Editor’s Note: let us know if you have more information or photos on this classic Bridgeport bar of yore.
“[McCuddy’s was] the bar I used to go to before every Sox game across from Comiskey on 35th St…. this was where you got an Old Style before the game. Folklore had it that Babe Ruth came over for a beer between innings. The rotten Govenor promised that McCuddy’s would still be there when new Comiskey opened but it never did…”
– T.G. (September 24, 2009)
“The owners of McCuddy’s Tavern filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking space to reopen the business at the new Comiskey Park. The popular bar, located across from the old Comiskey Park since 1910, was closed in 1988 to make way for the new stadium. Former Gov. James R. Thompson and Illinois Sports Facilities Authority Director Peter Bynoe reneged on promises to get space for McCuddy’s adjacent to the new stadium, according to the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. Gertrude ‘Pudi’ Senese, whose grandfather founded the tavern, said, ‘I was so positive I would be working (at a new McCuddy’s) that I didn’t even get tickets for Opening Day (tomorrow).'”
– excerpt from the Chicago Sun-Times article “McCuddy’s bar sues to reopen” by Ray Hanania
(April 17, 1991)
“McCuddy’s has been a Chicago institution since John J. McCuddy got a tip from a rich friend and sportsman, Charles Comiskey, who owned Chicago’s American League franchise at the turn of the century and long harbored dreams of moving from the old ball park at 39th Street. John J. McCuddy was one of the few people Mr. Comiskey let in on the dream, and McCuddy’s opened its doors in time to serve the construction workers who built Comiskey Park dubbed the ‘baseball palace of the world” when it opened on July 1, 1910.”
– excerpt from the New York Times article “For a Chicago ‘Baseball Joint,’ Extra Innings”
(October 12, 1988)
For more info on McCuddy’s Tavern and a photo of its bulldozing can be found on the Southside Adventures Blog.
