Wrigley Field -- Its history

 

Wrigley Field, 2018 (Photo by Flicker)

 

 

 

 

 

One of the oldest sports stadiums in the United States, Wrigley Field has always been known for its flexibility and character. Blah blah blah, history history history. The famous ballpark has been the scene of the most storied games in the sport, not only in baseball, but also in football. Here is a split-screen, showing how Wrigley Field looked when the Bears played there (a photo from 1965 is on the left), along with a photo on the right of Wrigley in 2018. Surprisingly, the park's bleacher set-up was built in 1938, when the park was already over 20 years old. Before that, it had a different oufield look, with no ivy on the walls and group of bleachers located closer to the field. 

 

 

 

 

 

Blah blah blah. More copy here.

John Owens: My life story

 

I was born in Chicago’s Avalon Park neighborhood in 1965. At the time of my birth, this bedroom community on Chicago’s Southeast Side was nearly entirely white. But by 1970, the entire neighborhood was African-Americans, as white families fled due to panic peddling realtors and block busters. Ironically, the median family income in Avalon Park increased after white families, and the neighborhood was still solidly middle class. The neighborhood was fun for children. I vividly recall attending double-features at the beautiful Avalon Theatre on Stony Island Avenue. This was (and is) a beautiful movie palace which I felt privileged to attend. 

1967 photo of my mom and dad with me (center) and my sister, Donna and brother, Donald (far right)

 

 

My mom, Ruth Owens, and my dad, James Owens, were both hard-working children of the South, who moved up to Chicago in the late 1940s. My dad worked at the U.S. Steel South Works plant on the Southeast Side for many years. But later in life, he became a tradesman, working as a painter in numerous buildings owned by Katz Realtors. My mom worked at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, where she was employed for over 40 years as a nurses’ assistant. I feel blessed that I grew up where I did, when I did. I wouldn’t trade my life as a child on the Chicago’s Southeast Side for that of any other child in the United States.

Jazz stars of the 1940s

The 1940s were a time of massive change in the jazz world. And that was most notable in New York City, where journalist/photographer William P. Gottlieb captured some of the most brilliant jazz stars of the time in their element. In this photo gallery above, we see some of the finest talents of jazz, during their most creative periods. Singer Ella Fitzgerald had been on of the most dynamic singers in jazz and was a young veteran when this photo was taken of her and Dizzy Gillespie (with his big band) and the Onyx nightclub in 1947. Also, in 1947, we see a well-tailored Coleman Hawkins, the father of the tenor saxophone, also playing at the Onyx. 

Duke Ellington (second to left) and Ahmet Ertegun (far left), 1939

Hawkins had just returned to America after an extensive stint in Europe, when this photo was taken. Jazz legend Thelonious Monk is seen here with trumpeter Howard McGhee at the Three Deuces nightclub in 1948. Monk was still an unknown at this point, but he had already composed many of his jazz standards by this time. Also, Louis Jordan is seen here in 1946 at the Decca studios in New York. Jordan, while a jazz artist, was also known as one of the fathers of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Finally, we see Charlie Parker and a very young Miles Davis at the Three Deuces in 1947. Miles had just joined Bird’s quintet when this photo was taken.

Tom Seaver, aka "Tom Terrific", dead at the age of 75

 

Tom Seaver at Shea Stadium in New York City, 1974 (Shelly S./Flicker

Tom Seaver, the great major league pitcher who won over 300 games, primarily for the New York Mets, died on Sept. 2, 2020. He had been suffering from dementia for the past few years and had been out of the public spotlight.

Seaver was perhaps the best-known New York Met, who was that team's leading pitcher when it improbably won the World Series in 1969. But he had a difficult relationship with Mets ownership and was traded to Cincinatti in 1977.

He would end up on the South Side of Chicago, where he starred for Tony LaRussa and the White Sox in the mid-80s. Seaver won his 300th game as a member of the White Sox.