Wrigley Field: The Centennial: 100 Years at the Friendly Confines Author: Les Krantz | Language: English | ISBN:
B00FD33W04 | Format: EPUB
Wrigley Field: The Centennial: 100 Years at the Friendly Confines Description
Originally called Weeghman Park, Wrigley Field hosted its first game in 1914, and the 2014 season marks the 100th anniversary of baseball’s second oldest ballpark. In Wrigley Field: The Centennial, Les Krantz tells the story of Wrigley’s first 100 years—from the origins of the ivy on the outfield walls and ballpark traditions such as throwing back home run balls to Ruth’s called shot in the 1933 World Series and unforgettable moments featuring stars Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ryne Sandberg, Greg Maddux, and more. Featuring numerous photographs, Wrigley’s first century is beautifully documented and an originally produced DVD narrated by Lou Boudreau Jr. and Ron Santo Jr. features footage from throughout the stadium’s history and interviews with Jack Brickhouse, Ron Santo, Ernie Banks, and others.
- File Size: 5122 KB
- Print Length: 192 pages
- Publisher: Triumph Books; Har/DVD edition (August 1, 2013)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00FD33W04
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #725,566 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
My son Jesse and I have seen a baseball game in every major league ballpark, a feat we completed twice, in 2002 and 2013. Achieving such double milestones, about which we have written and published in a variety of forums, requires a great deal of time together and on the road.
It gave us many hours to talk.
One of our frequent and favorite topics was how we would define America through its built landscape. What are the 10 places that are quintessentially America, that create the American character.
We discussed such landmarks as the St. Louis Arch, Golden Gate Bridge, United States Capitol.
And Wrigley Field.
Not only for their vision and vigor, their sense of pride and place, but also for their sheer joy and mastery of space, these places speak to a brawny, self-assured culture that arose and came of age almost instantly.
Taken this way, each must be considered a national treasure -- Wrigley Field included. Nestled snugly in its urban neighborhood, Wrigley's warmth and intimacy, sense of history and of place, speaks to an easy American democracy, its reverence for its green past in the bricks-and-mortar present.
Is it fair so to freight a hundred-year-old baseball park? I think so.
Further, is it fair to ask a book about a ballpark to measure up to such considerations?
Yes, I believe it is.
Finally, does Les Krantz's Wrigley Field: The Centennial measure up?
Yes, it does. Admirably so.
Richly illustrated, deeply nostalgic, Wrigley Field: The Centennial takes its readers into the park and its history, reveling in people and place, reminding us of just how important is time spent there.
Such a feat is hardly surprising, coming from veteran sportswriter Krantz.
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