Charles Weeghman-- Part 2: Weeghman Park Became Wrigley Field

He also had a great interest in baseball.  In 1911, he tried to purchase controlling interest in the St. louis Cardinals, but failed.  He then founded the Chicago Whales in the new Federal League and built a new steel and concrete stadium he named Weeghman Park.  He chose the site specifically because it was by the "L" tracks.

After the federal league folded, he merged the Whales with the Chicago Cubs and became the majority owner and moved the Cubs into his new park which is now known better as Wrigley Field.

On August 16, 1921, he sponsored the first statewide rally of the KKK on his property in Lake Zurich, Illinois.  It was estimated that some 12,000 attended and another 2,000 were initiated into the organization.

His lunch counter business lost favor with the public and he had to sell more and more of the Cubs to chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr.  He was completely out of the Cubs by 1918.

--DaCoot

That Bennigan's Restaurant Chain

From the July 30, 2008, Chicago Tribune.

I remember going to Bennigan's ion several different locations, especially because a lot of their places had NTN/Buzztime, a game we love to play. Most often, we went to the one in Lake Zurich, Illinois, for NTN, drink specials and those absolutely fantastic Monte Cristo sandwiches. We've never had better ones.

The Bennigan's in Springfield, Illinois, at the Hilton Hotel reopened, so we can still get our M.C.'s. I remember watching a great Illinois-Arizona basketball game resulting in an Illinois victory and a trip to the Final Four at the Bennigan's in Champaign-Urbana (home of the University of Illinois). We sure had a great time that night!!!

Bennigan's was/is a sports and Irish pub and famous for, like I said, its Monte Cristo sandwich. The chain started in 1976, not long after T.G.I. Friday's pioneered the bar-and-grill chain concept. Bennigan's grew along with the casual dining sector.

However, starting in the 1990s, Bennigan's became just another casual dining place as the market was flooded with similar-themed places and the casual dining market steadily diminished.

By 2008, the chain faced problems from food price inflation, increased minimum wage and a drop in consumer demand because of the economy. In 2008 the parent company declared bankruptcy and closed its 150 corporate locations, although some 31 have since reopened in 11 states.

Getting Hungry for a You-Know-What. --DaCoot