"Guaranteed Rate Park"?? You’ve Got To Be Kidding!

Baseball History Comes Alive Now Ranked #2 by Feedspot Among All Internet Baseball History Websites and Blogs!

Guest Submissions from Our Readers Always Welcome!

Comiskey Park Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Comiskey Park Photo Gallery:

Opening Day at Comiskey Park, April 14, 1981

Comiskey Park shortly before being demolished by Speedway Wrecking Company.

The original refreshment stand right behind home plate

Owner Bill Veeck with Sox icon, Minnie Minoso

Night game at Old Comiskey. The catcher might be Yogi Berra

Bill Veeck with the “keys” to the park after taking over ownership again in 1975

The first All Star Game played at Comiskey Park in 1933

Members of the 1917 World Champion White Sox: Mellie Wolfgang, Dave Danforth, Red Faber, Joe Benz, Reb Russell, Lefty Williams, Eddie Cicotte. (Getty Images)

The Beatles played at Comiskey Park August 20, 1965

The two park side-by-side before Old Comiskey was torn down

A sad day in White Sox history: the wrecking ball arrives

Home plate from Old Comiskey is preserved in the parking lot of U.S. Celular

The Negro League East-West All Star game was often played at Comiskey Park. This is from the 1939 game.

Babe Ruth, Al Simmons, Earl Averill at Comiskey Park All-Star game.

The disastrous “Disco Demolition Night>”

The Al Smith Beer Shower” from the 1959 World Series

“Guaranteed Rate Park”?? You’ve Got To Be Kidding!

After being out of town for a few days, I came home to hear the atrocious news that the home park of the White Sox will be changed from “U.S. Cellular Field” to something called “Guaranteed Rate Park.”

Talk about a break from baseball tradition! All I have to say is…what are the White Sox brass thinking? Haven’t their fans suffered enough?

Even though I’m a life-long Cub fan, many of my friends are White Sox fans, and so is my son. It’s bad enough that they’re having a terrible year after the expectations were so high with their 23-10 start. I can’t imagine what they’re thinking now. All of us who are fans of the game – regardless of who your favorite team is – should be appalled by this sell-out of traditional baseball. It was bad enough when the great old shrine Comiskey Park was torn down and we had to endure the name “U.S. Cellular Field” for the new park. I’ll admit getting used to that after a while. But this name is an insult to all old-time baseball fans. Rightly so, the Chicago sports pages and talk radio are tearing it apart.

As my one little protest, I’m going back to calling the place Comiskey Park. I don’t care what the corporate name is. So to help off-set a bit this latest indignity foisted upon our White Sox fan friends, here’s my tribute to a grand old ball park: Old Comiskey.

First, a few words about its history. Then join me on a nice photo essay celebrating one of baseball’s great shrines from a by-gone era. The featured photo shows old Comiskey in 1915 when it was hosting the latest craze, “Auto Polo.” Be sure to click on all the images for a better view.

Comiskey Park was home of the Chicago White Sox from 1910 through 1990. Over the years, it hosted four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games. The field was also the site of many famous sporting events, including the 1937 heavyweight title match in which Joe Louis defeated James J. Braddock, and rock concerts, including the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

The park was built on a former city dump that Charles Comiskey bought in 1909 to replace the wooden South Side Park. It was originally built as White Sox Park, but within three years was renamed for White Sox founder and owner. The original name, White Sox Park, was restored in 1962, but it went back to the Comiskey Park in 1976.

Old Comiskey Park was actually very modern for its time. It was the third concrete-and-steel stadium in the major leagues. It originally sat almost 32,000, a record at the time. The park’s design was strongly influenced by Sox pitcher Ed Walsh, and was known for its pitcher-friendly proportions.

The first game in Comiskey Park was a 2-0 loss to the St. Louis Browns on July 1, 1910. The last game at Comiskey was a win, 2-1, over the Seattle Mariners on September 30, 1990. The White Sox won their first-ever home night game, over the Browns on August 14, 1939. The first no-hitter at Comiskey Park was hurled by Vern Kennedy on August 31, 1935, in a 5-0 win over Cleveland.

World Series at Comiskey Park

In the 1917 World Series, the White Sox won games 1, 2 and 5 at Comiskey Park. In 1918, Comiskey hosted the World Series between the Cubs and Red Sox. In 1919, the White Sox lost the infamous “Black Sox” World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Games 3, 4, 5, and 8 were played at Comiskey Park. In the 1959 World Series, which the White Sox lost to the Dodgers, Games 1, 2, and 6 were played there.

All-Star Games at Comiskey Park

Comiskey Park was the site of three All-Star Games: The first-ever All-Star Game was held there in 1933. The Americans defeated the Nationals, helped by a Babe Ruth home run. The second was in 1950, a game unfortunately best remembered for Ted Williams’ collision with the outfield wall that broke his elbow. The last All-Star game was in 1983. Comiskey Park was also the home of the Chicago American Giants of the Negro American League and was the most frequent home to the Negro League East-West All-Star Game from 1933 to 1960.

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: Thanks to my son the White Sox fan for sending me some of the photos in this tribute; all others were found in a Google search.

Information: Excerpts edited from the Comiskey Park Wikipedia page.

Subscribe to my blog for automatic updates and Free Bonus Reports: “Memorable World Series Moments” and “Gary’s Handy Dandy World Series Reference Guide.”