It was simply time for a new stadium, as these parks weren't meant to last forever, and everyone knew it. From what I saw as a 17-year-old in 1990, upkeep hadn't been great. Case in point - I was sold a seat that had already been removed in August 1990.

[Philtration]

Actually, the Cubs were considering Schaumburg, since Tribune owned property out there - it's where the WGN radio towers are located. I doubt they were actually thinking about moving, but instead used Schaumburg as leverage to get the city to allow lights at Wrigley.

Yeah, Schaumburg was also a serious alternative.
I remember the whole Addison thing because the local sports idiots kept trying to tie in the Cubs moving from Clarke & Addison to just Addison.
The Cubs claimed that they did a study and determined that a high percentage of their season ticket holders were located in that area.

This was in 1985 and I believe that they were very serious about moving because Wrigley was not a cash cow and the neighborhood was far from the Mardi Gras beer garden that it is today.
The Cubs were just coming off their first trip to the post season since 1945 yet they only drew 2,161,534 fans. The next season it dropped to 1,859,102.
The bigger crowds did not really start until 1998 and they did not draw over 3 million until 2004.
Now they are milking the fans for every nickle and their record does not seem to make any change in the attendance numbers.
In 2006 they lost 96 games and finished in last place yet they drew 3.1 million. It is not about the game any more.

Check out the Cubs attendance number through the years.
This whole thing about them always packing Wrigley is just a myth.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/cubsatte.shtml

[AMDG]

That, and the fact that he didn't even give Philip Bess' Armour Field (http://www.thursdayassociates.net/Baseball%20Projects/armour_field.htm) proposal so much as a sniff.

I am not sure why the love for Armour Field. TGhe seats between the foul poles look great. The problem with it are the outfied seats. There are too many oif them and most are angled incorrectly.

It is just a modern take on the Polo Grounds which was not exactly the ultimate in layout.

[Philtration]

I am not sure why the love for Armour Field. TGhe seats between the foul poles look great. The problem with it are the outfied seats. There are too many oif them and most are angled incorrectly.

It is just a modern take on the Polo Grounds which was not exactly the ultimate in layout.

I agree.
If the outfield had been redesigned then maybe...
I personally though that it resembled Baltimore's Memorial Stadium in a way.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzesdp09/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/memorialstadium1970.jpg

http://www.thursdayassociates.net/images/13-AF_Model-1.JPG

[Zoso]

This is what Armour Field would look like if it didn't suck. Nice in principle but terrible in practice. Just need to make it less...ridiculous.

[scooterfan]

Yeah, Schaumburg was also a serious alternative.
I remember the whole Addison thing because the local sports idiots kept trying to tie in the Cubs moving from Clarke & Addison to just Addison.
The Cubs claimed that they did a study and determined that a high percentage of their season ticket holders were located in that area.

This was in 1985 and I believe that they were very serious about moving because Wrigley was not a cash cow and the neighborhood was far from the Mardi Gras beer garden that it is today.
The Cubs were just coming off their first trip to the post season since 1945 yet they only drew 2,161,534 fans. The next season it dropped to 1,859,102.
The bigger crowds did not really start until 1998 and they did not draw over 3 million until 2004.
Now they are milking the fans for every nickle and their record does not seem to make any change in the attendance numbers.
In 2006 they lost 96 games and finished in last place yet they drew 3.1 million. It is not about the game any more.

Check out the Cubs attendance number through the years.
This whole thing about them always packing Wrigley is just a myth.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/cubsatte.shtml

I don't agree with your attendance argument. MLB attendance didn't start increasing until the 1990s when corporations started buying season tickets in droves. The Yankees only drew 23 thousand the day Maris hit his 61st. The Red Sox only drew 12 thousand on Ted Williams' last day. The Yankees couldn't even draw 2.5 million with Ruth, Gehrig, DiMag or Mantle. They didn't draw over 2.5 million until 1980. The only team that drew crowds similar to today's standards was the Dodgers during the 60s and 70s.

[Sean O]

This is what Armour Field would look like if it didn't suck. Nice in principle but terrible in practice. Just need to make it less...ridiculous.

That's essentially Bank One, right?

[the_Bored]

I agree.
If the outfield had been redesigned then maybe...
I personally though that it resembled Baltimore's Memorial Stadium in a way.

Which is ironic, in a way. Wasn't the other alternative what ended up being Camden Yards?

[Philtration]

This is what Armour Field would look like if it didn't suck. Nice in principle but terrible in practice. Just need to make it less...ridiculous.

http://www.baseball-fever.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=74181&stc=1&d=1248917007


Much better!
I never understood why anyone would have wanted that Polo Grounds shaped outfield.
I mean... not even in New York so why here?

