Total Baseball (1994 Edition)

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$Unique_ID{BAS00015} $Pretitle{} $Title{Ballparks: Part 2} $Subtitle{} $Author{ Lowry, Philip J.} $Subject{Ballpark Ballparks park parks playing fields stadium stadiums grandstand grandstands Storied Past MEMORIAL EBBETS LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM COMISKEY CROSLEY POLO GROUNDS IV BAKER BOWLSHIBE PARK FORBES FIELD SPORTSMAN'S SEALS GRIFFITH Negro League PONCE DE LEON DEXTER SOUTH SIDE III GROVE STREET OVAL ROOSEVELT SULPHUR DELL II DYCKMAN OVAL CAPITAL TEXTURE CATHOLIC PROTECTORY TRIBOROUGH HINCHCLIFFE HILLDALEG US GREENLEE} $Log{ Ebbets Field, Brooklyn (1950s)*0003001.scf} Total Baseball: The History Ballparks: Part 2 Philip J. Lowry Storied Parks of the Past BALTIMORE, MARYLAND MEMORIAL STADIUM STYLE Multipurpose OCCUPANT AL Orioles April 15, 1954 to September 30, 1991 EVENT All Star Game 1958 LOCATION Center Field (N) East 36th Street; 3rd Base (W) Ellerslie Avenue; Home Plate (S) 1000 East 33rd Street, section of 33rd Street near ballpark is known as Babe Ruth Plaza; 1st Base (E) Ednor Road SURFACE Bluegrass DIMENSIONS Foul Lines: 309; where the 7-foot fence meets the 14-foot wall, 360; Power Alleys: 446 (1954), 447 (1955), 405 (1956), 380 (1958), 370 (1962), 385 (1970), 375 (1976), 378 (1977), 376 (1980), 378 (1990); Center Field: 445 (1954), 450 (1955), 425 (1956), 410 (1958), 400 (1976), 405 (1977), 410 (1978), 405 (1980); Backstop: 78 (1954), 58 (1961), 54 (1980), 75 (1987); Foul Territory: Large FENCES Foul Line Corners: 11.33 (concrete 1954), 14 (11 concrete below 3 plywood 1959); these walls bounce balls toward center, reducing triples; Left-Center to Right-Center: 10 (hedges April and May, 1954), 8 (wire June 1954), 7 (wire 1955), 6 (wire 1958), 14 (wire 1961), 6 (wire 1963), 7 (canvas 1977) FORMER USE Venable Stadium PHENOMENA - Beautiful trees on an embankment beyond the fence in center. - Oriole Landing was a picnic area in the upper deck in the 1960s. - At the beginning of the 1954 season, hedges served as the center field fence. In June 1954 a wire fence was erected which stood right in front of a row of high hedges. The top 6 feet of the fence were covered with canvas padding in 1958 after Harvey Kuenn cut his face trying to catch a home run ball by climbing the fence. The walls in the left and right field corners were also padded after Curt Blefary injured his hip chasing a Max Alvis fly. - Fans yelled "O" (for Orioles) in unison when "The Star-Spangled Banner" reaches "O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave . . ." - Wind usually helps lefthanded hitters. - Venable Stadium, a football stadium also used for baseball after the July 4, 1944 fire destroyed Oriole Park (V), was torn down to make way for Memorial Stadium. Home plate was moved from where it had been in the north to its current location in the south. - Home of the best crabcakes in baseball; crab races in the bottom of the sixth on the scoreboard between Wee Willie in orange, Paco in blue, and Mugsy in yellow. - Inscribed into the concrete facade: "Dedicated as a memorial to all who so valiantly fought in the world wars with eternal gratitude to those who made the supreme sacrifice to preserve equality and freedom throughout the world--time will not dim the glory of their deeds." BROOKLYN, NEW YORK EBBETS FIELD STYLE Major League Classic OCCUPANT NL Dodgers April 9, 1913 to September 24, 1957, NNL Eagles 1935 EVENT All Star Game 1949 LOCATION Left Field (NE) Montgomery Street; 3rd Base (NW) Franklin Avenue, later Cedar Place, later McKeever Place; 1st Base (SW) 55 Sullivan Place; Right Field (SE) Bedford Avenue; in the Pigtown/Crown Heights district of Flatbush, near the Gowanus Canal. DIMENSIONS