College Football

College football at Wrigley Field: How the Friendly Confines transformed into a gridiron

Updated Nov. 21, 2021 9:25 p.m. ET

By Ed McGregor
FOX Sports Senior Features Editor

CHICAGO — The iconic ballpark at the corner of Clark and Addison on the North Side of Chicago has hosted thousands of baseball games in its 107-year history.

But did you know that Wrigley Field, as it has been called since 1926, has also hosted hundreds of football games?

In fact, the Chicago Cubs have never clinched a title at Wrigley, but the Chicago Bears have. That football tradition continued Saturday, when Purdue beat Northwestern 32-14 at the Friendly Confines.

Take a photographic tour of the diamond-turned-gridiron on a chilly fall day.

The game marked just the second time in a series dating to 1895 that Northwestern and Purdue faced off outside of Evanston, Illinois, or West Lafayette, Indiana. The Wildcats and Boilermakers played at Soldier Field on Nov. 28, 1931. (Photo by Ed McGregor/FOX Sports)

Gallagher Way outside the ballpark is all decked out for the holidays. The ice rink at Wrigley first opened in 2009 through a partnership with the Chicago Park District. Besides offering open skating, the rink has been used for speed skating, figure skating, sled hockey and curling. (Photo by Ed McGregor/FOX Sports)

Pat Fitzgerald's Wildcats were scheduled to play at Wrigley Field last year, but their Nov. 7 game vs. Wisconsin was moved to Ryan Field in Evanston due to COVID-19. (Photo by Ed McGregor/FOX Sports)

Northwestern returned to Wrigley Field 11 years to the day after playing Illinois there. In that 2010 game, the east-west field configuration was so tight that Big Ten officials decided that all offensive plays would be run toward the west end zone to avoid the brick wall in right field. To provide more room this season, the Cubs’ dugout was removed, along with several rows of seats and portions of the field wall along the third-base side. Just in case, the right-field wall was still padded. After all, just like the Cubs, the ballpark’s famous ivy has gone into hibernation for the winter. (Photo by Ed McGregor/FOX Sports)

Northwestern All-Big Ten left tackle Peter Skoronski couldn't wait to play at Wrigley. His grandfather, Bob Skoronski, a two-time Super Bowl winner and Pro Bowler for the Green Bay Packers, played there when the Chicago Bears called the Friendly Confines home. (Photo by Ed McGregor/FOX Sports)

The Wrigley Field tradition of throwing the opponents' ball back crossed sports Saturday. Every time Purdue scored and kicked an extra point into the Northwestern student section in the right-field bleachers, the football came flying back onto the field. (Photo by Ed McGregor/FOX Sports)

Wrigley Field has hosted more than 370 NFL games between the Chicago Tigers (1920), Chicago Cardinals (1920, 1931-1938) and Bears (1921-1970). There have been many college and even high school games there as well. The legends who played at Wrigley include George Halas, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, Sammy Baugh, Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and Paddy Driscoll, a former Northwestern football star and, later, a Cubs infielder. None of them saw his replays on a 95-foot x 42-foot video board. (Photo by Ed McGregor/FOX Sports)

It is 8.32 miles from the 50-yard line of Ryan Field to home plate of Wrigley Field, which is just about the amount of punt yardage Northwestern senior Derek Adams has amassed as a Wildcat. Adams is the all-time NCAA leader in career punt yards, with 14,282. There are 1,760 yards in a mile, so Adams has kicked for 8.11 miles. (Photo by Ed McGregor/FOX Sports)

The Northwestern Wildcat Marching Band played in the shadow of Wrigley Field's iconic scoreboard, which, in the end, confirmed a Purdue victory. The Spoilermakers struck again. (Photo by Ed McGregor/FOX Sports)