Berlin Olympics Cancelled in 1916-- Part 2: Deutsches Stadium 1913-1933

The German Empire even constructed a dazzling new facility to serve as the center piece for the games.  Known as the Deutsches Stadium, it opened well ahead of the games in 1913.
After the First World War broke out in July 1914, preparations carried on for awhile since no one expected the hostilities to last another two years.

But, the horrific war lasted until 1918, eventually forcing the Olympics to be cancelled.

The arena was temporarily used as a military hospital.  After the war, it was used as the home of the German National Football Team (Soccer) and  German Championship games.  Also for races and the celebration of Paul von Hindenberg's 80th birthday.  Hitler even spoke here.

In 1931, the Olympic Committee made Berlin the host city of the 11th Olympics in 1936 and originally plans were to just restore the stadium, but the Nazis were in power by then and they wanted something even more grander and so the original Deutsches Stadium was torn down  in 1933, twenty years after it was built.

--DaCootOlym

Chicago's Veterans Day Ceremony To Be Held in Soldier Field Today

Mayor Lightfoot will be at Chicago's Veterans Day ceremony at Chicago's monument to our veterans, Soldier Field by the lakefront, weather permitting as we are having snow and blustery winds.

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About Chicago's Soldier Field

From Wikipedia.

On Chicago's Near South Side.  Capacity for football 61,500, the third smallest in the NFL.  Home field of the Chicago Bears, who moved there in 1971  from Wrigley Field.    It is now the second-oldest stadium in the NFL since the Los Angeles Rams moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum which was built a year before Soldier Field.

Designed in 1919 and opened in 1924.  Originally called Municipal Grant Park Stadium.  The name was changed to Soldier Field on November 11, 1925, as a memorial to U.S. soldiers who had died in combat.

Its formal dedication as Soldier Field was held on November 27, 1926, for the 29th playing of the annual Army-Navy game.

A Well-Deserved Honor for Out Veterans.

Before Wrigley Field, Cubs Had West Side Grounds-- Part 4

After the Cubs moved out, the park hosted Wild West-type shows and other events before the state of Illinois purchased the property in 1919 for $400,000 with plans to build a research and educational hospital.

The group name of the folks wanting to mark the site, Way Out In Left Field is in reference to the West Side Grounds.  Patients at a nearby psychiatric hospital behind the left field grandstand were said to make loud and odd remarks that could be heard within the park.

Glad to Have It Marked.  --Cooter

Before Wrigley Field, Cubs Had West Side Grounds-- Part 3:

"I just thought that there should be a marker commemorating the ballpark and, more importantly, the success of the '06. '07, '08 teams, said Brian Bernardoni, 49.  "I mean, the Cubs were one of the great teams of the era, like the 1927 Yankees."

The West Side Grounds opened in 1893.  The ballpark sometimes has a II after its name to distinguish it from a predecessor stadium near Congress Parkway that was usually referred to as West Side Park but occasionally was labeled with "grounds" in the title.

Built for $30,000, the park had a capacity of 16,000 and was the name of the same ballclub that used different names:  Colts, Orphans and, finally, Cubs.

Despite playing games in four World Series matchups at the park, including a loss to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1910, the Cubs never clinched a championship at home.

The Cubs played their last game there October 3, 1915, a 7-2 win over the Cardinals in front of 2,800 fans.  The next season, they moved to Weeghman Park, later renamed Wrigley Field and have played there ever since.

--CootCubs

Before Wrigley Field, Cubs Had West Side Grounds-- Part 2

From the June 3 post.

Before I stopped for posts on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, I was writing about the place where the Chicago Cubs played before moving to what is now called Wrigley Field, the West Side Grounds.

Indeed, few people, or even Cub fans have ever heard of the West Side Grounds.  Even UIC students and faculty know nothing of it, although part of their campus is on the site.

Mike Reischl is a big West Side Grounds fan and  has led an effort to get the state and city to recognize the site.  He has joined a like-minded fellow in the person of Brian Bernardoni and together they have formed  the Way Out In Left Field Society to drum up interest.  They eventually raised $1000 and got the support of the university for a marker.

In September 2008, the Illinois State Historical Society unveiled a plaque at 912 S. Wood St. designating the site.  It sits near where the centerfield clubhouse and flagpole of the old park were located.

When the Cubbies WERE REALLY GOOD!!  --CootCub

Before Wrigley Field, There Was the West Side Grounds for the Cubs-- Part 1: Tinker to Evers to Chance

From the October 6, 22017, Chicago Tribune  "Cubs rules at long gone West Side Grounds" by Patrick M. O'Connell.

A century ago, it was baseball, not medicine that was featured at the plot of land now occupied by the University of Illinois at Chicago's School of Medicine.  This was the site of the Chicago Cubs' most dominant and successful period in franchise history.

