I Created the 'W' Flag

In 1937, the famous manual green scoreboard was brought to Wrigley Field by Mister P.K. Wrigley himself. Flag poles were added on top in 1938. Much like today, the American flag flew at the center, and (at that time) the 8 other National League teams were on the left and right, split by division.

The W flag, as well as the L flag, started in the 1940s. P.K. wanted to let the neighbors and El riders know what the team did that day. He had lights affixed to the board so it could be visible after sundown.

Opposite of the current design, the original winning flag had a white W with a navy background; the losing flag had a navy L on a white background. This color scheme stuck until Ernie Banks got his number 14 retired in 1982. His was the first number to be retired in club history. The flag was designed to look like the current uniform, with blue letters and pinstripes on a white background. Soon after, in 1987, Billy Williams got his number 26 retired as well. It was starting to look like this would be the design for retired numbers for a long time.

It didn’t make sense to have Mr.Cub’s flag be the same as one that represents a loss. So, they simply changed the colors. The blue W we all know and love was born in the early 1980s.

In 2007, a great tradition started with Cub fans. Since the team was finally having some success, they all brought a W flag with them whenever they went to the game. They would proudly wave it in hopes to draw attention from TV cameras. It’s not uncommon to see dozens of flags after a Cubs win at Wrigley, or even a couple at road games.

I seem to be telling you this at a bad time; the Cubs are pretty lousy, and many avid fans aren't that invested in the games that much anymore. But if you remember watching wins in 2007 and 2008, you know where I'm coming from. 

It really took off in those two years. Everyone HAD to have one to put in their yard or bring to the game.

Who came up with the idea to have a personal flag?

Me. I did. It was MY idea.

No matter what anyone else says, I'm sticking my own story.

In 2006, my dad and I decided we wanted to do some baseball road trips. We would follow the Cubs and stay a night or two in the city of choice. We had seen the Cubs play at Miller Park in Milwaukee once before, and that year's schedule had the two teams playing up North the second weekend in July. It was close, and camping over a hotel made it pretty a inexpensive first destination. 

I can’t remember the moment I had the idea, but I knew this would be a great way to show Cubbie pride in a visiting park. Actually, I think I may have learned about the whole history of the flag just before the season started. It was fresh in my mind when we organized the trip in March. I picked mine up on eBay for $13 a few weeks before the games.

The first one was on July 8th. By then, the Cubs were well on their way to the worst season in franchise history. But regardless, I was ready to have a good time. We brought the flag out just before the bottom of the  9th inning. It was a close game, and Ryan Dempster nailed down the save to solidify the 3-1 win. We stood up with a yell and threw our arms over our heads, exposing the W for the first time. The Brewers had lost, and I wasn't going to let any of their fans forget it.

We held it there for a few minutes, and then proceeded to make our way out to the parking lot. Did I fold up the flag and walk out quietly? Hell no! I wore it around my shoulders like a gold medalist does after their race. 

Many Cub fans gave high fives and gave me compliments like “That’s awesome” and "Great idea". There were also quite a few Brewer fans asking “...What the hell is that?”. The Cubs won the next day too, but I don’t remember anything from that game (besides missing a Rickie Weeks home run to our seats when we weren't there).

When 2007 started, I was still one of the only ones for quite a bit of the season.

By September, many more fans picked one up. It was now an officially licensed MLB product, being sold for $40 or more. Every souvenir store had one in the window. It was still enough to get you on TV, too.

(That’s me on the left, if you couldn't tell. I'm in a skybox on September 19th, 2007. The Cubs had just beat the Reds to move half a game ahead of the Brewers with just a few games to play. Here's the YouTube link of the clip).

Once 2008 started, the beginnings of the fad were long gone. Everyone knew what it was, and why it was important. It was in gardens on smaller flags, printed on t-shirts, and painted on chests. These dark years make people more reluctant to celebrate just one win, but I'm sure it will come back in the near future. I don't even bring mine all that often (bust always to road games).

My proudest moment relating to this was when I was watching the celebration after clinch day in 2008. It was September 20th, 2008, which was also my 17th birthday. I must have seen 200 flags and banners with a W all over the stadium. It made the celebration so much sweeter knowing I created another way for fans to enjoy the game.