Friday, August 21, 2015

Wrigley Field's Center-Field Scoreboard Through the Years-- Part 2: Lettering and Football Scoreboard

LETTERING

The words "National" and "American atop the scoreboard used to be lower than they are now.  They were raised to accommodate listing more scores because of baseball's expansion which increased the number of teams from 16 to today's 30.  Even so, there is not enough room to show the score of every game so west coast late-starting games are often left out.

Cubs Score--  The linescore of the Cubs game, now displayed in the lower-left-hand corner of the scoreboard, had been shown on the top in the top row of National league scores on the board's left side.

White Sox Score--  It is customary to display the score of the White Sox game on the American League (right) side.  Previously, the South Siders were referred to as "Sox."  now, like other AL teams, they are called by their city, not their nickname.

FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD

During the years when the Bears played at Wrigley Field-- a tenure that began in 1921, 16 years before the scoreboard was built, and ended in 1971-- the scoreboard was modified for football.  In one archival photograph, the words "Batter," "Strike" and "Out" are replaced by "Yards to Go,"  'Down,"  "Ball" and "Quarter."

The scores of other football games are displayed with each quarter's scores instead of each inning.  In addition, there is a digital clock on the scoreboard which contained an ad for Longines as the official watch.

--CooterBall

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