The Quarry men? How the Sox almost played in Elmhurst
Buoyed by the knowledge that when excess rainwater pours into the massive Elmhurst Quarry, people drive there and stare at the flow through a fence, DuPage County plans to build an observation deck to make it safer and more fun.
But did you know that more than 30 years ago, some DuPage movers and shakers were suggesting the hole in the ground that can hold 2.7 billion gallons of water would be a good place for the Chicago White Sox to play ball?
That was the time when it was decided Comiskey Park had outlived its usefulness and needed to be replaced. Plans for a new stadium in Chicago were going nowhere, and the team was threatening to move to Florida.
There also was a serious flirtation with the village of Addison, where Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf controlled a ballpark-sized parcel near Lake Street and Swift Road, not far from I-290 and easy access from all directions.
Many thought the deal was done, but in November 1986, residents of Addison, by a 3,787 to 3,744 vote, said they didn't want the stadium. The following year a deal was cut to create a state stadium authority to build and maintain a new Comiskey Park, now Guaranteed Rate Field, across the street from the aging ballpark at 35th and Shields.
The way I found out about the other option is interesting. DuPage Editor Bob Smith posted on Facebook a Robert Sanchez story about the observation deck. It drew this response:
Kevin Fitzpatrick: "Was also once considered for the new home of the White Sox before their new stadium was built."
Smith: "Guaranteed Pit Stadium?"
This revelation was news to me. Somewhat amazing, considering that I oversaw much of our coverage when the Sox were entertaining a move to Addison. How did we miss that?
Or how did I forget such an interesting nugget? I even contacted our former reporter who covered the story. Nope, no recollection of that.
He did, however, recall the White Sox trotting out "some unsuspecting farmer in the weedy fields where the stadium was planned. With a bunch of reporters and cameras crowding closer, he held out a handful of seed to show that the land deserved the agriculture designation it had been given, a designation that, of course, lowered taxes on the property."
So, I talked to Fitzpatrick, a Lombard-based political operative, about this. At the time, he says, he owned a fancy cigar store in Oakbrook Center. Customers included George Burns and Mike Ditka, but also Jerry Reinsdorf and DuPage kingmaker James "Pate" Philip, then the Illinois Senate Minority Leader.
Philip, Fitzpatrick said, was on fire about the quarry idea. As was he.
"I'm a die-hard Sox fan," he said. "I was just aching over the fact that the Sox could move to Florida. That was a fate worse than death."
The quarry plan apparently never bubbled to the surface. I wondered how this giant pit that basically ended the flooding that routinely occurred when Salt Creek spilled over its banks would possibly house a stadium, but Fitzpatrick pointed out the massive stadium at University of Michigan was built in a major depression, and fans would traverse downhill to see games.
By September, quarry fans will be able to view the pit and imagine what else it might have been.
And now you know, as Fitzpatrick put it, "the rest of the Quarry."
jdavis@dailyherald.com