[Zoso]

That's essentially Bank One, right?

Minus the televangelist convention center look it's got a similar layout.

[Bobby_Ayala]

Back to Old Comiskey, that was a symmetrical ballpark worth remembering, a lot of character.

[marlins739]

Minus the televangelist convention center look it's got a similar layout.

Never heard that one before. Care to explain?

[Philtration]

Which is ironic, in a way. Wasn't the other alternative what ended up being Camden Yards?

Yes.
That plane was presented and shot down and from what I understand HOK used most of it when they built Camden Yards.

[Philtration]

Back to Old Comiskey, that was a symmetrical ballpark worth remembering, a lot of character.

I like symmetrical ballparks... but not the old cookie cutters of the 70s.
Look at Dodger Stadium.
Just a clean straightforward design with no crazy stuff thrown in just for laughs.
They came from a strangely shaped ballpark in Brooklyn and made no attempt to recreate that in L.A.
The same goes for Kauffman.
That kind of design, like Comiskey, does not look gimmicky after a few years and does not look dated.
Not to me anyway.
That is why I liked places like County Stadium in Milwaukee and Municipal Stadium (just too big) in Cleveland.

[Zoso]

Never heard that one before. Care to explain?

The shaped of the playing field, including foul territory and the very general layout of the seats. The corners go off the lines at 45's at both places with deep CF corners and of course symmetrical dimensions.

[Bobby_Ayala]

I like symmetrical ballparks... but not the old cookie cutters of the 70s.
Look at Dodger Stadium.
Just a clean straightforward design with no crazy stuff thrown in just for laughs.
They came from a strangely shaped ballpark in Brooklyn and made no attempt to recreate that in L.A.
The same goes for Kauffman.
That kind of design, like Comiskey, does not look gimmicky after a few years and does not look dated.
Not to me anyway.
That is why I liked places like County Stadium in Milwaukee and Municipal Stadium (just too big) in Cleveland.
You liked Municipal Stadium?

[Philtration]

You liked Municipal Stadium?
Well... no not completely. That was a poor example.

I liked the idea of Municipal Stadium.
It was just too damn big and the stadium should have taken the shape of the outfield instead of the other way around.
It was too oval shaped.
If the stands had curved around the foul poles like Yankee Stadium it would have been a different park.
I liked the symmetrical layout of the park and I liked the Art Deco style exterior.
If it had been scaled down to a 50,000 seat stadium and if the stands had been shaped like this it would have been a lot better.


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/ClevelandStadium1954newcopy.jpg

http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/Diag/ClevelandStadium1954.gif

[bandit12]

Well... no not completely. That was a poor example.

I liked the idea of Municipal Stadium.
It was just too damn big and the stadium should have taken the shape of the outfield instead of the other way around.
It was too oval shaped.
If the stands had curved around the foul poles like Yankee Stadium it would have been a different park.
I liked the symmetrical layout of the park and I liked the Art Deco style exterior.
If it had been scaled down to a 50,000 seat stadium and if the stands had been shaped like this it would have been a lot better.


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/ClevelandStadium1954newcopy.jpg

http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/Diag/ClevelandStadium1954.gif

You would have to change the upperdeck for it to be half standable. Very steep and if you were sitting in the back half of the lower deck, forget seeing anything above players heads.

[Sean O]

Baltimore Memorial is a much better base if you're trying for a park like that. With the tighter infield seating bowl sightlines were much better, and if you really wanted to go crazy you could have greater than 2 graduated corners down the line. Would've worked great for baseball and football.

[Bobby_Ayala]

I liked the symmetrical layout of the park and I liked the Art Deco style exterior.

Cleveland Stadium had a very underrated exterior. It was too big but had a nice facade.

[Delahanty on the bridge]

I moved to Chicago in mid-summer 1990 and went to as many home games as I could. I always followed the Cardinals and White Sox when I was a kid, as fans of both have one thing in common, hating the Cubs!

I fell in love with the old ballpark from the first moment I laid eyes on it. My favorite section was the upper deck in right field. I remember a big series in August against the hated A's. A skinny pre-"roids" Sosa homered into the upper deck of left field off of Dave Stewart and later on, when Canseco got turned around, slipped in the mud and fell at the base of the warning track, the Big Hurt had himself a triple. At that moment, the upper deck began to rock, and I mean it literally rocked, back and forth. It was insane as 39,000 plus roared their approval. Sox 11, A's 1, and Black Jack McDowell pitched a CG.

