So why do these morons hate Omalley?
This was hands down Moses' fault, Omalley did what he had to do. Awesome documentary though...
shareI see it both ways. O'Malleys new stadium design looked horrible. Something like the Astrodome but worse. And I dont ever hear the Cubs or Red Sox complaining about parking around their ballparks which really doesnt exist at all. Granted, in hindsight, theres no way Walter could have known Ebbets would be a lost treasure. And who in their right mind could possibly turn down L.A. mayor Hahn's offer at that time?
hot pieces of a** on the beach > Brooklyn chicks
A very similar fate to that of the Brooklyn Dodgers, I feel, was very narrowly avoided here on the north side of Chicago. The Cubs have never been a winning team, historically speaking, but they have always had their neighborhood die-hard fans to support them day in and day out. The ball club was really struggling in the 1970s- attendance figures were at all time lows, the ballpark was falling apart and talk of moving the club to the suburbs or even out of state was making it's way around town. Thankfully, the Cubs didn't have a Walter O'Malley hell bent on getting them a new stadium no matter the cost- nor a Robert Moses determined to let nothing alter his building and design plans for the city.
Wrigley Field, and possibly the Chicago Cubs franchise, I believe would not exist today but for a number of factors that were not available to Brooklyn and the Dodgers back in the mid-late 50s. The rebirth/gentrification/yuppiefication of the Lincoln Park/Lakeview neighborhood from the 1980s until today almost exactly parallels that of the rise of the Cubs and Wrigley Field, not as a winning team, but as icons. Couple this with national broadcasts on cable superstation WGN- with equally iconic Harry Caray at the mic- and you get soaring home attendance figures without necessarily even a winning team (1984 and 1989 being two notable exceptions).
Parking has never been an issue at Wrigley Field for three reasons: a) the Addison stop on the El is a block away, b) the Clark St bus, which runs nearly the length of the city stops right in front of the stadium, as well as the east-west Addison bus, and c) there's no street parking available anywhere in the entire neighborhood anymore anyway thanks to the influx of people- most of whom have vehicles of their own- now living in the very expensive condos that started going up in the 80s. The neighborhood is steps from Lake Michigan, is very close to downtown, with loads of mass transit mere steps away...it was an ideal place for redevelopment. The Tribune Co. were wise to let the neighborhood help rebuild their franchise.
With a generation of kids being brought up watching the Cubs on WGN all over the country, the Cubs went from being poor lovable losers to very rich lovable losers. Add to that the timeless quality of the beautiful ball field, ivy and brick walls of (by now even older and more decrepit) Wrigley Field and you have a moneymaker that any baseball owner would be envious of (one who has been to Wrigley Field can clearly see where the Tribune Co.'s financial priorities did NOT lie). You never see the interior of Wrigley Field on tv for a reason...but if you've ever been there you know how bad it really is. This doesn't faze the current crop of home game crowds who go there either for the giant beer garden environment which came about with the rise of Harry Caray or the true blue fans who still make it out and actually pay attention to the game on the field.
This was an excellent, although heartbreaking film. As a Chicago Cub fan, I feel a lot of sympathy for the old Brooklyn Dodgers and their fans.
The Cubs have never been a winning team? They won five pennants from 1918-1945 (not to mention three straight from 1906-1908 -- and consecutive World Series titles in 1907-1908). Poor leadership and even poorer management of the team accounts for much of the Cubs' woes. But Chicago is big enough to support two MLB teams. But New York could not support three MLB teams in the 1950s. The Giants drew just 629,000 fans in 1956 (last in attendance). The Dodgers were second in NL attendance but drew 800,000 fewer fans than Milwaukee. The handwriting was on the wall. Baseball is a business as well as a pastime. The lure of the deal from LA was too much to ignore.
shareI was speaking in a historical context about the Cubs, if you'll re-read my statement. The number of seasons the Cubs fielded winning teams vs losing teams finds them quite decidedly in the losing column.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/
I'm from Chicago- trust me, I know they have had a few winners 60+ years ago. My point was that I think a similar fate to the Brooklyn Dodgers could very easily have befallen the Cubs had things worked out a little differently.