Wrigley Field marks anniversaries
Weeghman Park in 1914 (source: Library of Congress)
The “friendly confines” of Wrigley Field marks two noteworthy anniversaries this season: the ballpark turns 99 this season, while the bleachers, manually operated scoreboard, and ivy are turning 75.
Wrigley – originally Weeghman Park – hosted its first baseball game on Apr. 23, 1914, the Chicago Federals beating the Kansas City Packers 9-1. The teams were part of the Federal League, a third major league that lasted only two seasons.
When the Federal League folded, owner Charles Weeghman bought up the Chicago Cubs and moved them from the aging, wooden West Side Park to the recently vacated Federals’ field. The Cubs played their first game in the stadium on Apr. 20, 1916.
The ballpark went by the name “Cubs Park” from 1920 – 1926, when it was renamed to Wrigley Field after William Wrigley Jr. gained the controlling interest.
In 1937, the park was renovated to add the bleachers and scoreboard. The original scoreboard is still operating today – a staff of four climbs up and down ladders behind the board throughout the game, changing numbers for the 318 openings. That September, ivy was planted at the base of the outfield wall.
Wrigley Field is the only Federal League stadium still in use, the oldest National League stadium, and the second-oldest Major League stadium behind Fenway Park, which opened its doors in 1912.
It is the last Major League stadium to install lights – the Cubs played all their home games during the day until 1988.
The Cubs haven’t managed to win the World Series in their “new” stadium in 98 seasons, although they did go five times – most recently in 1945. The longest championship drought in professional sports dates all the way back to 1908 – an incredible 104 years!
In case you can’t tell, I am a Cardinals fan. Maybe next year, Cubbies. But happy anniversary to the other half of one of sports’ best rivalries.
More on the history of Wrigley Field here.
Rick Ankiel: Best arm in baseball?
Rick Ankiel is one of my favorite athletes. I remember watching the playoff game in 2000 against the Atlanta Braves where he had one of – if not the most – epic collapses in baseball. After having a spectacular rookie season as a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, finishing second in rookie of the year voting, Ankiel walked more batters and threw more wild pitches during three disastrous playoff appearances than perhaps anyone in the history of baseball. After a lengthy stay in the minor leagues, Ankiel did come back to the majors – as an outfielder.
An outfielder with an incredible arm. No one should ever run on Rick Ankiel, but every now and then someone does.
Two phenomenal throws during the same game from Ankiel in 2008:
And another in 2011:
Monday, Ankiel made the highlight reel and earned a standing ovation – on a play where he didn’t even throw anyone out. Bases loaded with no outs, the Astros batter pops up to Ankiel, who throws a perfect strike from 300 feet away from home plate in center field – holding the Astros’ fastest runner at third base. The catcher didn’t even have to move his glove.
Steyn: US income tax becoming ‘jizya’ for big government
And excellent analogy on the income tax from Mark Steyn’s book After America: Get Ready for Armageddon:
United States income tax is becoming the twenty-first-century equivalent of the “jizya”–the punitive tax levied by Muslim states on their non-Muslim citizens. In return for funding the Caliphate, the infidels were permitted to carry on practicing their faith. Under the American jizya, in return for funding Big Government, the non-believers are permitted to carry on practicing their faith in capitalism, small business, economic activity, and the other primitive belief systems to which they cling to so touchingly.
In: Society · Tagged with: Mark Steyn
Monopoly of monopoly
From Mark Steyn’s latest book, After America: Get Ready for Armageddon:
Government today has a monopoly of monopoly. If you were to update the board game of the same name to reflect reality, every square you land on would require you to pay a fee to government before you can do anything–occupational license, commercial-use permit, processing fee for a license to permit you to collect sales tax. You’d go straight to jail without passing “Go” for putting up a yoga studio on Atlantic Avenue and being delinquent in your meditation-accreditation application, but the government would let you plea-bargain it down to a $3,000 fine. If you land on “Go,” you’d have to pass a “Go” impact-study inspection before being allowed to go.
In: Society · Tagged with: Mark Steyn
Leadership 101: Fear
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
In a recent Facebook post, Dr. Michael Youssef – an internationally recognized Evangelical-Anglican pastor – stated, “When we allow fear to control us, it deteriorates our relationship with God.”