[locke40]

I moved to Chicago in mid-summer 1990 and went to as many home games as I could. I always followed the Cardinals and White Sox when I was a kid, as fans of both have one thing in common, hating the Cubs!

I fell in love with the old ballpark from the first moment I laid eyes on it. My favorite section was the upper deck in right field. I remember a big series in August against the hated A's. A skinny pre-"roids" Sosa homered into the upper deck of left field off of Dave Stewart and later on, when Canseco got turned around, slipped in the mud and fell at the base of the warning track, the Big Hurt had himself a triple. At that moment, the upper deck began to rock, and I mean it literally rocked, back and forth. It was insane as 39,000 plus roared their approval. Sox 11, A's 1, and Black Jack McDowell pitched a CG.

It's funny that you should say that. I was just reading an article about the old girl the other day, and this quote stuck with me: The nearly-fully enclosed stands had a way of capturing and reverberating the noise without any artificial enhancement. As a Chicago sportswriter once remarked, "Wrigley Field yayed and Comiskey Park roared."

It's crying shame that the great fans of the White Sox have to endure US Cellular, when they could be enjoying the great and wonderful Comiskey Park. I can't imagine how much more popular the Sox would be than the Cubs right now if Comiskey was still in use. Sad.

[the_Bored]

It's crying shame that the great fans of the White Sox have to endure US Cellular, when they could be enjoying the great and wonderful Comiskey Park. I can't imagine how much more popular the Sox would be than the Cubs right now if Comiskey was still in use. Sad.


The Cubs were more popular than the Sox even before Comiskey was taken down. It's just a different atmosphere at Wrigley, something that even its classic counterpart in Fenway doesn't have.

[MattD1972]

I remember a big series in August against the hated A's. A skinny pre-"roids" Sosa homered into the upper deck of left field off of Dave Stewart and later on, when Canseco got turned around, slipped in the mud and fell at the base of the warning track, the Big Hurt had himself a triple. At that moment, the upper deck began to rock, and I mean it literally rocked, back and forth. It was insane as 39,000 plus roared their approval. Sox 11, A's 1, and Black Jack McDowell pitched a CG.

This was my first Comiskey game. I sat at the back of the left field lower deck and loved every minute of it.Dave Henderson turned his knee in that game too, IIRC. I felt the upper deck shake the next night when Canseco's game-tying homer went just foul and he struck out against Thigpen in the next pitch.

[Philtration]

The Cubs were more popular than the Sox even before Comiskey was taken down. It's just a different atmosphere at Wrigley, something that even its classic counterpart in Fenway doesn't have.

Not really.
They were not beating them in attendance and they have not matched them as far as success on the field in decades.
The average attendance for the Cubs in the last 20 seasons before Comiskey was torn down was 19,676.
The average attendance for the Sox in the last 20 seasons before Comiskey
was torn down was 18,735.
That is a difference of 941 fans a game.

Girls scream and cry at Jonas Brothers concerts too but that does not make them Pink Floyd.
I have seen the "atmosphere" at Wrigley up close and personal and it mostly consists of alcohol drenched frat boys and tourists from Iowa who don't even know the score.
I truly believe that most of the fans could leave a Cubs game and not know who won if it were not for the singing of that embarrassing "Go Cubs Go" song.
They spend more time looking for the camera then looking at the game.
I have never seen so many people talking on their cell phones all at once as I have at a Cubs game.
It is like a human cloning machining got stuck in frat boy mode and just spit out one fan after another with the same haircuts, the same khaki shorts, the same blue or gray t shirt or polo with the “popped”collar, the same backwards baseball hat and the same shell necklace.

http://www.701mb.com/CHICAGOREUNION/WRCHI00043LG.jpg

[the_Bored]

Not really.
I have seen the "atmosphere" at Wrigley up close and personal and it mostly consists of alcohol drenched frat boys and tourists from Iowa who don't even know the score.

Which was kinda my point. I don't think Comiskey would have matched the tourist atmosphere of Wrigley even if it had stayed. Some of that stems from the Cubs being the "lovable losers" that they are.

[Philtration]

Which was kinda my point. I don't think Comiskey would have matched the tourist atmosphere of Wrigley even if it had stayed. Some of that stems from the Cubs being the "lovable losers" that they are.

I agree with you.
Comiskey was never promoted as a party destination or tourist attraction.

It was just baseball.

[ChineseDemocracy]

Speaking of other Chicago venues that roared, old Chicago Stadium has them all beat.

And let's not forget that giant horn they utilized during Blackhawks games.

