The Chicago Cubs announced the first step in a celebration of the team’s 100th anniversary of playing at Wrigley Field: a new logo to be work as a patch on home uniforms throughout the 2016 season.
The logo features a version of the team’s 1916 logo in modern colors.
Weeghman Park was built by Chi-Feds owner Charles Weeghman in 1914 to house his Federal League team. The Chi-Feds became the Chicago Whales in 1915 (winning a Federal League championship in the process), but the circuit went under and Weeghman was allowed to buy into the established National League’s Chicago Cubs. That team was originally chartered as the Chicago White Stockings, then called the Colts and Orphans before officially adopting the Cubs moniker in 1907.
The Cubs played in five different ballparks between 1876 through 1915 before moving in 1916 to the team’s current home at the corner of Clark and Addison streets. Weeghman’s ownership group for the Cubs include William Wrigley Jr., the Chicago chewing-gum magnate who ended up acquiring a controlling interest in the club and the ballpark by 1919. It was then renamed Cubs Park, eventually becoming Wrigley Field in 1926.
This is the second big commemoration for the Friendly Confines. The team celebrated 100 Years of Wrigley Field with a yearlong campaign during the 2014 season.
Image: Weeghman Park, 1914.