Cubs Win Flag
[2][3] It has become an important symbol for fans, and tradition of flying a win or loss flag over the stadium began soon after the construction of the scoreboard in 1937.
[13] At the beginning of each day, the cross-shaped "masthead" atop the center field scoreboard displays the American flag at the top, and three strands of flags bearing the colors and nicknames of each of the National League clubs, one strand per Division in order of that day's standings.
The W-lettered flag is raised on the left field side of the board, above the blue light that also indicates a win.
[14] The L-lettered flag is raised on the right field side of the board, above the white light that indicates a loss.
[17] The flag has become a celebratory symbol for Chicago Cubs fans who purchase reproductions and take them to games at home and on the road to show support.
After fans discovered this, they started purchasing "W" flags and waving them after wins at home as an attempt to get on TV.
[6] The Cubs' then-owner Philip K. Wrigley ordered the reconstruction of the bleachers and the building of the manually operated scoreboard in 1937.
flags that flew on the grandstand roof (all of them serving to give the players a sense of the wind speed and direction).
[10] On August 13, 1987, Billy Williams had his number retired and it flew with the same color scheme, on the right field foul pole.
[10] Subsequent retired Cubs numbers for Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg and Ferguson Jenkins/Greg Maddux also match this color scheme.
In addition to the flags, Wrigley authorized Bill Veeck, the leader of the bleacher reconstruction project, to add colored lights on the crossbar of the masthead so that the Chicago 'L' passengers would be able to see the outcome of Cubs home games after sunset.
[4] Hartell's book acknowledges Veeck's comments, but reports that contemporary newspapers stated that the colors of the lights were blue and white, as they are now.
[4] The lights complement the flags by helping night time passersby learn the result of that day's Cubs game at a glance.
[33] The Cubs were the second franchise to achieve 10,000 regular season wins; the San Francisco Giants/New York Giants were the first.
