America’s Classic Ballparks - Old Comiskey Park 

I loved this old ballpark. I attended one of the last games there in 1990.

Despite its symmetrical field and stands, which some fans would consider to be lacking in old school atmosphere, Comiskey Park had HUGE doses of atmosphere (especially on Friday nights when the steel workers from Gary would arrive and start fights among themselves when they drank too many beers!) and colorful players like Minnie Minnoso and Nellie Fox and Luke Appling and soooo many others. It was a ballpark rich in Chicago atmosphere and history. Bill Veeck made going to Sox games a wonderful way to spend an afternoon or evening. It's a shame that great ballpark is gone.

I have to say, I'm still devastated it was replaced.

Saw Ted Williams hit a monster home run in 1959, the year the Sox won the pennant. I got a rare Minnie Minoso autograph when a Spanish speaking guy with a Hugh cigar was talking to MM after the game through the fence on the Shields Ave small players parking area and saw us kids standing there. He turned to us and asked in English if we would like Minnie to sign our scorecard pamphlets.He then turned back to Minnie and resumed speaking Spanish while Minnie signed both programs my brother and I had. What a great day. Unlike Wrigley where the players had to walk through the fans to leave, at Comiskey they could stay behind a fence so it wasn't easy to get autographs. Also, at Wrigley the scorecards were a sturdy cardboard with 4 large sides and room for signatures.Thanks for this posting, brings back some great memories.

This is one of the best RU-vid videos I’ve ever seen. That old stadium was incredible. I went to a game at the new Comiskey last year against the Yankees on Polish heritage night and loved that stadium and atmosphere.

I love this. I wish I had nostalgia for the Indians old place, but Municipal Stadium was a freezing, dual-use dump, couldn't wait til the Tribe moved out.

I was an usher there in the mid 80s. Worked for Andy Frain. Part charming. Part dump. Crazy fans. What do I remember most? The smell of pot permeating the stands.

As a young baseball fan growing up. I would catch a White Sox game when they were still playing at the Old Comiskey Park. I did get to see it in the last year it was up. I was sad that the eventually torn torn that Monster park. I have been to the New Stadium. it doesn't have the feel or mostique of the Old park. I miss the old park. But the new one is nice. If had to chose a team to root for in Chicago? GO SOX!

In my opinion, Old Comiskey Park COULD HAVE been saved and given a HUGE makeover to bring it into the more modern times, they could have given the big scoreboard in center field a MAJOR upgrade, and the whole park could have received a VERY BIG upgrade just like Wrigley Field has undergone, and from what I've seen with Wrigley Field's upgrades, I'm VERY impressed with what has been done there at Wrigley Field, it's been transformed into a first class major league baseball park, it's a shame the same couldn't have been done for Old Comiskey Park though

We used to pass Comiskey on our way to grandma and grandpa's up in Kenosha. I miss the scoreboard.

So glad I got a few childhood years of enjoying many games there. And as more of a Cub fan, I loved that stadium even more than Wrigley. The upper deck felt right on top of the field. I miss that unique smell of damp basement, flat pop, and stale beer. I saw Bobby Thigpen break the save record (the place was wild that night!), and saw Ron Kittle hit one of the hardest hit balls ever onto the roof on a freezing windy April night - great memories. There will never be a stadium like Old Comiskey ever again...

On June 30, 1988 the White Sox were minutes away from leaving town, if it took a new ballpark to save the Sox, then so be it

I loved Old Comiskey. To me it had more charm than Wrigley.

If they try to replace Fenway we riot period Shame that all the old girls are gone Yankee 1, shibe park, tigers stadium, ebbetts feild, damn shame on the teams for not honoring a keeping there history alive

The best event was Disco Demolition Night in 1979. Sponsored by a radio station, fans threw disco vinyl records all over Comiskey Park . The records were hitting people, the game was stopped and a massive riot ensued.

Baseball Palace of The World!

The sports writers like Bill Gleason were right , that park was a fortress, it should have never been torn down. I was there at the last game and trust me that park had many years of life left in it. It was more historic than Wrigley and now it is a parking lot. So sad.