[Wrigley Wax]

I agree with you.
Comiskey was never promoted as a party destination or tourist attraction.

It was just baseball.

I've got to respectfully disagree with this. During the last years of the Veeck era, it was having fun at the park that was promoted. Every game seemed to have some promotion that had nothing to do with baseball. It was Greek night with belly dancers, Mexican Night with sombreros, Farm Night with a milking contest, Disco Demolition Night, etc. Harry Caray and Nancy Faust were probably the biggest names in the park, more popular than the players. The teams weren't that good, so it was the other stuff and Harry Caray that was used to bring fans into the park.

Comiskey Park had the reputation at the worlds largest outdoor saloon. Reinsdorf recognized this when he bought the team, which is why he didn't want Harry. He wanted to make the park more family friendly. But eventually he realized that his park couldn't compete with Wrigley Field. For too long the Cubs had promoted "Beautiful Wrigley Field" (because the teams were lousy) and over time that became its reputation. The perception was Wrigley was beautiful and Comiskey was run down. Accurate or not, that was the perception.

His only option to compete was to offer the anti-Wrigley: a brand new ballpark. Soon, his engineering reports said Comiskey was falling apart and a new park was needed. Add in the threat of a move to Florida and you have the recipe for the construction of a new park of the demolition of a classic one.

[Philtration]

I've got to respectfully disagree with this. During the last years of the Veeck era, it was having fun at the park that was promoted. Every game seemed to have some promotion that had nothing to do with baseball. It was Greek night with belly dancers, Mexican Night with sombreros, Farm Night with a milking contest, Disco Demolition Night, etc. Harry Caray and Nancy Faust were probably the biggest names in the park, more popular than the players. The teams weren't that good, so it was the other stuff and Harry Caray that was used to bring fans into the park.

Comiskey Park had the reputation at the worlds largest outdoor saloon. Reinsdorf recognized this when he bought the team, which is why he didn't want Harry. He wanted to make the park more family friendly. But eventually he realized that his park couldn't compete with Wrigley Field. For too long the Cubs had promoted "Beautiful Wrigley Field" (because the teams were lousy) and over time that became its reputation. The perception was Wrigley was beautiful and Comiskey was run down. Accurate or not, that was the perception.

His only option to compete was to offer the anti-Wrigley: a brand new ballpark. Soon, his engineering reports said Comiskey was falling apart and a new park was needed. Add in the threat of a move to Florida and you have the recipe for the construction of a new park of the demolition of a classic one.

I agree with what you are saying.
Of course there was drinking at Comiskey and it was always rougher around the edges than Wrigley.
That was probably from the fan base being more blue collar then the fans at Wrigley.
The South side of Chicago was where the stockyards and the steal mills were located and the White Sox were their team.
They drank beer, smoked cigars and expected their team to win or at least try when they spent their hard earned money to see a game.

Harry Carry was just what the Sox fans wanted.
Yes, he liked his beer but he was honest and outspoken about the team and ripped them when it was needed.
The fans appreciated that.
He was saying what they knew to be the truth and that is why they loved him.
He was not a salesman.
It is ironic that Reinsdorf thought that he was a bad image for the team yet he became Grandpa Cub just across town.
I give the Cubs all the credit for the way they have marketed Wrigley Field and Harry.
They sold it to the T.V. viewers in town and to the cable viewers across the country and it has been a gold mine.
Reinsdorf trying to present Comiskey as this happy family place was never going to sell like Wrigley.
Wrigley had the cute factor where people could look out their living room window to see the game while Comiskey was gritty and located near factories.
White Sox fans never wanted their team to be cuddly and cute and did not want to be known as "lovable losers".
That image sold to the parents who were really into teaching their kids that you should get a trophy for finishing in last place... just for participating.
That worked for the Cubs as a marketing tool but it has helped keep them from winning a title because they are into selling "wait till next year". It is the teams rally cry and you hear Cub fans say it all the time.

The image that they were selling at Wrigley starting in the 80s has now changed from a nice place to take your family to this Mardi Gras beer fest.
It still works as far as a moneymaker but the focus at Wrigley seems to be getting as intoxicated as possible and ignore what is happening on the field.
My 20-year-old daughter went to a game last September with her boyfriend and she said that it was kind of scary. Everyone was drunk and obnoxious and she did not feel comfortable at all.

I wish MLB had approved the sale of the White Sox to Eddie DeBartolo Jr. instead of Reinsdorf.

[Olliemets]

I went with a friend to Chicago for the Weekend in August of 1990 specifically to get to Comiskey before it was gone. Flew in from NY.

