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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Wrigley Field; a 2008 timeline

Even without a World Series game, Wrigley Field had a historic year in 2008. Can 2009 be as historic?
(A tip of the hat to wikipedia.org)

• January 13, 2008: First sign the sale of the Chicago Cubs by the Tribune Co. will be delayed past opening day.
• March 4, 2008: The Tribune Co.'s plan to sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field set's off a political storm.
• April 3, 2008: Landmarks Illinois lists Wrigley Field as among the state's endangered sites.
• March 31, 2008: A sculpture of Cubs great Ernie Banks is unveiled outside the park on Opening Day. A typo on the sculpture, “Lets Play Two” is corrected to read “Let's Play Two.”
• May 16, 2008: Wrigley Field season attendance passes the million mark.
• June 12, 2008: To celebrate the 60th anniversary of WGN TV broadcasting, the Cubs host a "throw-back" game, in which the first two innings are broadcast in black and white as they were in 1948. The Cubs and the Atlanta Braves both wear period uniforms, and for the day the Atlanta Braves revert to the Boston Braves. The Cubs win 3-2 in the 13th inning.
• August 4, 2008: When a tornado warning sounds, the stadium is evacuated. It is the first time the stadium has been evacuated due to severe weather.
• August 25, 2008: Wrigley Field, with a scheduled day game, becomes the first major league ballpark to activate instant replay technology, a few hours ahead of some teams that had night games scheduled.
• October 1, 2008: A school reform group threatens to protest state education financing by staging a protest, surrounding Wrigley Field during a Cubs playoff game.
• October 4, 2008: The Chicago Cubs finish their 100th season since winning a World Series.
• December, 6, 2008: the US Attorney accuses Illinois Governor Rod R Blagojevich of attempting to extort the Tribune Co. through withholding a state financial package for Wrigley Field.

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by Patrick Kissane

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