Left Field: 419 (1913), 410 (1914), 418.75 (1921), 383.67 (1926), 382.83 (1930), 384 (1931), 353 (1932), 356.33 (1934), 365 (1938), 357 (1939), 365 (1940), 356 (1942), 357 (1947), 343 (1948), 348 (1953), 343 (1955), 348 (1957). There is some confusion about distances because the left field foul line and grandstand wall were the same near the corner between the 343 and 357 markers. Left-Center: 365 (1932), 351 (1948); Deep Left-Center at Bend in Wall: 407 (1932), 393 (1948), 395 (1954); Center Field: 450 (1914), 466 (1930), 460.79 (early 1931), 447 (late 1931), 399.42 (1932), 399 (1936), 402 (1938), 400 (1939), 399 (1947), 384 (1948), 393 (1955); Right Side of Center Field Grandstand: 390 (1932), 376 (1948); Right-Center's Deepest Corner: 500 (1913), 476.75 (1926), 415 (1932), 403 (1948), 405 (1950), 403 (1955); Right Side of Right-Center Field Exit Gate: 399 (1932); Right-Center: 352; Scoreboard: left side 344, right side 318; Right Field: 301 (1913), 300 (1914), 296.17 (1921), 292 (1922), 301 (1926), 296.08 (1930), 295.92 (1931), 296.5 (1934), 297 (1938); Backstop: 64 (1942), 70.5 (1954), 72 (1957) FENCES Left Field to Left-Center: 20 (1913), 3 (wood 1920), 9.87 (concrete 1931); Center Field: 20 (1913), 393 marker: 9.87 (concrete 1931) sloping upward; 376 marker: 15 (concrete 1931); Right-Center: 9 (concrete 1913), from 376 point to screen: 15 sloping upward to 19, then down to 13; Right-Center to Right Field 38 (top 19 screen, bottom 19 concave concrete wall, bent at 9.5 midpoint, vertical top half, concave angled bottom half); Screen in Center Field: 20 (screen above sloping concrete 1920s); Right Field Before the Screen: 9 (concrete 1913) FORMER USE The Pigtown garbage dump CURRENT USE Scoreboard clock now sits on top of right field scoreboard at McCormick Field, Asheville, North Carolina. Ebbets Field Apartments housing development built in 1963 and the I.S. 320 Intermediate School is across the road. Apartments renamed Jackie Robinson Apartments at Ebbets Field in 1972; renamed Ebbets Field Apartments in mid-1970s. Jackie Robinson School, previously known as Crown Heights, houses the Brooklyn Dodger Hall of Fame. PHENOMENA - Rotunda was 80-foot circle enclosed in Italian marble with floor tiled with stitches of a baseball, a chandelier with 12 baseball-bat arms holding 12 globes shaped like baseballs. There were 12 turnstiles and 12 gilded ticket windows. The domed ceiling was 27 feet high at its center. - Little kids watched the game through a gap under the metal gate in right-center. - Cobblestoned Bedford Avenue was a hill, climbing from a low point in right field to higher ground in center field. - Right field wall and scoreboard had approximately 289 different angles--the scoreboard jutted out 5 feet from the wall at a 45-degree angle. Overhang of the center field second deck hung out over the field. Scoreboard built after 1930. - Schaefer Beer sign on the top of the right-center scoreboard notified fans of official scorer's decision--the "H" in Schaefer lit up for a hit, an "E" for an error--the sign was erected after World War II. - Abe Stark sign offered a free suit at 1514 Pitkin Avenue to any batter hitting the 3-foot-by-30-foot sign. - Opened on April 5, 1913 for an exhibition game vs. the Yankees; it was discovered that the flag, a press box, and the keys to the bleachers had been forgotten. A press box was finally added in 1929. - In the winter of 1931-32, the double deck was extended from 3rd base to the left field corner and across to center field. - According to Roger Kahn, the park was "a narrow cockpit of iron and concrete along a steep cobblestone slope." - In the winter of 1937-38, box seats were added in center field. - In the winter of 1947-48, more seats were added to left and center. - Demolition began on February 23, 1960. Same wrecking ball used 4 years later to demolish Polo Grounds. Eight light towers were moved to Downing Stadium on Randall's Island. - George Cutshaw of Dodgers hit groundball home run in 1916 which bounced crazily up the concave wall in right and over the fence, to the amazement of Phillies right fielder Gavvy Cravath. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM STYLE Summer Olympics Stadium A.K.A. O'Malley's Chinese Theatre, O'Malley's Alley OCCUPANT NL Dodgers April 18, 1958 to September 20, 1961 EVENT All Star Game 1959 LOCATION Left Field (N) Exposition Boulevard and museums; 3rd Base (W) Merlo Avenue and Los Angeles Olympic Swimming Stadium; 1st Base (S) Santa Barbara Avenue, now Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive; Right Field (E) 3911 South Figueroa Street and Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena DIMENSIONS Left Field: 250 (1958), 251.6 (1959); Left-Center: 320 at end of screen rectangle; Left-Center Where Fetice Met Wall: 425 (1958), 417 (1959); Center Field: 425 (1958), 420 (1959); Right-Center: 440 (1958), 375 (1959), 394 (1960), 380 (1961); Right Field Where Fence Met Wall: 390 (1958), 333 (1959), 340 (1960); Right Field: 301 (1958), 300 (1959); Back-stop: 60 (1958), 66 (1959); Foul Territory: Large; tremendous area on 3rd base line, but almost none on 1st base line FENCES Left Field: 40 (screen 1958), 42 (screen 1959); 60 (2 support towers for screen 1958); Left Center: 40 (fence (1958); from foul pole 140 feet into left center, 42 sloping to ground at 30 degree angle from 320 mark to 348 mark for a distance of 24 feet (1959 to 1960); 4 steps down from 42 to 8: 1st step left corner 42 sloping to 41, 2nd step 31, 3rd step 20, 4th step 12 (1961); Right of Screen in Left-Center: 8 (wire); Center Field to Right Field Corner: 6 (wire); Right Field Corner: 4 (concrete) FORMER USE Agriculture Park in 1890s-fairs, livestock shows, amusement park booths, horse-racing track and barns, saloons. Exposition Park-armory, museum, gardens from 1908 to 1921 along with gravel pit PHENOMENA - Wall in left-center jutted out twice, going from chest to thigh level, jutting out to ankle level, jutting out to thigh level, then back again to chest level. - Concrete wall in the right field corner was the wall surrounding the football field. It sloped sharply away, creating a Fenway-like belly, and allowing a situation where a long drive near the right field foul line would be an out but a short fly down the line would be a home run. - Huge tunnel behind home plate. - First used for baseball by USC Trojans, who worked out here before the Dodgers opened the 1958 season. - O'Malley considered using the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the first years after the move from Brooklyn and before the Dodgers' Stadium opened. It would have been laid out differently from the Coliseum. Ten rows would have been removed in right and left to deepen the foul lines to 300 feet, and center field would have been 460. The field would have been symmetrical, because home plate would have been in one endzone and center field in the other endzone. Box seats were to have been added behind the plate and between 1st and 3rd. - The 42-foot screen in left placed to prevent 251 foot popups from becoming homers. - Commissioner Ford Frick attempted to order the Dodgers to construct a second screen in left, in the seats at 333 feet. A ball clearing both screens would be a home run, but a ball clearing just the shorter screen would be a double. The California Earthquake Law made construction of such a screen illegal. - 79 rows of seats. - 700 feet to furthest seats under peristylum. - Two stones are on