History
Owner Charles Comiskey broke ground in February 1910, and the park opened on July 1 of that year. Zachary Taylor Davis designed it. In its early years the park was sometimes called White Sox Park, a name that returned from 1962 to 1975.
The park hosted four World Series, including the 1919 Series behind the Black Sox scandal. It was home to the first Major League All-Star Game in 1933, and SABR says the Negro leagues' first East-West All-Star Game was played there that September. Joe Louis won the heavyweight title there in 1937, and the NFL Cardinals played there for many seasons.
Under owner Bill Veeck, a 1979 radio promotion called Disco Demolition Night ended in a riot on the field. In 1981 Veeck sold the club to a group led by Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn.
The new park opened across 35th Street in April 1991, after the old one's last game on September 30, 1990. The original was demolished that year. Its home plate location is marked in the parking lot that replaced it.
Why it matters: It hosted the first Major League All-Star Game and was the White Sox's home for 81 seasons.
Timeline
- February 15, 1910Groundbreaking[2]
Work began on Charles Comiskey's steel-and-concrete park on the South Side.
- July 1, 1910
The White Sox lost 2–0 to the St. Louis Browns in the first game.
- July 6, 1933
The American League won 4–2 in the first Major League All-Star Game.
- June 22, 1937Louis–Braddock title fight[1]
Joe Louis took the heavyweight championship from James Braddock at the park.
- August 14, 1939First night game[2]
The White Sox beat the Browns 5–2 in the first game under lights.
- July 12, 1979Disco Demolition Night[1]
A radio-station promotion between games of a doubleheader turned into a riot on the field.
- September 30, 1990
The White Sox beat Seattle 2–1 in the last game at the park.
- 1991
The park was razed after its replacement opened across 35th Street in April 1991.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,2] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Parking lot for Rate Field, with a marble home plate marker and the old foul lines painted on the pavement[1,2] |
| Mapped location | Former venue site |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Teams & events
| Chicago White Sox | American League · 1910–1990 |
|---|---|
| Chicago Cardinals | NFL · 1940–1958 |
| Chicago Cardinals | NFL · 1922–1925 · tenant |
| Chicago Cardinals | NFL · 1929–1930 · tenant |
| Chicago American Giants | Negro American League · 1941–1950 · tenant |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Other names | White Sox Park (1910–1912) |
|---|---|
| Location | 324 West 35th Street, Armour Square; between Shields Ave. (formerly Portland Ave.) and Wentworth Ave., Chicago, Illinois[1,2] |
| Venue type | Ballpark |
| Sports | Baseball, Football, Boxing & wrestling |
| Level | MLB, NFL, Negro Leagues |
| Opened | July 1, 1910[1,2] |
| Last used for sports | September 30, 1990[1,2] |
| Demolished | 1991[1,2] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Original capacity | 28,000[1,2] |
| Final capacity | 43,951[1,2] |
| Capacity notes | The Wikipedia infobox and SABR give 28,000 at opening, but Wikipedia's text says almost 32,000. Final capacity was 43,951 in 1990. |
| Architect | Zachary Taylor Davis (with Osborn Engineering per Wikipedia)[1,2] |
| Construction cost | $750,000 (1910)[1,2] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Owner / operator | Chicago White Sox |
| Closure | The White Sox moved to a new publicly financed stadium built directly south of the old park. |
Documented details
Connected venues
Sources
- Comiskey Park, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, architect, capacity, closed, construction cost, coordinates, current land use, demolished, events, opened, teams
- Comiskey Park (Chicago), Society for American Baseball Research (Curt Smith). Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, architect, capacity, closed, construction cost, current land use, demolished, events, opened
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (4)
- Opening capacity: 28,000 (infobox and SABR) vs almost 32,000 (Wikipedia's text). SABR's opening-day crowd was 32,000.
- Chicago American Giants tenancy: Wikipedia's text says 1941–1950 and its infobox says 1941–1952.
- SABR prints the site as 'West 34rd and 35th Streets', an apparent typo.
- SABR gives the 1917 World Series result as both 3-2 and 4-2 (the White Sox won 4-2).
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.