So thankful got to go there in 1984 was in Air Force went had to go to Chanute AFB Tdy that summer.also went to Wrigley Field twice went to top of Sears tower great time only time I have been to the great city of Chicago

From black and white to color. My first memories of Comiskey Park. I can remember the sounds, the sounds of the occasional excited shout, some from fans, and some from a souvenir or program peddler. I can remember the sound, the sound of old time baseball organ music reverberating on the other side of the dark mezzanine walkway from that space unseen, on the inside. The walkway, with some of the old concrete weathered away revealing polished stones, old polished stones and pebbles worn smooth from thousands and thousands of sox fan shoes. Generations of Sox fans walking the mezzanine ramps eager to get to their seats and experience their white sox. I can remember the smell, the smell of hot dogs, the smoky smell of open grill ballpark food vendors, and day old beer, and years old spilled beer soaked into the concrete. The smell of old cigar smoke mixed with the occasional new one, and the periodic smell of a trough urinal coming from an open door restroom. It was a little dark in the poorly lit mezzanine walkway, just slightly intimidating for an excited young boy holding onto his father’s hand. Old faded pictures, pictures of players, players in baggy pants and unfamiliar SOX hats hung below peeling paint covered steel beams and brick. At the entrance of a concession stand a TV mounded to the wall awkwardly seemed out of place in this simple no frills baseball park. For us, it was usually on the first base side that we found our way to the upper deck, to our cheaper seats, mixed among the rest of a working-class fan base. Along the way up, I couldn’t stand the temptation, the temptation to rush in to the lower entryway to see the field; I had to see first-hand, that field and those white, blue, and red, SOX uniforms. Would they be much different than the shades of grey, black and white on TV, or the more colorful souvenir T-shirt and wrist bands my friend across the street had? I had to know. Through an opening, like a black picture frame, I can see the hazy blue sky, little pennant flags waving in the breeze but dwarfed by the lights standing like big giant black fly swatters on top of the roof. I peel away from a strong hand; rushing forward through what seems like a long dark tunnel, up a few long steps. The green seats of left field gave way to the arched facade at the back of the lower left field seats. Rushing forward the grand view opens up while the sounds of the park become clearer, like coming out of an echo chamber. Then, like a flood, came the first eye popping sight of the green grass, the beautifully mowed green grass blazing in the mid-day sun. Baseballs whiter than I’d ever seen were floating forever across the backdrop of wooden green seats into the gloves of the men, confident men, wearing bright white uniforms and red shoes sinking into the thick sod at every step. SOX emblazoned across their chests, numbers on the thigh of their pants. The view of players larger than life, ones wearing the red, white and blue hats casually playing catch, smiling and taking it easy would give way to the flash of one or two sprinting from a baseline, preparing, warming up for the afternoon game in the sun, a reminder that something serious was about to take place here. The baseball heroes, I would scan, eagerly scan to find familiar numbers, 3, 72, 42, 19. Would I get to hear the roar today? Would I get to hear the crack of the bat, and the roar of the crowd? Would I get to hear the louder cracks and booms that follow from that wonderful, colorful, carnival like giant in center field? Only time would tell, as excitement mounted. In our seats we waited for the voice from the megaphone speakers hung from the steel supports transition from general announcements. "And nowww for your Chicagoooo WhiteSox!". The crowd cheers, me chief among them! Oh what glory. The glorious earliest memories of Comiskey Park, and the WhiteSox I would grow to love.

Wish I coulda seen this ballpark. Too bad it's gone, it was older than Wrigley and Fenway. Go Twinkies!

Such a good old ballpark

Thank You for posting this series - these old parks without question should have been preserved because - besides a host full of other reasons - they have served as a testament of an important legacy of America - BASEBALL. No other country has that - other countries have preserved their architectural legacies. Sports, especially this sport is an eternal part of ours.

1959 was a great year on the South Side

I went to comiskey park with my siblings and grandma back in the 70’s as she lived close to the park

Cubs kept their stadium...sox shoulda kept comiskey

Too bad Comiskey and Tiger stadiums couldn't resist the push for modern ballparks. Yes....maintenance was huge, but the traditions are priceless.

I bought my first beer when I was 13 there ! The vendor never looked up to see who he was selling to.

My Brother took me to comiskey and I’ll always have memories of that grand Ballpark thanks Bro ❤

I think I heard that song at Portillo's the other day 😁

I'm still saddened I never got the chance to see the old park or a game at Old Soldier Field.

I remember sitting in the lower level of the outfield as a child (maybe 9 or 10) and having beer spilled on my head from the upper deck. My dad had some explaining to do that night when we got home to my mom!!

I saw a game against the Blue Jay's in April 1990. I thought that the unique features of the park made it very interesting. Loved how close you sat in those old parks. My introduction to Sammy Sosa was him sprinting out to right field. Pretty kool.

