The Longest Game in Wrigley Field History

On August 17 and 18, 1982, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs played the longest game in Wrigley Field history, a 21-inning marathon that the Dodgers won 2-1. The game began on August 17 and was suspended after 17 innings because Wrigley Field had no lights. It resumed the following afternoon and lasted four more innings before the Dodgers finally broke through.

The original 17 innings consumed four hours and 24 minutes. The Cubs scored a single run in the first inning, and the Dodgers answered with one of their own in the third. After that, both pitching staffs locked into a stubborn stalemate. Neither team could push across another run as the shadows lengthened and the August sky dimmed over the North Side.

Wrigley Field would not install lights until 1988, and in 1982 the lack of illumination turned late-inning drama into a logistical problem. When umpires called the game after 17 innings due to darkness, both teams had to return the next day and pick up where they left off.

On August 18, the Dodgers broke through in the 21st inning. Steve Sax drove in the go-ahead run, giving Los Angeles a lead that their bullpen protected. The full game required six hours and ten minutes spread across two calendar days.

The Cubs used eight pitchers. The Dodgers used seven. Both benches were exhausted. Ferguson Jenkins, the 38-year-old Cubs veteran in his final big league season, worked four and two-thirds innings of relief. The game tested every available arm on both rosters.

The 21-inning affair stands as a monument to a unique era at Wrigley. Day baseball was not a quaint tradition in 1982. It was still the only option at Clark and Addison, and on those August days, it forced two teams to spread one game across two afternoons.