A joke that’s heard in Chicago goes like this: “What do the Cubs and Marlins have in common? Neither has won a World Series in their new ballpark.”
Marlins Park opened two years ago, while the first professional baseball game in Wrigley Field (née Weeghman Park) was played on this date in 1914.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune offers up an interesting read on the North Side landmark, pointing out that the cathedral nearly hosted its first night game 46 years before the lights were finally turned on:
People think of Wrigley Field as a link to our past, and most view longtime owner Philip K. Wrigley as a traditionalist because of his resistance to installing lights.
But that’s not completely accurate. Wrigley was ready to begin playing night baseball in 1942, only to donate the lights, towers and cable to the government for the World War II effort the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7, 1941.
The Cubs host the Diamondbacks at 1:20 p.m. CDT.