When we drove up the the Ramp and saw it we turned to each other and laughed.."What a dump" to each other. Looked so squat and boxy next to the new one across the street.

But we had a great time. Caught a twi nighter on Friday and a Saturday afternoon game, then went to Soldier Field for a pre season Bears Game.

I was most taken with the fans. Being Met fans we knew all about the Cubs, their fans and their storied park. But the Sox fans were serious fans. I was impressed. They really knew their baseball. I don't know what its like now at Cellular Field, but I really enjoyed that dumpy little park. Met a lot of nice people and had a great time.

[mdseverin]

My first game was at Old Comiskey. My dad was a bartender at the bar McCuddy's accross the street. I was pretty young, but I have a lot of memories of Comiskey and McCuddy's. All those stories about Babe Ruth stopping in durring games are true. My dad would also deliver tall glasses of whiskey to Harry in the press booth as he was broadcasting games. Francis, the owner, had so much baseball memorabilia. She passed away probably 20 years ago when she was 80 (I was at her 80th birthday party). All her stuff is in storage now. All just priceless. Her kids keep it in storage until the day they can open a new bar across the street from The Cell... which will probably never happen.

[mandrake]

I went with a friend to Chicago for the Weekend in August of 1990 specifically to get to Comiskey before it was gone. Flew in from NY.

When we drove up the the Ramp and saw it we turned to each other and laughed.."What a dump" to each other. Looked so squat and boxy next to the new one across the street.

But we had a great time. Caught a twi nighter on Friday and a Saturday afternoon game, then went to Soldier Field for a pre season Bears Game.

I was most taken with the fans. Being Met fans we knew all about the Cubs, their fans and their storied park. But the Sox fans were serious fans. I was impressed. They really knew their baseball. I don't know what its like now at Cellular Field, but I really enjoyed that dumpy little park. Met a lot of nice people and had a great time.

Wow what a coincidence! I drove to Chicago in the first week of September in 1990 from NY (Mets fan)to see the Sox and Comiskey. I went to the Cubs on Saturday afternoon, the Brewers at County Stadium on Sunday, the White Sox on Monday night vs KC, and then over to Detroit on Tuesday. The highlight was Comiskey. When I walked in and saw a banner hanging in the outfield stands "Go back to Wrigley Yuppie Scum" I knew I would love the place.
As for Wrigley, most of the game a bunch of drunk frat boys were cat calling at my wife(then girlfriend). I have never seen so many drunks at a game at any ballpark, and some people have told me it has only gotten worse since then. Ozzie Guillen recently said "Wrigley's not a ballpark, it's a bar".

[DJ Starion]

Actually, the Cubs were considering Schaumburg, since Tribune owned property out there - it's where the WGN radio towers are located. I doubt they were actually thinking about moving, but instead used Schaumburg as leverage to get the city to allow lights at Wrigley.

Schaumburg purchased the land to build the new stadium anyways. Eventually they used it to build Alexian Field, which houses the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League. Coincidentally, it has the exact field dimensions of Wrigley Field.

[locke40]

Schaumburg purchased the land to build the new stadium anyways. Eventually they used it to build Alexian Field, which houses the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League. Coincidentally, it has the exact field dimensions of Wrigley Field.

I had to google Alexian Field to see for myself, and bygone, you're right!

http://www.sportsfieldsinc.com/clients/clientphotos/flyers.bmp

[DiggerODell]

I will tell you fella's, all you fella's in this last page or so . . . within this thread is some of the best ballpark writing and observations of a ballpark I have seen since I first "accidently" found the Polo Grounds thread back in early '08! Fabulous discussion and all done with a touch of civility and class! My hats off! The reference and background and then the photo of Alexian Field is absolutely uncanny! The memories of in and around old Comiskey, the park and the folks within the organization and the proprieter's in and around are fabulous. I wish BBF was always this way!!:clapping

. . . and yes, I know. Not everyone is or thinks the same so on some topics there must be some contention. But this knocks my socks off to think the way it can be.

[Philtration]

Schaumburg purchased the land to build the new stadium anyways. Eventually they used it to build Alexian Field, which houses the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League. Coincidentally, it has the exact field dimensions of Wrigley Field.

I have been to a couple of games at Alexian Field and it is a nice ballpark.

[Chevy114]

Kind of reminds me of how legeneds field had the same demiontions as yankee stadium did.

[Philtration]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskylower.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskyAug231917.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskyVeeck.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskyVeeck2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/Comiskeycrowd.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/Comiskeyshower.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskybeer.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/comiskyview-1.jpg

[Bobby_Ayala]

What year were suites added to the upper deck at Old Comiskey?

