Chicago is the quintessential American city; baseball is the quintessential American pastime. However, there is no special place that honors the rich history of Chicago baseball and no museum that glorifies the city's contributions to our national pastime.

Most people will refer to the Chicago Cubs or the Chicago White Sox when referencing baseball in Chicago. Baseball fans can repeat the names of Chicago's great hitters, pitchers, and fielders. They may know names like Ernie Banks and Minnie Minoso, Carlos Zambrano and Paul Konerko.

But how many baseball fans realize that Chicago is the only place remaining with two chartered Major League Baseball teams in the same city? How many people walk by the People's Gas Building on Michigan Avenue and realize it was once the epicenter of the baseball world, housing baseball's first commissioner, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis? Do people know the American League was created by Charles A. Comiskey and Ban Johnson in the J.V.B. room of Chicago's Fisher Building? How many fans realize the Negro National League's annual East-West All-Star Game was played at Comiskey Park?

These are just a few tales we hope to highlight in the proposed Chicago Baseball Museum. They are stories worth telling.




David Fletcher, MD, MPH, FACOEM
President and Founder

About Dr. David Fletcher
Dr. David Fletcher is an occupational medicine specialist and co-founder of SafeWorks Illinois, a private medical practice he operates in downstate Illinois.  He is a noted national expert in occupational health and is clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine.