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 Comiskey Park
Chicago, IL
Comiskey Park was home to the Chicago
White Sox for 81 years and was the oldest ballpark in use
when it closed. The history of the White Sox dates back to the late
1800s when the team played in Sioux City and St. Paul before moving
to Chicago and becoming a charter member of the American League in
1901. Upon moving to Chicago, the White Sox played at South Side
Park a small wooden ballpark with a seating capacity of 15,000. They
became very successful here winning the 1901 and 1906 American
League pennants. Because of the team's success, owner Charles
Comiskey wanted a new modern ballpark for his team. Comiskey
commissioned architect Zachary Taylor Davis and pitcher Ed Walsh to
visit ballparks picking out the best features to use in a new
ballpark. During this time Comiskey purchased land three blocks from
South Side Park that was once used as the city landfill to construct
his ballpark on. It was originally to have a Romanesque design and
cantilever upper deck. However both of these ideas were scratched
because of costs. Construction on the ballpark began on February 15,
1910 and was named White Sox Park. A green cornerstone was laid on
St. Patrick’s Day and it was completed in just five months.
The Chicago White Sox christened
White Sox Park on July 1, 1910 when 32,000 fans filled
the ballpark. A two tier grandstand extended down both the base
lines and a single level of wooden bleachers were located behind
the outfield wall. From the outside, White Sox Park looked like a
factory with its red brick facade. White Sox Park was renamed Comiskey Park later
that year. Original dimensions at Comiskey
Park were 362 ft. (left & right) and 420 (center). A $1 million
renovation occurred at Comiskey Park after the 1926 season when
the wooden bleachers were removed and replaced with double decked
seats. This renovation enclosed the stadium increasing the capacity
from 32,000 to 52,000. Scoreboards were located on the left and
right field out field walls. Home plate at Comiskey Park was moved
back and forth many times during its existence, beginning in 1934 to
increase the amount of homeruns hit. The outfield fence, along with
movable box seats were also added and removed as homeplate was
moved.
Night baseball arrived at Comiskey
Park on August 14, 1939. In 1947, the centerfield seats were
closed and the moveable seats were permanently installed,
decreasing the seating capacity to 44,492. Bill Veeck bought the
Chicago White Sox in 1959 making many changes to Comiskey Park. Veeck decided to paint the red brick facade white,
put a picnic area in left field and installed the first electric
scoreboard behind the centerfield bleachers. Veeck also installed an
exploding scoreboard in 1960 that had fireworks, aerial bombs and
numerous sounds. The White Sox were sold to the Allyn family in
1961. They renamed Comiskey Park,
White Sox Park and in 1969 AstroTurf was placed in the infield to
cut costs. Bill Veeck bought the club again in 1976 and immediately
removed the AstroTurf.
Comiskey Park looked basically the
same until it closed. Veeck sold the team to Jerry Reinsdorf and
Eddie Einhorn in 1980. New plastic green seats replaced the wooden
seats, a new Diamond Vision video board, luxury suites and improved
front office facilities were installed. By the 1980s the team began
discussing the possibility of building a new stadium. Studies were
conducted of renovating Comiskey Park but it was determined that
this would be to expensive. The White Sox faced numerous obstacles
in getting a new stadium built and made threats of relocating if a
new ballpark was not constructed. However, the city of Chicago decided to build the team a
new ballpark. Throughout the 1990 season fans attending games at Comiskey
Park could see the new stadium rise above the old one. The White Sox
played their last game at Comiskey Park on September 30, 1990. In April 1991 the White Sox moved into
US Cellular Field. Several organizations tried to save the
original Comiskey Park to turn it into a park. However, the entire
stadium was demolished in 1991 and was turned into a parking area.
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