Chicago Cubs: Remembering the old outfield bleachers

Chicago Cubs: Big historical moments seen by those bleachers.

Those bleachers had a number of famous home runs land in or beyond them. Here is a list of some of the biggest:

• September 28, 1938: Gabby Hartnett’s “Homer in the Gloamin'” 
• May 12, 1970: Ernie Banks hits career homer #500
• June 23, 1984: Ryne Sandberg’s two game-tying home runs off Bruce Sutter
• September 13, 1998: Sammy Sosa hits #62 to pass Roger Maris
• October 15, 2003: Kerry Wood’s NLCS home run

Obviously, there were thousands of other home runs hit during those 68 years, but these are probably the most talked about. It is also worth noting that home runs landing the basket did not become a thing until they were added in 1970. Had to keep those bleacher bums under control!

Baseball is not the only thing Chicago sports fans watched from those old seats. From 1921 to 1970 the Chicago Bears under George Halas also called Wrigley Field home. The north end zone was right in the left field well. Fans in the bleachers watched guys crashing full speed into the endzone and field goals being kicked in their direction. From 1937-1970 those old bleachers hosted spectators who saw five NFL champion Bears teams.

In total the 1937-2005 bleachers saw two World Series, 17 postseason games and four NFL title games. The last World Series game they saw was Game 7 of the infamous 1945 World Series and last major championship win it saw was the 1963 NFL champion Bears. The 2003 Cubs were the only team to win an MLB playoff series during that span.

It has been over a decade since those old bleachers were demolished. Let’s face it, the outfield is much nicer and more spacious now. There was no way those old seats were going to hold up. But there will always be room for them in our memories.