Wrigley Field is known as the beloved home of the Chicago Cubs. The historic ballpark dots many lists of the American venues that diehard sports fans must visit at some point in their lives. It also has a pretty robust football history, which has been renewed over the last few years as Northwestern uses it as a temporary home field, while the school completes the construction of the new Ryan Field.
Minnesota is playing its first game at Wrigley Field as it travels to Chicago to face the Wildcats on Saturday, and while the Golden Gophers are the road team, they’re paying their own special tribute to the venue with unique helmets for the occasion.
The Minnesota helmets feature a pretty classic look: maroon shell with a cold block ‘M’ logo and a gold and yellow stripe down the middle. You may notice some green ivy vines weaving in and out of the logo and striping—a neat nod to the ivy walls in Wrigley’s outfield.
Minnesota's helmets have ivy vines on them as they play at Wrigley Field pic.twitter.com/9bC5R89fV3
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 22, 2025
The Golden Gophers lead the home Wildcats in the Friendly Confines 21–13 at halftime.
A history of football at Wrigley Field
In 2025, football at Wrigley feels like a novelty. For much of the stadium’s history, however, it was a regular event.
It served as home to a number of professional football teams, including the Chicago Bears from 1921 to 1970, before they moved into Soldier Field full-time in ‘71, and the Chicago Cardinals from 1931 to ‘39. They would later relocate to the White Sox’ Comiskey Park before moving to St. Louis and, ultimately, Arizona.
The venue also has college football history. DePaul University played football at Wrigley Field before disbanding the program in 1938. Northwestern played its first game at the venue in 1923, when it was still known as Cubs Park, falling to rival Illinois 29–0.
Game program and photos from the first time NU played at Wrigley Field, then known as Cubs Park.
— Jacob Pavilack (@JacobPavs) November 4, 2023
The ‘Cats make the trip back down the Northwestern Elevated, now known as the Purple/Red Lines, for today’s 2:30 pm CT kick against Iowa. pic.twitter.com/6xJeW4D4kz
The two Illinois-based programs played the first modern game at Wrigley Field in 2010, a 48–27 victory for the Fighting Illini. It was the first football game played there since the Bears in 1970 and the first college game since that final DePaul season.
The Wildcats returned for a 32–14 loss to Purdue in 2021 and a 10–7 loss to Iowa in ‘23. As the school builds the new version of Ryan Field, Northwestern was forced to relocate for the ‘24 and ‘25 seasons, playing most of their schedules at the temporary Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Wrigley became a secondary home, with the Wildcats dropping games to Ohio State (31–7) and Illinois (38–28) in 2024 and Michigan (24–22) on Nov. 15 this season.
Without a turnaround on Saturday, Northwestern runs the risk of pushing their all-time record at Wrigley to 0–8 before the new Ryan Field opens in time for next fall.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Minnesota Helmets Featured Cool, Subtle Tribute to Wrigley Field for Northwestern Game.
