Chicago’s Lefty Tyler goes 21 innings against Milt Watson to beat the Phils, 2 – 1.
Chicago’s Lefty Tyler goes 21 innings against Milt Watson to beat the Phils, 2 – 1.
Chicago Cubs play their first game in Weeghman Park
April 20 1916 – The Chicago Cubs play their first game in the newly-built Federal League Weeghman Park, which will be renamed “Wrigley Field” in 1926 in honor of William Wrigley, who gained full ownership of the team seven seasons ago. The stadium, minus the upper deck added later, seats 14,000, but 20,000 fans are on hand. Greeting fans on the…
Charles H. Weeghman buys the Cubs
1916 – The National League, happy to be rid of fractious Chicago Cubs owner Charles W. Murphy, allows Charles H. Weeghman, owner of a restaurant chain and president of the Federal League’s Chicago Whales, to buy the Cubs for $500,000. By putting up $50,000, William Wrigley, Jr. becomes a minority stock holder. Whales manager Joe Tinker succeeds Roger Bresnahan, and the Cubs will play in the Federal League’s newly built ballpark on the North Side, soon to become known as Wrigley Field.
Chicago Whales of the Federal League host the Kansas City Packers in their home opener at the new Weeghman Park
An estimated crowd of 21,000, about 2,000 of whom stand and watch in a cordoned-off outfield section, brave a chilly wind off the lake to witness the Chicago Whales of the Federal League host the Kansas City Packers in their home opener at the new Weeghman Park. It is the first major league game in the new ballpark, which will later be renamed Wrigley Field. After two innings of play, Packers starting pitcher George Howard “Murphy” Johnson is served with an injunction by his former club, the Cincinnati Reds, from whom he had jumped a few days earlier. Johnson is forced to leave the game. The Whales win, 9 – 1.