exhibit under the peristylum atop the bleachers in right-center at one end of the oval--the one on the left from Altis, Olympia, Greece, and the one on the right from the Colosseum, Rome, Italy. - Rim of stadium 110 feet above ground level, field 33 feet below ground level. - Cable and towers and wires above screen in play. - Small green light pole in field of play in right field. - 74,000 seats built from 1921 to 1923, expanded to 105,000 seats for the 1932 Olympic games. - The right-center fence was shortened in 1959 after 182 homers were hit to left but only 3 to center and 8 to right. In 1959, there were 132 homers to left, 1 to center, 39 to right. In 1960, 155 to left, 3 to center, 28 to right. In 1961, 147 to left, 7 to center, 38 to right. - Largest World Series crowd ever--92,706 against White Sox on October 6, 1959. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS COMISKEY PARK STYLE Major League Classic A.K.A. White Sox Park (II) 1910 to 1912, Charles A. Comiskey's Baseball Palace 1910, White Sox Park (III) May 1962 to 1975 OCCUPANT AL White Sox July 1, 1910 through September 30, 1990; NL Cubs 1918 World Series; NAL American Giants 1941 to 1950 EVENT All Negro League East-West All Star games, 1933 to 1950; Negro League World Series, eighth through tenth games, 1926; third game, 1943; fifth game, 1946; fourth game, 1947 LOCATION Left Field (N) West 34th; 3rd Base (W) Portland Avenue, later called South Shield's Avenue; 1st Base (S) 324 West 35th Street; Right Field (E) South Wentworth Avenue, later Dan Ryan Expressway/I-94 SURFACE Outfield Grass; Infield Grass (1910), Carpet (1969), Grass (1976) DIMENSIONS Foul Lines: 363 (1910), 362 (1911), 365 (1927), 362 (1930), 342 (1934), 353 (1935), 340 (1936), 352 (1937), 332 (April 22, 1949), 352 (May 5, 1949), 335 (1969), 352 (marked 1971), 349 (actual 197 1), 341 (1983), 347 (1986); Power Alleys: 382 (1910), 375 (1927), 370 (1934), 382 (1942), 362 (April 22, 1949), 375 (May 5, 1949), 382 (1954), 365 (1955), 375 (1956), 365 (1959), 375 (1968), 370 (1969), 375 (marked 1971), 382 (actual 1971), 374 (1983), 382 (1986); Center Field 420 (1910), 450 (1926), 455 (1927), 450 (1930), 436 (1934), 422 (1936), 440 (1937), 420 (April 22, 1949), 415 (May 5, 1949), 410 (1951), 415 (1952), 400 (1969), 440 (1976), 445 (1977), 402 (marked 1981), 409 (actual 1981), 401 (1983), 409 (1986); Backstop: 98 (1910), 71 (1933), 85 (1934), 86 (1955); Foul Territory: Large FENCES Foul Lines and Power Alleys: 12 (concrete 1955), 9.83 (concrete 1959), 5 (wire 1969), 9.83 (concrete 1971); Center Field 15 (1927), 30 (1948), 17 (1976), 18 (1980); Left-Center to Right-Center Inner Fences: 5 (canvas 1949), 6.5 (24-foot section in front of bullpens 1969), 9 (1974), 7 (canvas 1981), 7.5 (1982), 11 (1984), 7.5 (1986) FORMER USE A truck garden owned by Signor Scavado, and/or a city dump. South Side Park (II) was almost on the same site, across Wentworth Avenue. PHENOMENA - Foul lines were old water hoses, painted white and squished flat. - In 1910, there were bleachers in left and right, but not in center. - In the winter of 1926-27, wooden bleachers were replaced with concrete and steel, and the pavilions from left around home plate to right were doubledecked. The scoreboard was moved from right center to two locations on the left field and right field walls. - Center field bleachers were eliminated in 1947 to improve batter's visibility. - Section of grandstand collapsed May 17, 1913. - Special elevator for Lou Comiskey, in use from 1931 to 1982, had an inlaid tile floor. - In 1950 the bullpens were moved from foul territory down the lines to behind the center field fence. - In 1960 Bill Veeck installed the first exploding scoreboard in the majors, high above the bleachers in