[Philtration]

What year were suites added to the upper deck at Old Comiskey?

I believe they were added in 82 when the press box was redone.

The pic that I posted above was from 1959 and that was the first time Bill Veeck owned the team. That was the press box for the Cardinals football games and it was removed after the team left for St. Louis.

When Veeck owned the Indians he threatened to move the team to L.A. due to the city renting out the stadium to auto racing events which destroyed the playing field.
If that had not been worked out how different would the league be today?
The Dodgers might still be playing in New York while the Mets might not have existed at all.

[mets16]

I believe they were added in 82 when the press box was redone.

The pic that I posted above was from 1959 and that was the first time Bill Veeck owned the team. That was the press box for the Cardinals football games and it was removed after the team left for St. Louis.

When Veeck owned the Indians he threatened to move the team to L.A. due to the city renting out the stadium to auto racing events which destroyed the playing field.
If that had not been worked out how different would the league be today?
The Dodgers might still be playing in New York while the Mets might not have existed at all.

I still think the Dodgers would have been gone, just not that far west. Being that St. Louis was the closest team to LA, they would have moved a little inland. O'Malley was so fed up with Moses, who wouldn't allow the new Dodgers stadium to be built on Atlantic and Flatbush. Truth is, they would be gone, however, we might have seen the Giants staying in New York, eventually leading to no Mets.

[locke40]

I believe they were added in 82 when the press box was redone.

The pic that I posted above was from 1959 and that was the first time Bill Veeck owned the team. That was the press box for the Cardinals football games and it was removed after the team left for St. Louis.

When Veeck owned the Indians he threatened to move the team to L.A. due to the city renting out the stadium to auto racing events which destroyed the playing field.
If that had not been worked out how different would the league be today?
The Dodgers might still be playing in New York while the Mets might not have existed at all.

I still think the Dodgers would have been gone, just not that far west. Being that St. Louis was the closest team to LA, they would have moved a little inland. O'Malley was so fed up with Moses, who wouldn't allow the new Dodgers stadium to be built on Atlantic and Flatbush. Truth is, they would be gone, however, we might have seen the Giants staying in New York, eventually leading to no Mets.

Oh man, we can only dream of a world without the Mets. The Giants staying here would have been so much better for the city of New York, instead of the embarrassment we now have in Flushing.

[mets16]

Oh man, we can only dream of a world without the Mets. The Giants staying here would have been so much better for the city of New York, instead of the embarrassment we now have in Flushing.

I really wouldn't call them embarrassments. New York has worse problems than the Mets. New York can be a great place when we both are winning. The Mets fanbase are proud people, and while this year might be trying, it isn't that horrible. The Mets have their own style that they provide and up until a few years ago, appealed to a blue collar fan, which most New Yorkers are.

[Philtration]

I still think the Dodgers would have been gone, just not that far west. Being that St. Louis was the closest team to LA, they would have moved a little inland. O'Malley was so fed up with Moses, who wouldn't allow the new Dodgers stadium to be built on Atlantic and Flatbush. Truth is, they would be gone, however, we might have seen the Giants staying in New York, eventually leading to no Mets.

Right.
It could have gone that way as well.

The Los Angeles Indians and the San Francisco Dodgers?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/giants-logocopy.jpg

[Wrigley Wax]

Here is a picture from HistoricAerials.com taken in 1938. It shows Comiskey Park towards the top and near the bottom you see South Side Park, the White Sox original home. In 1938 it was still in use as the home of the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues. The park burned just two years later, and today, the Wentworth Gardens housing project occupy the site.

[Chevy114]

Right.
It could have gone that way as well.

The Los Angeles Indians and the San Francisco Dodgers?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/giants-logocopy.jpg

Do you think they would have used the giants font for the san fran dodgers?

[TommieAgeefan]

My one and only game at Comiskey was historic for me, as it was my first ever American League game. It was in May of 1973, a Saturday afternoon game vs Minnesota. I was there with a friend, our moms had dropped us off while they went shopping or something. At that time, it was by far the oldest park I had been to, as I had previously only been to Shea Stadium, Busch Stadium (II) and the Astrodome. I think the Sox were still in 1st place, but I'm not sure if Dick Allen had already broken his leg at that point, which pretty much ruined the Sox' season. Wasn't that exciting of a game, the Twins routed the Sox, so my fiend and I started roaming around the stadium. One cool thing, in the 9th inning, Rich Reichardt hit a HR and the scoreboard let loose with the famous fireworks :) Alas, it was too little, too late as the Twins won 8-3. Comiskey is still the oldest stadium I've been to, but not by that much now, as 13 years later, I visited the other Chicago baseball field to the north.

