The iconic Wrigley Field marquee is now bright red, and has been that way since 1965.

But in previous incarnations, it was several different colors, notably blue for most of the 1950s.

Here's the photo at the top again:

This one's pretty easy, just a matter of going through each year until the team and dates matched.

These games were played Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 18, 19 and 20, 1952. They were the Cubs' first three home games of that year, and all three drew good crowds of over 20,000 -- very good for that time, as the Cubs had fallen on hard times and lost 90+ games three of the previous four years.

But, y'know, I didn't want to leave it at that. Which of those three dates is this? The boxscore links were no help with weather conditions, so I went to the Tribune archive.

We are looking at a sunny day, with people in jackets but not heavy coats. The Saturday and Sunday weather conditions were quite warm -- temperatures near 80 degrees. Friday was cooler, with temps in the mid to upper 60s. I'm a bit hesitant to be definitive here but I'm going to guess this is the home opener, Friday, April 18. It would have been a reason for someone to take a camera and photograph the marquee. (And no, they generally didn't take the dates down after each game of a series -- they were usually just left until the series was over.)

Presuming it's from the opener, the Cubs won that game 5-4 with a four-run ninth-inning rally. They loaded the bases on singles by Hank Sauer and Randy Jackson and a walk drawn by Roy Smalley. Bruce Edwards walked to make it 4-2, with the bases remaining loaded. Joe Hatten ran for Edwards.

Here's what happened next, from Irving Vaughan's recap in the Tribune:

Next came a trick play that indicated the Cards were somewhat in confusion over the sudden developments. Harry Chiti flied to Wally Westlake in center and he dropped the ball. Smalley, who had held up at second then headed for third and would have been forced easily if Bill Johnson hadn't fumbled the throw in. So Jackson was home and the bases were still loaded.

Bill Serena batted for pitcher Bob Schultz and doubled in two runs to win the game.

The Cubs actually got off to a really good start in 1952. On June 14 they defeated the Braves and were 34-19 and in second place, four games out. They would not be that close to first place in June or later again until 1967.

They finished 77-77 in 1952, the Cubs' only non-losing season between 1947 and 1962. Hank Sauer was named NL MVP. It was a bit of light in a dismal stretch of team history.