Everything was different about Wrigley Field’s first game 104 years ago

The classic scoreboard, the ivy-clad outfield walls, the aroma of hot dogs and stale Old Style … Wrigley Field and the Cubs are synonymous at this point. The stadium’s famous marquee proudly welcomes you to the “Home of [the] Chicago Cubs” and it feels like it always will.

But nearly two years before the Cubs ever played their first game at Clark and Addison, on this day in 1914, another team christened in one of baseball’s meccas. In some ways, it’s a forgotten part of the history of North Side baseball. After all, who remembers the Chicago Chi-Feds and their power-hitting center fielder Dutch Zwilling?

No Cubs, no Wrigley

Wrigley Field opened in 1914 under the original name Weeghman Park after millionaire Charles Weeghman paid $1.92 million for a 99-year lease on the land. The stadium was built in just two months to be the home of the Chicago Chi-Feds, which were part of a Major League Baseball competitor formed by Weeghman called the Federal League.

The Chi-Feds, later known as the Whales before the Federal League shut down, played their first game at Weeghman Park on April 23, 1914 against the Kansas City Packers.

Catcher Art Wilson, who would also briefly play for the Cubs in 1916-17, had a huge day with two home runs and a walk in four plate appearances. The Chi-Feds jumped out to a 8-0 lead en route to a 9-1 victory.

Led by player-manager Joe Tinker, a future Hall of Famer for his playing days with the Cubs, they’d go on to a 87-67 season. A year later, they’d win the championship in the Federal League’s final season.

Not the same ballpark

A lot was different about attending Wrigley Field back then beyond just the name of the venue and the team playing in it. There was no marquee, ivy, scoreboard or upper deck (none of that would be added for at least a decade). Fans were allowed to smoke anywhere they pleased. World War I had not begun and women couldn’t vote. It was a much different world.

And then there were the names. Oh, those glorious old timey names.

Rollie Zeider. Dutch Zwilling. Claude Hendrix. Chet Chadbourne. Duke Kenworthy. Chief Johnson.

Not only were fans out there rooting for a team called the Chi-Feds, which is just Chicago and Federal slammed together. Their team had guys named Dutch and Rollie taking on players named Chet, Duke and Chief. It’s beautiful.

From Weeghman to Wrigley

After the closure of the Federal League following the 1915 season, Weeghman was part of a group of investors that purchased the Cubs and moved them to Weeghman Park in 1916. William Wrigley Jr. took over control of the Cubs in 1919 and renamed the stadium to Cubs Park starting with the 1920 season. The Bears played their first game there in 1921 and would stay through 1970, when they moved to Soldier Field.

In 1926, the park was finally renamed Wrigley Field before the beginning of a major project to renovate the stadium. An upper deck and the now-famous bleachers were added to expand capacity to roughly 40,000. The marquee went up outside. In the 1930s, the scoreboard and ivy were added to round out the iconic aesthetics of the North Side park. It would be over 50 years from there until lights were added.

Now over a century after its opening, Wrigley Field and the surrounding neighborhood would look totally foreign to someone who attended back then. So much of what’s become unmistakable about the Cubs’ stadium was added years after the Chi-Feds played their first game there. It’s been a long, fascinating history for one of the best places to watch a ballgame.