RARE 1914 PRE-LINEN POSTCARD – CHICAGO’S WEST SIDE GROUNDS – HOME OF THE CUBS For Sale

WEST SIDE GROUNDS

A fantastic and extremely rare pre-linen-era postcard depicting Chicago's historic West Side Grounds, home of the Chicago National League club from 1893 through 1915. This card is postmarked November 10, 1914, making it an especially desirable piece of baseball history that was mailed while the Cubs were still playing at this legendary ballpark.

The West Side Grounds occupied the block bounded by Polk, Taylor, Wood and Lincoln (now Wolcott) Streets on Chicago's Near West Side. The ballpark opened in 1893 and originally seated approximately 16,000 fans. The Cubs played there under several names, including the Chicago Colts, Chicago Orphans and eventually the Chicago Cubs.

This was the ballpark where the Cubs enjoyed the greatest success of their early history. The team won National League pennants in 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1910, and captured the World Series championships in 1907 and 1908. The legendary 1906 Cubs won an incredible 116 games, a major-league record at the time.

West Side Grounds was also home to some of the most famous players of the Deadball Era. Baseball Hall of Famers Frank Chance, Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers formed the legendary "Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance" double-play combination here. Other stars who played for the Cubs at the West Side Grounds included Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, Wildfire Schulte, Johnny Kling, Ed Reulbach and Jimmy Sheckard.

The ballpark was also the scene of the 1906 World Series, including games between the Cubs and their crosstown rivals, the Chicago White Sox—the first World Series ever played between two Chicago teams.

By the time this postcard was mailed in November 1914, the West Side Grounds was nearing the end of its historic run. The Cubs played their final game there on October 3, 1915, before moving to what would become Wrigley Field in 1916. The old West Side Grounds was subsequently demolished, and the site is now part of the University of Illinois Chicago medical campus.

For collectors of Chicago Cubs, early baseball, Deadball Era, vintage postcards and historic ballparks, this is a particularly desirable card. The 1914 postmark provides an exceptional period connection, placing the postcard within the final two seasons of the Cubs' tenure at one of the most important ballparks in baseball history.

Used (1914) 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" standard size pre-linen era postcard. (91, 1961)

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