As my countdown clock wore down to my departure, I revised my focus in my research to the Cubs on Catalina. There have been some books written about it, and there were a few internet articles too. However, what I found during my research was that all roads led to one singular person of importance in the history of the Cubs on Catalina. That person was an individual by the name of William Wrigley.
Wrigley was a mainstay of American industry during the first part of the 20th-century. His name is ubiquitous as the developer of a line of chewing gum that is still enjoyed today. He amassed incredible amounts of wealth and was one of industrial titans of his day. In the early part of the century, Wrigley did two very notable things that define this story and the quest. First, he became the majority shareholder of the Chicago Cubs. Second, he purchased Catalina Island.
In 1916, the Chicago Cubs were owned by a group that was led by restaurant entrepreneur Charles Weeghman. In 1920, after seeing his finances and business shrivel, Weeghman sold the majority of the ownership to Wrigley. Shortly after taking control of the team, Wrigley set about renaming the Cubs home ballpark on the north side after himself. Nowadays, Wrigley Field is the, arguably, the most iconic ballpark in Major League Baseball.
While in the midst of acquiring greater control of the Cubs, Wrigley engineered perhaps his largest and most extensive purchase ever. In the first decades of the 1900's, Santa Catalina Island had been owned by the predecessor of the Catalina Conservancy, the Santa Catalina Island Company. In 1919, Wrigley purchased the island and it's holdings from the Company.
It was Wrigley's vision to create a place where the rich, poor, and everyone in between could experience the incredible natural beauty. However, he needed to market the island to a country. Wrigley's PR machine pumped out literature to the entire world espousing the natural beauty of Catalina. Wrigley invested millions of his money to upgrade Avalon into a resort city by modernizing the streets and sewers. He financed construction of the Avalon Casino, which sported the largest indoor dance floor in the world, and, when completed, was the tallest building in Los Angeles County.
Perhaps his most ingenious idea for Catalina involved his Major League Baseball team. He knew that the Cubs were as iconic a sports franchise as there was in the world, and if he could somehow involve them into the development of Catalina, the island would become renowned around the world. Beginning in 1921, the Cubs made their Spring Training home on Catalina. For roughly thirty years, the Boys of the North Side showed up every February to train for the upcoming season. A legend of baseball had been born.
As the day for my departure neared, I knew that by following the story of Wrigley on Catalina would lead me to better understand the Cubs. I woke up very early on the Friday, loaded my bike into the back of the car, and began my journey to the Long Beach Harbor. It was just past first light as I backed out of my driveway, and I knew that a fascinating adventure awaited me on the island.
I got all checked in at the ferry terminal and boarded the Catalina Express for the roughly one-hour voyage across the Catalina Strait into Avalon. The weather was slightly overcast as the marine layer had set in during the night, but it was forecasted to burn off as the morning progressed. I wheeled my bike on-board and locked it up to the special bike racks on the aft deck of the ship before making my way upstairs to outdoor seating area. The captain piped on that we would experience some moderate swells, but that the voyage across the sea would be expectedly routine.
As we departed Long Beach, we were offered sweeping panoramas of the gargantuan ocean liner Queen Mary and the sprawling Port of Long Beach complex. I had never been to Long Beach before, so seeing the massive container ships that reached ten-stories high line the harbor was certainly a sight to behold. We passed the breakwater, opened the throttle, and really began our trip in earnest.
While on the way, I engaged in conversation with a few of the other passengers on the boat. Most of the people shared my birthday and were taking advantage of the free trip to island. Many were going to spend the day on the beach, but some were going to get some golfing in, explore the kelp forests in planned dives around the harbor, or seeking out some restaurants in Avalon. I also got into a conversation with a bachelorette party who were spending the weekend on the island and taking the safari tour into the interior. What struck me as significant was that everybody I spoke to was eagerly excited for the day and filled with engagement and anticipation. It was definitely infectious, and while my journey was certainly different from theirs, I too began to get antsy for the destination.
