Written by Brendan H.
Located in Jackson Park on the south side of Chicago, at the site of 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, stands a neoclassical ballfield with a white façade and an elaborate presentation. Home of the Chicago Doves, World Fair Field, with its Beaux-Arts design, stands as a gleaming pearl of American Exceptionalism and is one of the few surviving structures from the Fair.
World Fair Field made an auspicious debut in 1893 during the Exposition by hosting a night game of baseball seen by thousands of international fans. The four-inning exhibition game, illuminated by the inventions of Nikola Tesla, saw a team made up of the City of Chicago’s best ballplayers, wearing all white uniforms—to match the park’s façade and the other structures in the White City—face a team of Cuban All-Stars from Havana. The Chicago team won 2-1, supported by a beautiful pitching performance by current Doves’ ace Billy Emig, after the Cuban right fielder was unable to track a towering flyball hit above the lights by the then-22 year old rookie SS, and now-Chicago fan-favorite, Dom Shearer.
The Doves, so-named for their all-white look dress on the ballfield, serve as a symbol of hope and optimism for the City of Chicago–much like the World’s Fair in which they made their debut. The team, originally organized for the 1893’s World Fair by current-owner, Jack Vaughn, a banker and Chicago business magnate, has been hosting exhibition games against the world’s best teams ever since.
The Doves are managed by Joshua Pollock.
The Windy City Birds, with a home field built as a vision of what the future could be by looking to the past, hope to bring an exceptional, aesthetically pleasing style of ball to the Legacy Baseball League which has been honed against the world’s best ball clubs. Anchored by a veteran pitching staff, good defense, and an athletic offense based on strong baserunning, the Doves will look to stretch their wings beyond Chicago and bring their brand of beautiful baseball all the way to the Legacy Cup.