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Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field, which was built in 1914, is playing host to Major League Baseball for the 91st season in 2004.
The Friendly Confines is the second-oldest ballpark in the majors behind Boston's Fenway Park (1912).
Wrigley Field has been the site of such historic moments as:
Babe Ruth's "called shot," when Ruth allegedly pointed to a bleacher location during Game 3 of the 1932 World Series ... Ruth then hit Charlie Root's next pitch for a homer.
Gabby Hartnett's famous "Homer in the Gloamin' " September 28, 1938, vs. Pittsburgh's Mace Brown.
the great May 2, 1917, pitching duel between Jim "Hippo" Vaughn and the Reds' Fred Toney ... both Vaughn and Toney threw no-hitters for 9.0 innings before Cincinnati's Jim Thorpe (of Olympic fame) drove in the only run in the 10th inning ... Toney finished with a no-hitter.
Ernie Banks' 500th career home run May 12, 1970, vs. Atlanta's Pat Jarvis.
Pete Rose's 4,191st career hit, which tied him with Ty Cobb for the most hits in baseball history ... Rose singled off Reggie Patterson September 8, 1985.
Originally known as Weeghman Park, Wrigley Field was built on the grounds once occupied by a seminary.
Weeghman Park was the home of Chicago's entry in the Federal League and was the property of Charles H. Weeghman ... the club was known as both the Federals and the Whales.
the cost of building Weeghman Park, which had a seating capacity of 14,000, was estimated at $250,000 ... the infield and outfield consisted of more than 4,000 yards of soil and four acres of bluegrass.
the first major league game at the ballpark took place April 23, 1914, with the Federals defeating Kansas City 9-1 ... the first homer in ballpark history was hit by Federals catcher Art Wilson - a 2-run shot in the 2nd inning off Kansas City's Chief Johnson.
when the Federal League folded for financial reasons after the 1915 campaign, Weeghman purchased the Cubs from the Taft family of Cincinnati and moved the club to the two-year-old ballpark at the corner of Clark and Addison streets.
the first National League game at the ballpark was played April 20, 1916, when the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings ... a bear cub was in attendance at the game.
the park became known as Cubs Park in 1920 after the Wrigley family purchased the team from Weeghman ... it was named Wrigley Field in 1926 in honor of William Wrigley Jr., the club's owner.
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