center. In 1982, when the Diamond Vision Board replaced the original, the pinwheels were retained. - Green cornerstone laid on St. Patrick's Day in 1910 stayed green until 1960 when the exterior was painted all white by Bill Veeck. - Scene of many masterful groundskeeping tricks by Roger, Gene, and Emil Bossard: (a) Camp Swampy in 1967 referred to the area in front of the plate, dug up and soaked with water when White Sox sinkerball pitchers were on the mound, but mixed with clay and gasoline and burned to provide hard soil if a sinkerballer was pitching for the visiting team. (b) Opposing team bullpen mounds were lowered or raised from the standard 10-inch height to upset visiting pitchers' rhythm. (c) Under Eddie Stanky's managerial tenure, the grass in front of shortstop was cut long because the Sox shortstop had limited range, but at second the grass was cut short because the Sox second sacker had very good range. (d) When the Sox had a lousy defensive outfield, the grass was cut long to turn triples into doubles. (e) When the Sox had speedy line drive hitters, the outfield grass was cut long to turn singles into doubles. (f) When the Sox had good bunters, more paint was added to the foul line in order to tilt the ball back fair. - Nine speaker horns on the center field bleacher wall. - Clock on wall in center to left of flag pole. - Picnic areas, including Bullring in left and Bullpens I and II in right and right-center, Bavarian and Mexican restaurants and beer halls under the stands behind the plate. - Showers in the bleachers in center. - Foul poles bend back slightly to join the top of the roof. - 540 center field listing in 1931-33 Baseball Guides is a misprint. - Organist Nancy Faust played "Na-na-na-na, hey-hey, Good bye." - Open arches between first and second decks. CINCINNATI, OHIO CROSLEY FIELD STYLE Major League Classic A.K.A. Redland Field 1912 to 1933 OCCUPANT NL Cincinnati Reds April 11, 1912 to June 24, 1970; NAL Tigers 1937; NAL Clowns 1942 to 1945 EVENT All Star Games 1938, 1953 LOCATION Left Field (N) York Street; 3rd Base (W) McLean Avenue; 1st Base (S) Findlay Street; Center Field (NE) Western Avenue DIMENSIONS Left Field: 360 (1912), 320 (321), 352 (1926), 339 (1927), 328 (1938); Scoreboard in Left Center 380, 383 feet left to right; Center Field 420 (1912), 417 (1926), 395 (1927), 393 (1930), 407 (1931), 393 (1933), 407 (1936), 387 (1938), 380 (1939), 387 (1940), 390 (1944), 387 (1955); Right Center Field 383 (1955); Deepest Corner: 387 (1944); Right Field: 360 (1912), 384 (1921), 400 (1926), 383 (early 1927), 377 (late 1927), 366 (1938), 366 (1938), 342 (1942), 366 (June 30, 1950), 342 (1953), 366 (1958); Backstop: 38 (1912), 58 (1927), 66 (1943), 78 (1953) FENCES Center Field Canvas shield above fence to protect against street light glare (1935 to June 7, 1940); Left Field 18 (1938), 12 (1957), 14 (1962), 18 (1963); Clock on top of the Scoreboard 58 (1957), 45 (1967); Left Center to Right Center 18 (1954), 14 (1962), 13.5 (1963), 23 (9.5 plywood over 13.5 concrete 1965); Right Field 7.5 (4.5 wire above 3 concrete 1938), 7.5 (4.5 wire above 3 wood 1942), 10 (7 wire above 3 wood 1949), 12 (9 wire above 3 concrete (June 30, 1950), 10 (7 wire above 3 wood 1953). 