About West Side Grounds
West Side Grounds was the Chicago Cubs' primary home from 1893 to 1915, the site of the franchise's greatest era of dominance. The park on the near West Side of Chicago witnessed the Cubs win back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, as well as their record-breaking 116-win season in 1906. The 1908 title remains the last World Series championship the Cubs won until 2016 — a drought of 108 years that became one of sports' most famous curses.
The legendary double-play combination of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance — immortalized in the poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon" — played their entire careers at West Side Grounds. Manager Frank Chance led the Cubs to four pennants in five years (1906-1910), a stretch of dominance that has never been equaled in franchise history.
The park was abandoned after the 1915 season when the Cubs moved to the newly-built Weeghman Park — which would be renamed Cubs Park and eventually Wrigley Field. West Side Grounds was demolished in 1920, and the site is now occupied by the University of Illinois Chicago's medical district.
Fun facts
- Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance played every game of their legendary careers at West Side Grounds.
- The Cubs' 1908 championship drought lasted 108 years — one of sports' most famous curses.
- The site is now part of the University of Illinois Chicago medical campus.
- Frank Chance managed the Cubs to four pennants in five years — a record of dominance unmatched in Cubs history.
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