Went there after the Disco night riot for a weekend series with the Tigers. Reminded me of Tiger Stadium atmosphere when Tiger Stadium was green too. I also went to the new comiskey park it's first season to see the Tigers.

I played there in a White Sox fantasy camp in 1990, the last season for the Park. Believe me, the place was on life support and needed to be replaced. The locker rooms and dugouts were smaller than my high schools.

Saw my first game here in 1962

Old Comiskey still in my memory when i attend the in 1990..but the new comiskey is good for modern stadium and capacity

The worst part about losing old Comiskey is what they replaced it with. Just compare that stadium with Camden Yards which was built just a few years later

Jeff Daniels… great actor

Who can ever forget the artificial turf infield in the 70s

AWESOME-My all time favorite stadium. I never recovered when they moved from it. Think about it they tore down a place that for many years now (since what Camden Yards?) fans have been clamoring to get back to! A good old stadium not some showplace. The history lost-the ghosts gone....sad! But I guess it could have seen the same fate as dreaded spaceship looking Soldier Field got with their horrible looking face lift job?

I still remember looking at it come down..... Wrote a paper about it in school about the score board being the last part to come down....

Comiskey Park had incredible vintage charm. The new Comiskey Park doesn't have that vintage vibe. Maybe its the lime green seats that makes Old Comiskey Park so cool or the outfield scoreboard. It is sad that they demolished it. The final piece of this video best sums it all up.

my father and I sat in the box seats for lots of games in the late 60's,early 70's.White Sox weren't very good, but I loved the park. Ty cobb played there.And joe jackson.Babe Ruth,lou gehrig, Mantle,Dimaggio,Walter Johnson. And on and on......

Thanks!

Grew up in that place.

If you love the game like these men did than really you are forever a boy which is the best thing you can hope to be in this world

I attended the second to last game and I swear I could smell Babe Ruth's farts, although to be fair I was with my mother-in-law so maybe it was her, anyway I miss the old park

1959 Sox... Louis Aparicio, Billy Pierce, Early Wynn, Nellie Fox, Jim Landis.... the Sox last pennant until they won the Series in '05. Minnie Minoso should have been on that team too, but was traded to Cleveland for 1 season before being brought back by Veeck for the 1960 season, upon which Veeck gave Minoso an honorary WS ring for his contributions in building that team.

I remember a fight there with the Orioles in 66. It was brutal. Fans jumping out of the stands.

The picnic grounds. Double headers there against the Yankees in the early 1960s.

Baseball has so much history, but like history, one has to deal with beautiful things and then the opposite. This park would be a crown jewel of the sport, if discreetly modernized, but mere idea of it lives in a way. (More than those multisport arenas that do not longer exist.)

Breaks my heart they tore down that church, shame.

New Comiskey in the wrong spot and facing the wrong direction just doesn't cut it.

It was the best ballpark ..sad it was torn down..child hood memories..i had wow...the new park sucks went there a few times but not the same bill veck must of rolled in his grave..he was the best owner ..in baseball..he loved his fans..

Who is the narrator. ? Looks like Jeff Daniels.

Stadiums don't have any character anymore

Is the host Harry from dumb and dumber?

If i could i would love to visit this park again and ebbetts field.that was all b.s. there wasn't anything wrong with comisky

I agree with these old men. I like Fenway and wrigley. So much tradition and history. It should have been illegal to do tear it down. Every 30 or 40 years. New stadiums, more public money for private use, and just a cycle of wasteful building and destroying. Bankrupting cities and threatening to leave. It’s always about New new new with these suits. If it’s old, they don’t want it. You destroy memories and a transcendent fan experience.

My Grandfather took me to my first ball game in 82. What was the name of the legendary bar across the street? Grampa always said you didn’t go to a Sox game unless you stopped at this bar.

I remember watching twins at white Sox games on TV . The stadium is gone but not the memories. The new place is so sterile it should of been a replica of the old place.

Bill Veek was ahead of his time.Tony

My father had season tickets 1982-1987. First base side , upper deck , look right down the 3rd base line. Saw so many moments.... Freddie Lynn grand slam in the All-Star Game in 83.....Tito Landrum HR in 83 playoffs....my man LaMarr Hoyt , Britt Burns , and Richard Dotson DEALING every game in 83....Ron Kittle and his roof shots. What a shame they tore this palace down. The ONLY negative of old Comiskey was the dreaded "Andy the Clown". Highly annoying he was.

