The Rise of Baseball in the Rogers Park community of Chicago.

In the mid-1900s, as the bustling city of Chicago expanded northward, the community of Rogers Park emerged as a haven for baseball enthusiasts. While professional baseball held sway with the renowned White Sox and Cubs, Rogers Park nurtured a vibrant semi-professional scene that captivated local fans. 

The Rogers Park Baseball Club played its first games in 1906 and entertained fans at the Rogers Park Baseball Grounds near the corner of Devon Avenue and Clark Street in Chicago. The Club rose to prominence within this landscape, becoming a beloved institution for the residents of many Chicago Northside communities until 1916, when the ballpark closed.

Rogers Park Baseball Club

The Rogers Park Baseball Grounds was located at approximately 1600 W. Devon Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. More specifically, it was situated just north of the Clark-Devon Hardware store on the east side of Clark Street.

The Rogers Park Baseball Grounds: A Field of Dreams

The heart of the Rogers Park baseball experience was the Rogers Park Baseball Grounds, located near the intersection of Devon Avenue and Clark Street. While not as grand as the professional stadiums of the era, the grounds exuded a certain charm and intimacy that drew in dedicated crowds. While uneven in places, the field bore the marks of countless games, each adding to its storied character. Wooden bleachers lined the field, offering spectators a close-up view of the action. The crowd's buzz, the bat's crack, and the shouts of encouragement echoed through the grounds on game days.

The Club: A Local Institution

The Rogers Park Baseball Club was more than just a team; it symbolized community pride. The players, mostly local men with day jobs, embodied a spirit of dedication and passion for the game. Local businesses often sponsored the team, fostering a sense of camaraderie and shared identity within the community.

The Club competed in semi-professional leagues, facing fierce rivals from other Chicago neighborhoods and nearby towns. These games held the allure of intense competition played out on a familiar stage. Rivalries were fierce as the Rogers Park team locked horns with other semi-pro clubs across Chicago. Teams like the Logan Squares, the Gunthers, and the West Ends provided formidable competition, resulting in thrilling battles that kept fans on the edge. Newspaper accounts would detail nail-biting plays, spectacular catches, and clutch hits, vividly depicting the action.

The Heyday (1900-1910s)

The early 1900s through the 1910s marked the golden age of the Rogers Park Baseball Club and its grounds. Fans flocked to the ballpark on Sundays and holidays, creating a festive atmosphere. Children chased foul balls, families shared picnics, and neighbors rooted for their local heroes.

The Rogers Park Baseball Club enjoyed considerable success during this period, claiming several league championships and producing a few players who even caught the eye of professional scouts. One such player was the speedy outfielder and shortstop Lou Gertenrich, who even had a brief stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901.

The Club and its home grounds played a pivotal role in the growth of baseball in Chicago. The popularity of these semi-pro teams fueled a broader interest in the sport, with amateur leagues and youth teams springing up throughout the city. The ballpark hosted the home team and became a hub for community baseball at all levels.

In a historic moment, Rogers Park etched its name into baseball lore by hosting one of the first successful night games under artificial lights in 1910. This exhibition match between the Rogers Park team and the Logan Squares demonstrated the potential for expanding the game beyond the limits of daylight.

The Demise and Legacy

Sadly, the Rogers Park Baseball Grounds met their demise in 1916. Changing demographics, a decline in the popularity of semi-professional baseball, and the pressures of urban development led to the ballpark's closure. The land where thrilling games were once played was repurposed, leaving only memories in its wake.

Though the physical embodiment of the Rogers Park Baseball Club and its grounds faded, their legacy endured. The era fostered a love of baseball within the community, passed down through generations. The stories of the Club and its players, the rivalries, and the thrilling victories became part of the fabric of Rogers Park.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Birchwood Country Club, Chicago's other Rogers Park/West Ridge community golf club.

Most people of a certain age remember West Ridge’s only golf club at Western Avenue and Pratt Boulevard (now in Warren Park and named the Robert A. Black Golf Course). For the first few years of its life, it was located in Edgewater and was called the Edgewater Golf Club.

But, the Rogers Park community had another golf club, although no one living today remembers it or even knew it existed. The Birchwood Country Club was always within the Rogers Park community.

Unlike the Edgewater Golf Club, it had a short life, from Wednesday, July 4, 1906, until perhaps 1913. A group of residents opened the Birchwood Country Club, with membership initially limited to 100 individuals living in the Birchwood Beach area.

The clubhouse shown in the photo looks more like a railroad depot than a typical clubhouse of the period, and sure enough, it was—originally. A Friday, May 29, 1959, Chicago Tribune article recounts the recollections of Graham Jackson. It confirms that the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (known then as the “St. Paul”) donated the clubhouse to the club after it discontinued passenger service into Rogers Park in 1908 when the Northwestern Elevated Railroad’s line took over operation on the St. Paul’s trackage.

According to Mr. Jackson’s recollections, the club’s nine-hole course was located north of Rogers Avenue and south of Calvary Cemetery near Sheridan Road. Jackson and his father, Walter L. Jackson, jointly won the Pater-Filius alternative shot event in 1910 at the club. 

Graham Jackson recounted that Sheridan Road ran between the first and second holes and wasn’t much of a road back then. 

The Birchwood Country Club, Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois.

The Birchwood Country Club, Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois.

The Birchwood Country Club, Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois.

According to Jackson, “The first hole started at about where is now Rogers Avenue and Sheridan Road and went north. The third tee must have been about where the gas station was [since replaced by townhouses]. The fairway ran west, following the curve of the cemetery to form a dogleg. It was known then as the “Devil’s Elbow.” According to Jackson, the golf club members had an opportunity to buy the land from the owner from whom it was leased but declined because they thought the price was too high--$600 an acre. 

Charles E. “Chick” Evans was first exposed to golf as a
caddie at a Chicago course, the Edgewater Golf Club.

In a Tribune article, Chick Evans, a nationally known golfer affiliated with the Edgewater Golf Club, confirmed Jackson’s recollections. Chick added that the Edgewater Club considered purchasing the Birchwood Club in 1910, but bought the land at Pratt Boulevard and Western Avenue instead, today’s Warren Park.

The Birch Forest extended from about Birchwood Avenue south to Touhy Avenue, about 1/2 mile, and west to just west of where Sheridan Road is today, in the Rogers Park community of Chicago, ca.1900.

Jackson remembered plentiful strands of white birch trees—which, not surprisingly, gave its name and the name of the subdivision to the south, Birchwood Beach.

The North Shore School at 1217 West Chase Avenue began life as the Birchwood Country Club. Sometime after 1913, the building became a Montessori Boarding School housed about 10 boys and 10 girls. It is unclear if non-boarding students attended also.

Gathered from online comments: The school’s library was full of obscure children’s books from the 1940s. There was a manual bowling lane in the dining hall. Boarding students went to a local stable for weekly horseback riding lessons, but because it was a privilege, only that week’s model students were allowed to go. The end of the school year meant a trip to Lincoln Park Zoo.

The North Shore School was razed in March 2008 to make way for a condo building.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.