[Philtration]

Do you think they would have used the giants font for the san fran dodgers?

Why not?
It was not the Giants logo until they moved to San Francisco.
Don't you think the Dodgers playing in San Francisco would have came up with the same type of logo?
Just like the Dodgers changed their caps from the B to LA.
The Dodgers, Giants and Padres logos are all in the same vein.

The Mets stole the New York Giants logo after they left anyway.

[Chevy114]

Why not?
It was not the Giants logo until they moved to San Francisco.
Don't you think the Dodgers playing in San Francisco would have came up with the same type of logo?
Just like the Dodgers changed their caps from the B to LA.
The Dodgers, Giants and Padres logos are all in the same vein.

The Mets stole the New York Giants logo after they left anyway.

Just checking, didn't know if the dodgers owner walter o mally would have liked the same thing.

[tugger]

..........

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3433/3823997604_7ac1cb6f79_o.jpg

[ericlc129]

Cant believe there are so many empty seats! Strangely, the concert at Met Stadium was to have been rumored to be the ONLY venue not to have sold out. Apparently Chi-town folks have been falsifying the records. :hissyfit:

[ericlc129]

Here is a picture from HistoricAerials.com taken in 1938. It shows Comiskey Park towards the top and near the bottom you see South Side Park, the White Sox original home. In 1938 it was still in use as the home of the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues. The park burned just two years later, and today, the Wentworth Gardens housing project occupy the site.

I'm wondering how many people the government had to displace in order to get the 90/94 freeway built.

[ericlc129]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y220/phil62/baseball%20site/1445038515_670c59c9df.jpg

I'm wondering if anyone had been able to sit in the outfield corner sections. Must be weird to see people in the next section facing perpendicular to you.

[Philtration]

I'm wondering if anyone had been able to sit in the outfield corner sections. Must be weird to see people in the next section facing perpendicular to you.

I sat up there several times. I was all the way up in the far corner once (left field stands) when I went to see Harman Killebrew in his last season with the Twins. (1974)
I believe that it was "Bat Day" and they gave away like 10,000 wooden bats.

[Brokertothestars]

Love the classic pics of the old yard!

In case anyone here hasn't seen it yet, I posted some video of my last visit to Old Comiskey on You Tube...it's in three parts, part 1 is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaepsBBHTh4

There is footage from the left field upper deck corner, back in the make out row!
Enjoy!
BTTS

[J.E.Fullerton]

Here's some photos I took at the HOF library of Comiskey blueprint elevations (the HoF staff was exceedingly polite and helpful). I wasn't expecting to see them or really prepared to take decent pictures of such large pages, so they're a bit crooked and uneven.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b189/jefullerton/CP1.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b189/jefullerton/CP2.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b189/jefullerton/CP5.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b189/jefullerton/CP.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b189/jefullerton/CP3.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b189/jefullerton/CP4.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b189/jefullerton/CP6.jpg

[jnakamura]

Why not?
It was not the Giants logo until they moved to San Francisco.
Don't you think the Dodgers playing in San Francisco would have came up with the same type of logo?
Just like the Dodgers changed their caps from the B to LA.
The Dodgers, Giants and Padres logos are all in the same vein.

The Mets stole the New York Giants logo after they left anyway.

That's wasn't the "Giants font" it was the Pirates.

But since the Dodgers use a variation of the PCL L.A. team's cap logo, it makes sense that if they moved to S.F. that they would have done the same thing, which would have produced this:

[Sean O]

Here's some photos I took at the HOF library of Comiskey blueprint elevations (the HoF staff was exceedingly polite and helpful). I wasn't expecting to see them or really prepared to take decent pictures of such large pages, so they're a bit crooked and uneven.


Nicely done, Fullerton! Any idea if they mentioned blueprints of other parks when you were there?

Can't believe I didn't even think of going to the library when I was there in June.

[J.E.Fullerton]

Nicely done, Fullerton! Any idea if they mentioned blueprints of other parks when you were there?

There were also some Forbes Field elevations, both from the original 1909 construction, and from the (1925?) additions around the right field corner. I'm mainly interested in the early appearances of the classic parks as they were built in the teens, so I only took pictures of the 1909 blueprints. However, I was later able to buy reproductions of the exact same thing, quite possibly made from the same HOF sheets buy a much better photographer than I am. Unfortunately, no one has done the same with the Comiskey prints that I know of yet.

I think Forbes and Comiskey were the only two old parks they had plans of, but that was back in 2000, so they may have more now.

