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AUTHOR’S NOTE:
I was born in suburban Chicago, and my family has deep roots in the Midwest. Even so, I didn’t realize we were tied to the Chicago Fire till I started researching the book.
I learned that in 1871, professional baseball was just getting started. The Chicago Cubs (which were originally known as the White Stockings) played out of a Michigan Avenue ballpark, near where Millennium Park’s famous “Bean” stands today.
The fire ended up gutting the ballpark and destroying basically everything the team owned. To rebuild, they hired a star pitcher named Albert Goodwill Spalding. He helped overhaul not just the team– which he owned for about twenty years– but the whole structure of pro sports. In a lot of ways, he laid the foundation for what are now the Major Leagues.
He also went into business for himself, which is how the Spalding sporting goods company was born. (Before you ask, my family isn’t involved with the company today– although part of me wishes we were! The company is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway now.)
The Cubs, meanwhile, ended up at Wrigley Field in 1916… and the rest of course is history.
— P.
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