Wrigley Field Vines | Pastball Podcast #8

06/19/23 • 2 min

6 Listeners

The ivy that adorns the outfield walls at Wrigley Field in Chicago is primarily common Boston ivy, a clinging woody vine of the grape family. Native to eastern Asia, this import is the ivy that covers the walls of many colleges. It is the ivy of the Ivy League. The story of how the ivy got planted began when Bill Veeck was hired to work for the Chicago Cubs. Veeck’s father, William Veeck, Sr. had been the President of the Cubs and young Bill grew up working for and with the Cubs during school vacations. When his father died unexpectedly in 1933, Bill dropped out of college and was hired by Phil Wrigley, who had taken over the club after his father, William Wrigley, died in 1932. His role with the Cubs was more and more directed at putting fans in their seats and making them happy. One of his early jobs was to roam the stands and talk with fans to determine their wishes and bring back suggestions that would make coming to the ballpark more enjoyable. New seats, new concessions, and new ivy. Veeck wanted to plant the ivy for the 1938 season but his assistants decided to plant the ivy against the red brick immediately. They strung five strands of copper wire, draped with Boston ivy, 1.5 feet apart across the wall. The outfield wall covered 1,003 feet so they used 5,015 feet of wire. They then planted more ivy at the base of the wall inter-mixed with faster-growing Japanese bittersweet vines. This is Past Ball Podcast and as the Great Bob Uecker said Get Up Get Outta Here!

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Previous Episode

The Manager Returns to Dugout in Disguise | Pastball Podcast #7

4 Recommendations

One of the more hilarious stories in MLB history was brought to us by none other than Bobby Valentine. During a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 9th, 1999 the Mets do a pitch out to try to catch the runner stealing in the 12th and Piazza is called for interference giving the batter a free pass to first. Valentine argues the call with one hand in his back pocket and was ejected and leaves the field hat off scratching his head as if he has lice. Rather than catch the remainder of the game from the clubhouse, Valentine put on a fake mustache made of eye black, some sunglasses, a different hat, and a different Mets tee and returned to the dugout in disguise Hiding behind some of his players and other coaches. The Commissioner's office didn't see the humor in his act, suspending him $5,000 for making a return after the ejection. This is Past Ball Podcast and as the Great Bob Uecker said Get Up Get Outta Here!

The Past Ball Podcast is a podcast that gives you a quick story on some of the craziest, wildest, funnies, or just plain informative on America's Past Time. Unlike a catcher in a passed ball, we will not drop the ball on give you the past.

Do you have a topic or story you want us to cover? Feel free to email us at [email protected].

Shoutout to Collin Wood at Artota Records for the tunes you hear in this episode. If you are looking for custom tunage email him at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The Rally Cap | Pastball Podcast #9

4 Recommendations

The Rally Cap - which is when you wear your hat in an odd way to bring your team good luck to rally back and win the game. Most often the rally cap is worn inside out and backward, or folded and worn bill up on half the head. The rally cap tradition started with the 1945 Detroit Tigers as some players wore their caps oddly as a way to urge their teammates on, and it worked as they won a World Series championship (over the Cubs). The rally cap went away until the Texas Rangers brought it back in 1977 and resulting in several come-from-behind victories. It then went away and came back in 1985 when Shea Stadium fans started turning their caps inside-out to cheer on the Mets. This time, the players caught on and it helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series (over the Red Sox). Success breeds usage, and now rally caps are seen everywhere. This is Past Ball Podcast and as the Great Bob Uecker said Get Up Get Outta Here!

Do you have a topic or story you want us to cover? Feel free to email us at [email protected].

Shoutout to Collin Wood at Artota Records for the tunes you hear in this episode. If you are looking for custom tunage email him at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.