Normal Park
41°46′53.11″N 87°39′16.34″W / 41.7814194°N 87.6545389°W
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Normal Park is the name of a former
The field was on a block bounded by South Racine Avenue (to the east, previously Centre Avenue); West 61st Street (north); West 62nd Street (south); and South Throop Street (west). Normal Avenue (or Normal Boulevard) is also sometimes given as one of its bordering streets, although Normal Avenue (500W) is about 7 blocks east of Racine (1200W). There may have been some confusion due to "Normal Park" also having been the name of a Chicago neighborhood in the general area. In local newspapers, the location of the field was typically given as "61st Street and Racine Avenue."
The Chicago Cardinals started out as the "Morgan Athletic Club" in 1898 and changed their name to "Racine Normals" after they began playing at Normal Park. Soon after, they became the "Racine Cardinals". According to legend, they assumed that nickname upon acquiring some reddish hand-me-down jerseys from the University of Chicago football team, the Maroons.
The Cardinals joined the new American Professional Football Association (soon renamed to what is now the
Starting in 1922, they split time between Normal Park and
References
- ^ Chicago Tribune, March 30, 1952, part 3 page 9