Take me out to the ballgame.

On April 10, 1913, the Glen Ellyn Baseball Club was organized…comprised of 20 players to be selected for the first team, there was a second team in the plans for those who did not make the first cut.

The first step was to arrange for a dance for the benefit of the club “where all proceeds would be used to uniforms and baseball stuff” according to the April 11, 1913 edition of the Glen Ellyan.

All was fine until the first game against Lombard. Although the score was 6-2, it was a much closer game than what the score let on to be. Probably the best plays of the day---there were no lights of course--- came from the outstanding play of “Shorty” Al Ludke who made two sensational high jumps to stop highballs. According to lore, it’s claimed  he pulled one from an altitude of approximately 14 feet. Wow.

Since this time, baseball, and softball, have taken off in “Our Town.” With many diamonds located around Glen Ellyn, we have come a long way from the home grounds located in Turner Subdivision.

What may seem hard to believe is there was a game played between the Glen Ellyn Baseball team and the team that would evolve into the Chicago Cubs---and it happened in Glen Ellyn! If you go to Lake Ellyn, near the fence located near the Glenbard West football entrance, you will see the sign. The Cubs in a one-sided effort beat Glen Ellyn by more than 100 runs—that must have been a long game.

But what would have happened if fate had taken a different turn? What if Glen Ellyn had won and Wrigley Field had been built in Glen Ellyn? Would we have the big scoreboard in the photo above?

Thanks for stopping by.