The clouds became thicker and thicker as we crossed the Strait, but, suddenly, land mass appeared on the horizon. We were approaching Catalina, and the crowd become awed with the spectacle. Deep ocean blue water crowned the bow of the boat as I looked out on the starboard side to see a pod of dolphins breaching parallel to the boat. It was almost a "Welcoming Committee", of sorts. In an even greater omen, as we finished docking at the Avalon Ferry Slip, the clouds broke and brilliant California sunshine came through.
After unloading my bike, I decided that my first stop was to ride into Avalon and out to the Wrigley Memorial Gardens. This botanical attraction was built to honor Wrigley and includes native plants from the Island and a memorial to Wrigley based on Chicago's Buckingham Fountain. Based on some of the records I had uncovered, this is where the general location of the ballpark was. In addition, the Gardens had become transformed into a museum, so I guessed that I might be able to track down people there who may be able to give me some information on the Cubs and, if necessary, point me in the direction of others who might be willing to speak with me.
The route up to the Garden took me right through the middle of downtown Avalon and gave me my first glimpse of this city that I had read so much about. Golf carts abounded on the narrow streets that were lined with posh summer rentals and dive shops. Pedestrians in wetsuits and swim trunks walked the narrow sidewalks to the beaches and boardwalk in the middle of the city. For a Friday morning, it was a bustling scene that really got my adrenaline going.
The Garden was only about a mile-and-a-half from the Ferry Slip, but it involved huffing the bike up a rather large hill. This was my first exposure to the amazing topography of Catalina. As I wove up the hill and past the main golf course, I became boxed into a canyon surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs. As I continued to climb, I began to see a panorama of Avalon and the main harbor. At the focal point of these cliffs resided the Gardens.
When I got to the Gardens, the docent at the gate said that I had pedaled too far and that the ballpark was in fact back closer to town by the modern-day Fire Station. So, I turned around, and coasted around a quarter mile to the Fire Station.
The former ballpark of the Cubs is now a parking lot for the City of Avalon's Public Work's fleet. The site is about ten acres in size and sits at the base of a large hill. You can imagine the pristine view the ballpark enjoyed. However, imagine is the key word as very little is left of the site. The only thing remaining from the ballpark days is the foundation of the grandstand that is covered in brush on the far side of the lot. There is a plaque commemorating the site's historical value, but that's it. To be honest, I was a little disappointed in my first Catalina experience, and seeing a place that I had read so much about covered in gravel and dump trucks was disheartening. This made my Quest to chronicle the story of the Cubs on Catalina that much more important because the stories and memories, apparently, are the only real things remaining of those heady days.
As I was touring the site, one of the firemen from the neighboring station noticed me and asked me what my business was at the site. I explained what I was searching for, and he and I got into a conversation about the site. He had been a resident of Catalina for a number of years, but not when the Cubs were on the Island. He continued on to say that even today, the lore of the club still permeated the community of Avalon and the Island itself. Furthermore, he pointed me in the direction of City Hall and said that a good resource to seek out would be the Parks and Recreation Director of the City.
Across the street from the Fire Station is Avalon City Hall. A beautiful, new building that is immaculately landscpaed and furnished, it is hard to believe that this is the seat of government for a city of only about 3,000 people. As I walked in to the building, I was very surprised to hear the willingness of the employees to talk about the Cubs and how it related to the City of Avalon. It seemed like they had never spoken to a person specifically about this, and even for a Friday afternoon, the city employees found me the Parks and Recreation Director to speak with. I had steadily made my way down the hill from the Wrigley Mansion to the parking lot, to the Fire Station, and now to the City Hall. The Parks and Rec Director was very helpful and told me that the Catalina Museum back down in Avalon had a great setup of Catalina history and the display all about the Cubs too. So, I jumped back on my bike, and coasted back down into Avalon.
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