Shoeless Joe played there...

Went to my first game there in 1973. I miss it, Comiskey Park was way better than Wrigley Field.

Been to almost all the MLB parks including Wrigley and new White Sox ballpark.But I never got to Comiskey Park and Im sad about that...

13:00 on.... SO right. We just tear anything down that's no longer fashionable or profitable. It's depressing. The Rangers had a beautiful park for a little over 20 years, only to move into a dome that looks like an oversized grill. And they make the fans pay for it out of their own pockets. It's pathetic.

Jeff Daniels

Was there for the next to last game. Throwback days, no amplification, old uniforms. I watched an inning at a different part of the park, knowing this was the last visit. Had as much character as Wrigley and just as historic, the new place is like all the other new ones....meh.

still have some grass from the field

I wonder , how far apart were the 2 Chicago ball parks from each other?

Goodbye, old friend!

Moderated by Harry Dunne- who would've ever thought it?

Da White Sox were planning to leave Chicago and move to Tampa Bay if they didn't get a new ballpark which they did get in 1991 when the new Comisky Park was built.

Can you please do Candlestick Park from South San Francisco?? That would really be great, thanks

Comiskey you old friend

The new park is way nicer, coming from someone who been to the old park.

Great except for that crappy Reinsdorf scoreboard in center.

I'm a Red Sox fan but it's a damn shame the team should have kept the stadium

Stretch!

Disco Demolition Night

I haven't kept up with baseball since the mid 90's. I guess I saw the writing on the wall and became disillusioned by the destruction of the old parks, outrageous salaries and the blase attitude of the players. Time has proven me correct.

I miss her...

I always thought Charles Comiskey was a cheapskate, until I heard a history lecturer who actually researched the 1919 World Series. It seems that the Sox salaries were among the highest in baseball. So cross out that myth.

Should have restored it. The could have done it. All the new ballparks are basically carbon copies of each other with carefully crafted quirks built into them and focus more on the amenities than on what's happening on the field.

I did not get a chance to visit Old Comiskey, but I went to Comiskey II and was not that impressed with it.

Why did clubs indulge in the destruction of history filled old ballparks and replace them with soulless concrete bowls? These parks can be upgraded whilst keeping the essential old buildings.Chicago has one great old sports ground and one cookie cut bowl , when it could still have Comiskey and Wrigley.

I like how the players are the bad guys but cheapskate Comiskey got away with being brutally cheap.

Please bring this ballpark back. Sure it was a dump by the end but the replacement is horrible. I felt like I was nine miles in the air and watching from Cleveland. Also... Name your new stadium something better than a corporate "partner".

ok

Is it me or have the powers that be been trying to destroy everything that we love about Baseball for the past 30 years?

if it was built so tough; and such a landmark of chicago why dstroy it ? my answer, "too much money"

Black players would have cooked all the MLB legends. That’s why they kept them out of the league. It’s a shame.

Old and inaccurate narrative: The Black Sox had the 2nd highest payroll at the time so the narrative of him underpaying his players is false. One can argue that MLB players should have made more back then, but not that Comiskey was cheap. In fact, there was no excuse for the actions of the players.

Andy the clown...

Kind of a dump. Hot dogs were horrid. Ice cold and raw.

now I`m CUBS guy. but... i was born & raised on THE SOUTH SIDE. kinda twisted. my maternal grandmother was a WHITE SOX,cause she worked at SPIEGELS` main store for yrs during the depression & beyond. my grandmothers` sister(my aunt) was a CUBS lady. dont ask me. the`69 CUBS got me go`in,but when they lost to the METS in the pennant race. sumth`in happened. 1971. dec., school trip going to see THE "NUTCRACKER"!!! going north bound on the DAN RYAN. this huge building looking out from the school bus to my left was MAGNIFICENT!!! painted all white with the words WHITE SOX PARK on it left me in awe: CHICAGO has 2 baseball teams??!!!! I felt proud. my city. CITY OF BIG SHOULDERS got 2 team. i`ll root for these guys. CUBS let me down. that`s when i found out later on: :YOU DON`T CROSS LINES IN CHICAGO BASEBALL"!!! i didnt know that then. nobody told me. i was 6 or7 yrs of age. but that pretty ass ball park. blow up scoreboard. then... i found out about 1919. & the palehose. to be continued...

My uncle took me to my first baseball game at this amazing stadium.

Shoeless Joe played there...

Go Sox!