Before Big Red, Hubba Bubba, Juicy Fruit and the Cubs’ friendly confines, William Wrigley Jr. was a teen hustling soap in Philadelphia.

By 1891, he arrived in Chicago with $32, a young family and a knack for salesmanship. Merchants didn’t love his father’s soap, so Wrigley sweetened the deal with umbrellas, baking powder and, eventually, chewing gum. The gum stole the spotlight, and within two years, Juicy Fruit and Spearmint became household names.

By the early 1900s, Wrigley’s gum empire was pulling in over $1 million annually, and the family moved from modest Near North Side apartments to grand homes that still captivate Chicagoans today.

Most Chicagoans may connect the Wrigley family to the famed Wrigley Building on North Michigan Avenue or the ivy-filled ballpark in Lakeview, but t

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