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Comiskey Park (35th Street & Shields Ave., Chicago, Illinois) is the name of the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910-1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey and was the site of four World Series (one of which was played by the Chicago Cubs due to lack of seating at Wrigley Field) and over 6,000 games.
The park was built on a former city dump that Comiskey bought from former mayor of Chicago "Long" John Wentworth in 1909. The park was very modern for its time. It was constructed of concrete and steel and seated 29,000, a record at the time. Briefly, it retained the nickname "The Baseball Capitol of the World". The park's design was strongly influenced by Sox pitcher Ed Walsh, and was known for its pitcher-friendly proportions (362 feet to the foul poles, 420 feet down the middle). Later changes were made, but the park remained more or less favorable to defensive teams. For many years this reflected on the White Sox style of play: solid defense, and short, quick hits.
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 Seattle on September 30, 1990. The White Sox lost their first-ever night game to St. Louis in 1939, 5-2.
From the 1970s through its destruction in 1991, Comiskey was the oldest park still in use in Major League Baseball. Many of its known characteristics, such as the pinwheels on the scoreboard (see photo), were installed by Bill Veeck (owner of the White Sox from 1958 to 1961, and again from 1975 to 1981).
For a number of years, the Chicago Cardinals football team called Comiskey home. The stadium also presented boxing matches, including World Heavyweight Championship bouts featuring Joe Louis, Floyd Patterson and Sonny Liston.
Comiskey was demolished in 1991, making way for its successor of the same name (now known as U.S. Cellular Field). Some Sox fans believed that the move was unnecessary, but owner Jerry Reinsdorf was at the time threatening to move the club to Tampa Bay (what is now called Tropicana Field was constructed for this purpose), and the local and state governments went along by giving them funds for the new stadium.
'Old' Comiskey's home plate is a bronze plaque on the sidewalk next to U.S. Cellular, and the field is a parking lot.
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