ETA: a very brief search yields this site (http://www.pointfourltd.com/documents/pfsportsdocs/origdesdrw.html), selling the Forbes elevations I mentioned. I have no affiliation with them, other than being a former customer.

[Sean O]

ETA: a very brief search yields this site (http://www.pointfourltd.com/documents/pfsportsdocs/origdesdrw.html), selling the Forbes elevations I mentioned. I have no affiliation with them, other than being a former customer.

Goodbye 15 dollars, hello new prints.

[soup]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3457/3185780806_4b09e71fd9_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/3185597180_6b86f8db0a_b.jpg

[whoisonit]

This was such a beautiful park.

I'll never understand how a monstrosity like the Polo Grounds is celebrated while this gem is rarely mentioned when the greastest ever parks are discussed. It far surpasses Wrigley, Ebbets and Fenway.

[locke40]

This was such a beautiful park.

I'll never understand how a monstrosity like the Polo Grounds is celebrated while this gem is rarely mentioned when the greastest ever parks are discussed. It far surpasses Wrigley, Ebbets and Fenway.

It is my belief that if the White Sox still played in this park, they would be just as popular (if not more so) as the Cubs. The history behind it, the arched windows seen from the INSIDE of the park, to the intimacy are unmatched anywhere else. I can't understand how anyone could look at this park and say, "You know what? We need to build a new stadium right away."

[soup]

It is my belief that if the White Sox still played in this park, they would be just as popular (if not more so) as the Cubs. The history behind it, the arched windows seen from the INSIDE of the park, to the intimacy are unmatched anywhere else. I can't understand how anyone could look at this park and say, "You know what? We need to build a new stadium right away."

agreed 100%.

[PurpleMustReign]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/3185597180_6b86f8db0a_b.jpg


Who is playing in this image?

[soup]

Who is playing in this image?

Mike Squires battting in a Sox-A's Old-Timers game, probably in 1990

[mdseverin]

Who is playing in this image?

Looks like A's and Sox

[soup]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2243/2089531785_d2502f5d26_o.jpg

[soup]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2227/2193177122_57b617ba6a_o.jpg

[johnfre]

This was such a beautiful park.

I'll never understand how a monstrosity like the Polo Grounds is celebrated while this gem is rarely mentioned when the greastest ever parks are discussed. It far surpasses Wrigley, Ebbets and Fenway.

I never attended a game at the Polo Grounds but have seen games at the Wrigley, Fenway, Tiger Stadium, Municipal Stadium and County Stadium. Comiskey Park, followed closely but Tiger Stadium, was my favorite. I'll never forgive them for tearing her down. I miss the park very much. It was beautiful. I can still see the trees beyond left field through the arches weaving in the breeze.

[ol' aches and pains]

God, I miss Comiskey Park. It was old and funky and smelled like it, stale beer, body odor and cigar smoke. It was everything a ball park should be.

The highest seats in the upper deck of Old Comiskey were lower than the lowest seats in the upper deck of the new park. Some improvement!

[whitesox901:]

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i170/WHITESOX901/comiskey_old2.jpg

[PurpleMustReign]

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i170/WHITESOX901/comiskey_old2.jpg


Dude, that picture rocks!! Where did you get it?

[PurpleMustReign]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2243/2089531785_d2502f5d26_o.jpg


WOW, those seats are awesome. I wonder why teams don't do that now?

[Lpeters199]

From Leland's Auction: http://www.lelands.com/Auction.aspx/AuctionDetailed/52009/November-2009-Catalog/Photo-Collection/Baseball/Lot977~Comiskey-Park-%281928%29/page1

[bandit12]

Anyone have the date clip from "Only the Lonely"?

[Lpeters199]

Anyone have the date clip from "Only the Lonely"?

The whole move is here: http://stagevu.com/video/xysnbvaxuvna

[bandit12]

The whole move is here: http://stagevu.com/video/xysnbvaxuvna

Thank you...what a great movie....and to quote the late great John Candy "it is a shame they are gonna tear this place down".

[StadiumPage]

WOW, those seats are awesome. I wonder why teams don't do that now?

Very similar: The "Mo's Zone" at Citi Field...
http://www.stadiumpage.com/citifield/Citi_041709_field1.jpg

[Brokertothestars]

A very nice tribute here, set to Baba's The Way We Were.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0ut42K9nM4

[brewers08]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/3185597180_6b86f8db0a_b.jpg

I love how comisky seems like its in the middle of no where. You cant see any hint of a major metropolitan area in this picture, could be in the middle of the country and you couldn't tell the difference from this angle