Ravenswood's Baseball History

Ravenswood's Baseball HistoryNeighborhood: RavenswoodChicago, IL60640United States of America Most people think of Wrigleyville when they think of north side baseball, but Ravenswood once had its own semi-pro baseball venue. Chase Park, on the western edge of Ravenswood, was the former site of a semi-pro Baseball Field. In 1905, the area was known as Gunther field.

Gunther Field was the home of the Niesen-Gunthers, also known as the Gunther Nine, which was ran by Billy Niesen. They played at this location from 1905 until 1913, when Wrigley Field provided stiff competition. The field at Gunther Park was impressive for a semi-pro team; it could seat 5, 000 people in its stands.

It appears that residents in the area were not happy about the park's existence, due to the noise level that came from there during games, although protests to shut the park down were unsuccessful. After the park did finally close, Billy Niesen tried to start a new semi-pro league in Chicago without much success. He went on to become a sportswriter, and eventually became the president of the local Old Timers' Baseball Association.

Chase Park was built on the site of the old Gunther Field in 1920, and was named after Salmon Chase, who was Abraham Lincoln's secretary of treasury. Wrigley Field may be the last of the original ballparks in Chicago, but Ravenswood is home to its own piece of baseball history.

Sources: Shea, Stuart, and George Castle. Wrigley Field: the Unauthorized Biography . Brassey's, 2004. Print. Heaphy, Leslie A. "Amazon.com: Black Baseball and Chicago: Essays on the Players, Teams and Games of the Negro Leagues Most Important City (9780786426744): Leslie A. Heaphy: Books. www.chicagoparkdistrict.com