Bridgeport in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Charles A. Comiskey
"The Old Roman"
| | 1859-1931 | |
Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 7, 2024
1. Charles A. Comiskey Marker
Player and Manager
Founder of the Chicago White Sox, 1900
Co-founder of the American League, 1901
Builder of Comiskey Park, 1910
American League Champions, 1901, 1906, 1917, 1919
World Champions, 1906, 1917
Member of Baseball Hall of Fame, 1939
Comiskey Family
Members of the Comiskey Family Owned and Served as Executives of the Chicago White Sox from 1900-1962
Charles A. Comiskey
J. Louis Comiskey
Grace Reidy Comiskey
Charlie Comiskey
Dorothy Comiskey Rigney
Gracie Lou Comiskey
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Parks & Recreational Areas • Sports. In addition, it is included in the Baseball Hall of Famers series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1900.
Location. 41° 49.753′ N, 87° 37.984′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Bridgeport. It is on 35th Street 0.2 miles Dan Ryan Expressway (Interstate 90/94). The marker is in the concourse behind the right field bleachers at Guaranteed Rate Field, home of baseball's Chicago White Sox. Touch for map.
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Luis Aparicio (a few steps from this marker); Jacob Nelson "Nellie" Fox (a few steps from this marker); What Is a "Chicago Style" Hot Dog? (a few steps from this marker); Jim Thome Home Runs (within shouting distance of this marker); Mark Buerhle (within shouting distance of this marker); Walter William Pierce (within shouting distance of this marker); Carlton Ernest Fisk (within shouting distance of this marker); Harold Douglas Baines (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.
More about this marker. Comiskey was the namesake of
Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 7, 2024
2. Charles A. Comiskey statue
Regarding Charles A. Comiskey. Charles Comiskey grew up in Chicago the son of a politician and emerged as a distinguished baseball player and manager. Throughout the 1880s and early 1890s, Comiskey was an elite player-manager for the St. Louis Brown Stockings of the American Association championships, the Chicago Pirates of the Players League, and the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. In 1894 he acquired a team in the Western League and moved it to St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1900 he moved the team to Chicago; the Western League was renamed the American League and in 1901 declared itself a major league.
As an American League pioneer and Sox owner from 1900 until 1931, Comiskey oversaw five American League championship teams, and two World Series titles in 1906 (when they beat the National League's Chicago Cubs) and 1917. He also drove the building of his team's home
Photographed by Sean Flynn, June 7, 2024
3. Charles A. Comiskey statue
Left unsaid on the plaque, however, is the 1919 Black Sox scandal, which sullied both the franchise and the legacy of Comiskey himself. Comiskey's stinginess as an ownerthe low salaries he paid his players as well as several penny-pinching moves with how he managed the clubmade him a despised figure among his players, and was seen as a factor in the scandal. Eight players were accused of taking money from gamblers to "throw" the World Series, which the Cincinnati Reds won 5 games to 3. All eight were permanently banned from baseball, and more than 100 years later all of the players remain ineligible for election into the Hall of Fame. Comiskey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.
Comiskey died in 1931. His wife Grace maintained team control until her death in 1956, when her children took over. In 1958, they sold majority ownership to Bill Veeck, who built the "exploding scoreboard" (which is emulated at the new park) and also
Chicago Daily News Collection, Chicago History Museum, 1912
4. Charles A. Comiskey (1859-1931)
Charles Comiskey stands (with a dog) on the field of his namesake baseball stadium, Comiskey Park. This spot on the right field line at the old park is maybe 800 feet from where his statue sits today in the current White Sox home stadium.
Also see . . .
1. Society of American Baseball Research (SABR): Charles Comiskey.
Excerpt: "One of the most influential figures in the history of the sport, Charles Comiskey had a 55-year odyssey through professional baseball that ran the gamut: captain of one of the greatest teams of the nineteenth century; league-jumper during the 1890 players rebellion; one of the chief architects of the American Leagues emergence in 1901 as a major league; longtime owner of one of the leagues most successful franchises, the Chicago White Sox; and a central figure in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal."(Submitted on June 12, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. Charles "The Old Roman" Comiskey.
Excerpt from famous-trials.com: "Comiskey was called as a witness at the trial of the eight White Sox players. He revealed that he had heard possible rumors of the fix during the series. Comiskey was also questioned about the finances of the White Sox team during the(Submitted on June 12, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)years surrounding the scandal. He could not remember exact figures. The defense hit a nerve with Comiskey when they questioned him about possible contract jumping when he was a baseball player. He became irate and was dismissed from the stand. During his long association with the game, Comiskey was at various points regarded as a labor radical, a visionary executive, and a domineering patriarch who lavished money on his ballpark and the press while at the same time being accused of underpaying his best players. Baseball, Comiskey once wrote, 'is the only game that is complicated enough to be always interesting and yet simple enough to be always understood.' Ultimately, the same can be said of the Old Roman himself."Courtesy of Chicago History Museum (ICHi-068345); Burke & Atwell, photographer, 19105. Charles A. Comiskey at 1910 stadium opening
Credits. This page was last revised on August 19, 2024. It was originally submitted on June 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 568 times since then and 74 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 11, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 12, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
