Chicago Sports Historic Photos: Wrigley Field History

to be hit by Dick Butkus. That’s assuming I lived through the experience!!

Butkus just looks like he wants to hurt people every time I see him in picture or film.

My favorite Bear ever. No one can ever replace your childhood sports heroes.

My father had a pair season tickets that were actually in a junket of 8 from my “Godfather” who played a couple seasons on the Bears in the late 40’s but got hurt, Halas gave him the tic’s for one season but he had to buy them who got them each successive season. Marv started a sporting goods store where my father was a friend-investor and got the tics through that exchange, store failed but the kept the tickets and bought them as a junket. They were in the RF temporary bleachers, good seats then, 35 yard line (north end). Before the North Shore Line closed one could catch it in Waukegan just before Noon (Express) and be in your seat by 1PM.

You used be able to bring in food and beverages and the junket commissioned a down blanket to cover all those sitting in the section for colder games. The screen on the north end my father recalls was installed to block the wind (AND a few roof toppers watching the game on Waveland).

As for Butkus when the Bears sucked some of the best moments was watching him intimidate and tee off on the center during punting and FG/extra points. He would get a running start trying to anticipate the snap and drive in and under the vulnerable snapper and then lift him up and onto his back. They later changed the rule not allowing this kind of inside play where if you hit a snapper you had to be in a three/four point stance.

During punts Butkus also took homage on the punter often chasing him around the field.

When the Bears moved to Soldier Field my father’s seats suddenly got worse, pushed down to the 15 yrd line where the sight lines and experience was nothing like Wrigley. As a kid at Wrigley I could remember watching Sayers, Buffone, Dick Gordan, and getting a monster Corn Beef on Rye in a bar/restaurant on Addison called the “End Zone”.

going to a Bears game during a December blizzard as a kid. Had standing room tickets behind the grandstand. Froze, but thought I was having fun.

Don’t remember the opponent or whether the Bears won or lost.

Haven’t cared in many years.

Even Butkus’ teammates had reason to fear him.

“Please don’t hit me for that incompletion!”

I’ve hung many professional banners that have ‘slits’ or holes in them to let the breeze pass through…..that’s common practice to keep such banners from ripping in high winds. I think that why the holes are in the tarps.

Of course, knowing the miserly ways of George Halas, perhaps he was making sure there was NO way to see into Wrigley Field to catch the game for free.

The bleachers in RF effectively stopped any rooftop viewing.

But, I believe the tarps ARE windscreens.

they used it for games AND practices. This was obviously before they were based in Lake Forest. How they ever got the field ready for baseball is beyond me, if it was completely destroyed by the end of the football season, then the worst part of winter sets in, and they had to have it ready by April. Had to be a groundskeeping nightmare.

at the far right upper side. I think that is Ivy Walls.

 — and some of them are early in various seasons….you can still see the worn-out football damage in LF. I seriously doubt if ANYTHING was done to the field except to cover it when it rained and run a mower over it. Re sodding? Doubtful.

I don’t think field standards were of importance to anybody in that era.

If I recall, the old metal ‘slots’ that the goal posts were fastened to were uncovered during the recent rebuild of the field.

Keep the kicks from going onto Waveland?

Years ago there were no nets to stop the footballs from going into the stands. I remember my Dad telling me about the 1940 NFL championship game in DC. He was visiting the East coast and managed to score a ticket to that December game.

When the Bears scored their final TD of the 73-0 blowout, officials asked them to run or throw for the extra point because they were nearly out of footballs due to all the extra point kicks going into the stands.

…all PAT’s and FG’s went sailing onto Waveland, and also into the 1B seating areas. I don’t recall any screens.

since he had played at Wrigley while a Bear and Packer

sure it was a two year career of not a whole lot, but he had the NFL pin, and could honestly say he made it.

Seems appropriate.

BTW, I love seeing Dick & Jack again. These were the NFL guys I watched on Sundays (not the Lions).

And for whatever reason, I loved watching games in the late 1960s and early 1970s with Oakland’s George Blanda. I always rooted for him and the Raiders when they played their arch nemesis: the Kansas City Chiefs.

I don’t know why. I couldn’t care less about either team now…