That’s a relatively simple truth.
But some of Youssef’s readers responded by asking, “Well, then how do we eliminate fear?”
That was and is the wrong question.
Though most leaders know better, it is surprising the number of people – and I’m talking full-grown, reasonably educated adults – who still wrongly believe that courage means fearlessness or the absence of fear.
Courage is not the absence of fear. Without fear there is no need for courage. If we reread what Dr. Youssef is saying, we see that we must not let fear “control” us. That’s a far cry from saying we must eliminate fear.
FEAR ATTACKS THE FIVE MOUNTAINS
Fear exists. It’s here. It’s with us always; sometimes dormant and hibernating, but frequently gnawing at our physical, mental, emotional, intuitive and spiritual ramparts (Yes, we’re talking about the “five mountains”).
In: Articles · Tagged with: Leadership 101, W. Thomas Smith Jr.
USS Arizona interment
Did you know that survivors of the USS Arizona – less than 300 of the ship’s crew of 1400 survived the Pearl Harbor attack – are routinely buried aboard the ship upon their passing?
In: Military · Tagged with: USS Arizona
Leadership 101: Destiny Favors the Prepared
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
The world is chaotic (It’s only going to get worse), and destiny favors the prepared. These two realities are the first of what are known as the “eight stands of a warrior,” all of which we’ll cover in a forthcoming lesson.
Today we want to focus on destiny favoring the prepared, because – for the leader – both destiny and preparation are everything.
DESTINY
First of all, what is destiny? My Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “a predetermined course of events often held to be an irresistible power or agency.” In other words, destiny is what is going to happen whether we like it or not. And just how that destiny plays out has much to do with our preparation as leaders.
Granted, we have a great deal of control over the course we set for our futures, and charting a course has tremendous leverage in predetermining our futures. But pure destiny is in the hand of God.
PREPARE TO DEAL WITH DESTINY
What about preparation? In previous lessons, we’ve discussed the five mountains – mind, body, intuition, emotional awareness (and control) and spirit – which must be achieved if we are to become the whole man (or whole woman) we desire to be as leaders. These five mountains – particularly the mind, body, and spirit – also serve as the underpinnings of any personal preparation.
We cannot fully control or prevent destiny. But we can prepare ourselves to deal with it. As leaders, we must.
In: Articles · Tagged with: Leadership 101, W. Thomas Smith Jr.
New Air Force shirts on sale at the VI store
A selection the new shirts only available from the VI Online Store: Air Force Pararescue “That Others May Live” (left) and Air Force Fire Protection badge shirt. The firefighter shirt comes in a variety of patches (subdued as seen here or regular) and colors. Click on the images to check them out at the VI Online Store!
In: Uncategorized · Tagged with: VI merchandise
Marines during the Civil War
Five U.S. Marine Corps privates with fixed bayonets under the command of their noncommissioned officer (NCO), who displays his M1859 Marine NCO sword. Navy Yard, Washington, DC, April 1864.
In: Images, Military · Tagged with: Civil War, US Marine Corps
Leadership 101: Crisis leadership
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Training builds leaders. Experience develops them. Crisis refines them. And crisis is coming, let’s not kid ourselves. It always has, always will. The leader enjoying the privilege of command today will have the burden of command forced upon him in the crisis tomorrow. There is no escaping it, nor should we as leaders want to escape it.
But we need reliable tools to deal with crisis.
First, we need professional knowledge and competency, information (intelligence), and the wisdom to apply both quickly while under extreme stress.
IGNORANCE IS NOT ENDEARING
In recent years, it has become increasingly socially acceptable not to know something, or not to know how to do something. For the leader in a crisis situation that is totally unacceptable. We, as leaders in a crisis, have to know. We have to have the answer.
Despite what the champions of self-esteem-building over competition would have us believe, there is nothing cute, charming, or endearing about ignorance of a topic. If we don’t know or don’t have the answer, we have to know how to find out what we don’t know. There is an answer somewhere; the age of electronic information has pretty much guaranteed that. And if a leader is incapable of finding the answer expeditiously, he or she has no business leading a dog sled. Period.
In: Articles · Tagged with: Leadership 101, W. Thomas Smith Jr.
