(Ed's note: September 7th, 2005 - after attending a White Sox game at U. S. Cellular Field last evening, I was reviewing some photos I took of old houses north of Pershing Road on Wells Street. Two houses in particular, 3922 and 3928 peaked my interest because the house addresses were of my ancestors residency between 1890 and 1910. In particular, Charles Rash and Josef Paha lived there - my great grandparents on my father's side. The White Sox are having a great year with expectations of the World Series, something they have not won in a very long time and most recently competed for in 1959 when I was 7 years old. These houses would be mighty old if they are the same ones, and as you can see from the photos, they just might be.)
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White Sox FACTS:
South Side Park was the name used for three different baseball parks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois at different times, and whose sites were all just a few blocks away from each other.
The first South Side Park was somewhere in the neighborhood of 39th Street and South Wabash Avenue, and was the home of a short-lived entry in the Union Association of 1884.
The second South Side Park was at 35th Street and South Wentworth Avenue, just east of the eventual Comiskey Park. It was first the home of the Chicago entry of the Players League of 1890 (whose roster included Charles Comiskey), and then was the home of the National League team now called the Chicago Cubs during parts of 1891-1893.
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| This is an 1886 map of the South Side under review. Note the gap in Fifth Avenue (now Wells Avenue) and the location of the ball field. When the park did open in 1901, our families were in very close proximity. |
The third South Side Park, the best known and longest lived venue by that name, was on the north side of 39th Street (now called Pershing Road) between South Wentworth Avenue and South Princeton Avenue. It was the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League, first in 1900 as a minor league team, and then from 1901 to June 27, 1910 as a major league team.
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| Tenant: Chicago White Sox (AL) Opened: April 24, 1901 First night game: Never Last White Sox game: June 27, 1910 Construction material: Mostly wood Surface: Grass Capacity: 15,000 |
The Chicago White Sox celebrated after
defeating the Cubs at South Side Park in 1906!
Field Orientation: Left field (N), old cricket grounds and 37th Street; third base (W), South Princeton Avenue; first base (S), West 39th Street (West Pershing Road); right field (E), South Wentworth Avenue. |
The 1906 World Series featured a crosstown match up between the Chicago Cubs, who had posted the highest regular-season win total (116) in major league history, and the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox, known as the "Hitless Wonders" after finishing with the worst team batting average (.230) in the American League, beat the Cubs in 6 games for one of the greatest upsets in Series history. It was the first appearance in the World Series for both teams, and the first of three in a row for the Cubs. The White Sox would not reappear in the World Series until the 1917 World Series.
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White Sox Team Photo circa 1904 |
"Cracker' Ray Schalk caught for the White Sox from 1912 to 1928. As a youngster, I caddied at Beverly Country Club and Ray Schalk was part of our foursome. |
The team abandoned the wooden ballpark, which sat 15,000, in the middle of the 1910 season after their new steel-and-concrete, and much larger Comiskey Park was finished, just three blocks north of the old park (corner to corner), where they began an 80 1/2 season run. Meanwhile, South Side Park became the home of the newly-formed Negro League baseball team called the Chicago American Giants in 1911. It was renamed Schorling's Park for team owner Rube Foster's white business partner, John C. Schorling, who happened to be Comiskey's son-in-law.
The American Giants played their games there through the 1940 season. Then on Christmas Day of 1940, Schorling's Park was destroyed by fire. The American Giants would play their remaining 10 seasons at Comiskey Park.
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3928 South Fifth (Wells) Ave Charles Rash marries Margaret Kestel in January, 1890. This may have been their first residence. They lived here until about 1893. Ida and Mary, (twins), are born here. |
5305 South Justine Margaret Rash, and sister with Ida, Mary and Clara around 1895. Design is very close to the other two, note the supports under the eves in the roof. |
3922 South Fifth (Wells) Ave Charles and his family lived here from 1901 to 1903. Josef Paha and his family lived here in 1911. |
Residence data is thin for Josef Paha and his family. In the 1900 census, they reside at 3945 Fifth Avenue, just a few houses to the south and across the street. In 1908, their address is 3947 Fifth Avenue. From 1909 to 1910, it is at 3942 Fifth Avenue. Now you might say they must have great fans of the White Sox and that could be a true statement. But let's not forget that the Saint George Church and school are located within a few hundred feet of this addresses.
As unbelievable as it may seen, these two structures may very well be the houses the Josef Paha and the Charles Rash families lived in between 1890 and 1910. These structures have new façades but look very much like the house that Charles and his family lived in 1895 on Justine.
By the way, the Cubs are 2 and 8 in World Series play, their last trip to the Fall Classic was in 1945, they lost to Detroit in seven games. The two series wins came in 1907 and 1908, also against Detroit. They can continue to claim the longest record without a World Series win. They have never won a World Series while playing at Wrigley Field.
