23 Facts About Wrigley Field

1.

Wrigley Field is nicknamed "The Friendly Confines", a phrase popularized by "Mr Cub", Hall of Fame shortstop and first baseman Ernie Banks.

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2.

Wrigley Field is known for its ivy-covered brick outfield wall, the unusual wind patterns off Lake Michigan, the iconic red marquee over the main entrance, the hand-turned scoreboard, its location in a primarily residential neighborhood with no parking lots and views from the rooftops behind the outfield, and for being the last Major League park to have lights installed for night games, in 1988.

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3.

The Cubs Plaza building just to the west of Wrigley Field was finalized, and the "Park at Wrigley Field", the area above Cubs players dressing rooms, was in use for fans before and during games.

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4.

The Chicago Cubs released a statement, saying that "Wrigley Field is more accessible than it was in its 108-year history".

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5.

Wrigley Field follows the jewel box ballpark design that was popular in the early part of the 20th century.

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6.

In 1937, the stadium was renovated and P K Wrigley discussed beautification with then-Cubs President William Veeck Sr.

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7.

When Wrigley Field was constructed, the buildings along Waveland and Sheffield avenues gave spectators a view of what was going on inside the ballpark, but did not become popular spectator areas until the 1929 World Series.

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8.

Unlike the home of the Red Sox, the scoreboard at Wrigley is mounted above the centerfield bleachers, rather than at ground level, making it harder to hit during play.

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9.

Past and present owners of the park have used the marquee in some way as the park's trademark of sorts: the CTA Addison street platform that serves Wrigley Field uses an image of the marquee painted on walls to announce the destination.

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10.

In 1942, then-owner Philip K Wrigley had planned to install lights, but they were scrapped for the World War II effort.

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11.

Wrigley Field once held the record for the most NFL games played in a single stadium, with 365 regular season games, but this record was surpassed in 2003 by Giants Stadium in New Jersey, thanks to its dual-occupancy by the New York Giants and New York Jets.

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12.

The 50 seasons the Bears spent at Wrigley Field had been an NFL record until 2006, when Lambeau Field duplicated this feat by hosting the Green Bay Packers for a 50th season and broke it in 2007.

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13.

Soldier Wrigley Field matched the accomplishment when the Bears played there for their 50th season in 2021.

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14.

One remnant of the Bears' time at Wrigley was uncovered during the offseason rebuilding of the playing field between 2007 and 2008: the foundations for the goal posts.

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15.

Since 2005, Wrigley Field has been opened on a limited basis to popular concerts, but not without some controversy.

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16.

Ironically given the roots of its name, Wrigley Field had been a notable exception to the trend of selling corporate naming rights to sporting venues.

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17.

Wrigley Field is famous for its view of the neighborhood buildings across Waveland and Sheffield Avenues.

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18.

Wrigley Field had a brief cameo in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues.

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19.

The 1984 film The Natural, starring Robert Redford, had a scene set at Wrigley Field but was actually filmed at All-High Stadium in Buffalo, New York.

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20.

In 2007, the band Nine Inch Nails created a promotional audio skit, which involved Wrigley Field being the target of disgruntled war veteran's terrorist attack.

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21.

In episode 9 of season 3 of The Man in the High Castle, Wrigley Field makes a short appearance as the home of a fictional soccer team called the Chicago Norsemen who, according to a banner, were "1963 Annual Soccer Champions".

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22.

Wrigley Field was the site of the final task of The Amazing Race 29 finale, where one team member was guided by their partner communicating to them from the press box via a one-way radio to place numbers on the hand-turned scoreboard that corresponded to their team's final placement at the end of each of the previous eleven episodes, before searching the stadium's seats for their final clue.

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23.

Pace operates the 282 Schaumburg-Wrigley Field Express from Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg and the 779 Yorktown-Wrigley Field Express from Yorktown Shopping Center in Lombard.

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