"Before Wrigley Field's ivy, before the 'W' flags and the beloved manual scoreboard, there was the West Side Grounds."  The legendary Tinker to Evers to Chance combination were doing their thing in the infield.  Attendance was booming and fans also packed adjacent rooftops.

The Cubs won back-to-back World Series titles in 1907 and 1908.  And, this is where the only intercity World Series between the White Sox and Cubs took place. the year before when the Hitless Wonders downed the heavily favored Cubs in 1906.

The field was located between Polk, Wood and Taylor streets and Wolcott Avenue (then Lincoln Avenue).

)h, Those Were the Days My Friend.  We Thought They'd Never End.  --DaCootSox

Looking Back at NIU Football, 1965: Glidden Field Reactivated

From the September 27, 2015, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois) "Looking Back."

1965.  "Ancient Glidden Field (where the NIU Art Building is now located), the scene of Northern Illinois University football since 1899 will be reactivated tomorrow when the Huskies open their schedule.  Placed in mothballs last fall, the 8,500-seat field will begin its 66th year of use, then before the campaign ends it will again be retired in favor of a new 22,500 seat stadium on West Campus."

The reason was because the new stadium was not yet completed.

Go Huskies!!  --CooterDog

Life Inside Wrigley Field's Scoreboard-- Part 3: "Best Seat in the House"

From the June 28, 2015, Chicago Tribune "The man who has the best seat in the house" by Rhiannon Walker.

Fred Washington, a member of the Wrigley Field grounds crew, has worked in the scoreboard for 25 years, and he has no worries about its demise, "The scoreboard will be here forever.  I never worry about anything replacing that scoreboard."

He is a West Side native and has been in that board since 1990 and at Wrigley since 1984.    As a member of the grounds crew, he has worked every job, but now has to hose down the dugouts and warning track in addition to his scoreboard duty.  Also, he is the one that hoists the famous "W" flag (and "L" flag after a loss).

Working the scoreboard is considered a promotion because he gets extra pay.

Washington said that you won't miss a thing working inside the board.  It's the best seat in the house.  If it's cold outside, it's very cold in there; if the wind is blowing straight out, it's blowing straight in his face; if it's hot, then it's very hot.

Fans will help him out if he misses anything, but that doesn't happen often.  His seat is above the "8."

--CootScorer

Evansville's Bosse Field-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

In the last post I mentioned Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana, as being the baseball diamond used in the film "A League of Their Own" about women's professional baseball during World War II. I'd never heard of it, even though I've been through Evansille many times. I guess I'll have to check it out the next time through.

It was built in 1915 and is the third oldest ball field in the United States (Fenway Park in 1912 and Wrigley Field in 1914, with centennial next year). Since 1995, it has been the home of the Evansville Otters of the Independent Frontier League.

It was named for Evansville Mayor Benjamin Bosse who served 1914-1922. "A League of Their Own" was filmed there in 1991. Of interest, the movie "Hoosiers" also used an athletic facility in Indiana at Knightsville for the high school games.

Never Heard of It. --DaCoot

Paterson, NJ Seeks to Capitalize on "Twin Landmarks"

April 13, 2013, Yahoo! News, AP "NJ city seeks to capitalize on its 'twin landmarks'" by Samantha Henry.

I'd never heard of either of these places mentioned in the article, both of which are significant to te history of the United States.

The article was mainly about Paterson, New Jersey's1932 Hinchcliffe Stadium which is deteriorating from years of neglect.  This place was once the home field of three Negro League teams: the New York Black Yankees, New York Cubans and the Newark Eagles.  Such notables as Satchel Page and Larry Doby donned uniforms and a total of eleven Major League Hall of Famers who played there are enshrines at Cooperstown.

The art deco styled stadium was designated a National Landmark in March.

The other landmark is the 77-foot waterfall at the nearby Great Falls whose power helped fuel the Industrial Revolution.  Some two billion gallons of water pass over the falls every day, making it the second biggest waterfall east of the Mississippi (Niagara Falls being the other one)  .It became a National Park recently.

Paterson is a once powerful city struggling with crime and finances these days.  Back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the city's textile mills turned out so much, it became known as "The Silk City."  There is great hope that these twin landmarks will help recoup some of that prosperity.

Hinchcliffe Stadium is owned by the city's school system which shut it down in 1975 due to finances

Today, Paterson is 60% Latino and 30% black.  It is estimated that it will take $2 million to bring the stadium back to its former glory.  The financially strapped city recently voted to put $1.5 million in the effort.

Here's Hoping for a Return for Hinchcliffe Stadium, Especially after the Recent "42" Movie.  --Cooter