Before Wrigley Became Wrigley: The Inside Story Of The First Years Of The Cubs? Home Field

Chicagos Wrigley Field Opened In 1914 As Weeghman Park, The New North Side Stadium Erected For Use By The Federal Leagues Chicago Team, Which Would Eventually Be Called The Whales. It Was Built In Just 50 Days, With A Rectangular Shape In The Style Of New Yorks Polo Grounds, Designed To Fit The Odd Dimensions Of The Lotwhich Formerly Housed A Seminary Schoolthat Whales Owner Lucky Charlie Weeghman Had Purchased With A 99Year Lease At A Little Over $300,000. In All, It Took $250,000 And Plenty Of Scrambling To Build The Park.That Seminal Event Is At The Heart Of Before Wrigley: The Inside Story Of The First Years Of The Cubs Home Field. The Book Will Explore The Early Years Of Wrigley Field, When It Bore A Different Name And Housed A Different Team. Sean Deveney Has Mined Documents And Resources From Baseballs Hall Of Fame In Cooperstown, As Well As The Chicago History Museum, To Supplement The Reports In Newspapers And Magazines Of The Day, Giving Readers A Behindthescenes Look At The Origins And Birth Pangs Of The Park.At The Center Of The Before Wrigley Drama Is A Cast Of Typically Colorful Chicago Characters, Particularly Weeghman, The Young And Flamboyant Restaurant Man Who Started Out In The City As An $8Aweek Waiter, Eventually Became A Millionaire Baseball Magnate, And Then Lost Everything. Theres Tightwad Owner Charles Murphy, Who Oversaw The Cubs Early 20Thcentury Dynasty (Yes, There Was A Cubs Dynasty), Only To Run Off His Famed Infield Of Tinkers, Evers, And Chance, And Be Run Out Of The Game Himself. There Are Crooked Baseball Officials Like Ban Johnson And Garry Herrmann, Crooked Politicians Like Mayor Big Bill Thompson, Rogue Ballplayers Out To Make A Quick Buck Or Two, And, Of Course, The Generally Fair And Hardworking Citizens Of Chicago.Using Careful And Detailed Research, Incorporated Into The Bizarre And Gripping Narrative Of The City, The Game, And The Team In The Mid1910S, Before Wrigley Gives Cubs Fans A Rollicking Account Of Their Beloved Ballparks Littleexplored Early Days.Skyhorse Publishing, As Well As Our Sports Publishing Imprint, Are Proud To Publish A Broad Range Of Books For Readers Interested In Sportsbooks About Baseball, Pro Football, College Football, Pro And College Basketball, Hockey, Or Soccer, We Have A Book About Your Sport Or Your Team.Whether You Are A New York Yankees Fan Or Hail From Red Sox Nation; Whether You Are A Diehard Green Bay Packers Or Dallas Cowboys Fan; Whether You Root For The Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, Ucla Bruins, Or Kansas Jayhawks; Whether You Route For The Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Or Los Angeles Kings; We Have A Book For You. While Not Every Title We Publish Becomes A New York Times Bestseller Or A National Bestseller, We Are Committed To Publishing Books On Subjects That Are Sometimes Overlooked By Other Publishers And To Authors Whose Work Might Not Otherwise Find A Home.