10 (7 wire above 3 concrete 1958), 9 (6 wire above 3 concrete 1959); Flagpole in left center 82, in play FORMER USE Brickyard, League Park (1884-1901), Palace of the Fans (1902-1911) CURRENT USE Reconstructed on farm near Union, Kentucky (a replica has also been constructed at Blue Ash, Ohio). Site used for an industrial park. PHENOMENA - Designed by Harry Hake; built at cost of $225,000. - In the 1920s rented out for movies and dancing, leading to complaints of "immoral dancing" and "vulgar conduct between boys and girls in unlighted portions of the grandstand." - Steep incline in front of the fence all around the outfield; a pratfall on it by Babe Ruth on May 28, 1935 helped speed his retirement. - Renamed for Reds owner Powel Crosley, manufacturer of radios, refrigerators and autos. - Scene of first major league night game (vs. Phillies) on May 24, 1935. - In January 1937 the Mill Creek flooded, covering the playing field with twenty-one feet of water. Pitcher Lee Grissom and Reds traveling secretary John McDonald rowed a boat over the center field fence. - Pressbox was not erected until 1938. Prior to that sportswriters sat in the front row of the second deck. - Both home and visitor clubhouses were located behind left field stands. - "Hit this sign and win a Siebler suit" prominently displayed on Superior Towel & Linen Service Building across street. - Capacity rose from 20,000 in 1912 to 29,488 in 1970 (yet largest crowd was 36,691 for an April 27, 1947 doubleheader). - A 65 X 50.2 foot scoreboard installed in left center field in 1957. CLEVELAND, OHIO CLEVELAND STADIUM STYLE Summer Olympics Stadium A.K.A. Lakefront Stadium 1930s, Cleveland Public Municipal Stadium 1930s, Municipal Stadium 1940s and 1950s OCCUPANT AL Indians July 31, 1932 to September 24, 1933; August 2, 1936 vs. New York; AL Indians May 30 to September 6, 1937 Sundays and holidays only between Memorial Day and Labor Day; April 1938 to June 1939 Sundays, holidays and selected important games only; AL Indians June 27, 1939 to September 1947 nights, Sundays, holidays, and selected important games (this was a majority of home games in 1940,1942-46); AL Indians April 15, 1947 to September 26, 1993. EVENT All Star Game 1935, 1954, 1963, 1981 LOCATION Center Field (NE) East Ninth Street; 3rd Base (NW) Erieside Avenue and Donald Gray Lakefront Gardens Port Authority Dock 28 and Lake Erie; Home Plate (SW) West Third Street; 1st Base (SE) Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, Amtrak/Conrail railroad tracks; Boudreau Boulevard encircles the park SURFACE Bluegrass DIMENSIONS Foul Lines: 322 (1932), 320 (1933), 321 (1948), 320 (1953); Corners Where Inner Fence Meets Stadium Walls: 362 (1947), 370 (1980); Power Alleys: 435 (1932), 365 (1947), 362 (1948), 385 (1949), 380 (1954), 400 (1965), 390 (1967), 395 (1968), 385 (1970), 395 (1991); Left Center: 377 (1980); Right-Center: 385 (1980); Deep Left-Center: 387 (1980); Deep Right Center: 395 (1980); Bleacher Coriters: 463 (1932); Grandstand Corners: 435 (1932); Center Field: 470 (1932), 467 (1938), 450 (1939), 410 (April 27, 1947), 408 (1966), 407 (1967), 410 (1968), 400 (1970), 415 (1990), 404 (1992); Backstop: 60; Foul Territory: Large FENCES Left and Right Field 5.25 (concrete 1932), 5.5 (wire April 27, 1947), 5.25 (concrete June 6, 1947), 6 (1955), 9 (1976), 8 (1977), 8 (canvas 1984) PHENOMENA - Architectural style has been called "stripped classicism," and has been compared to later Memorial and County Stadiums in Baltimore and Milwaukee. - Groundskeepers' tools kept in foul territory in 1930s and 1940s. - Before the inner fences were installed on April 27 after the first two weeks of the 1947 season, there was an incline in front of the center field bleacher wall; strange shape in power alleys caused by the end of the doubledecked grandstand, where the fence jumped abruptly deeper to the bleacher wall in center. The April 27 inner fence curved all the way to the foul poles. On June 6, 1947, it was changed so the inner fence just stretched across center field, hitting the permanent wall at 362 mark. - Teepees erected in 1946 in center. - Foul poles were 32 feet 8 inches high, 27 inches wide, and the screen on them is 22 inches wide. - No one ever hit a ball into the center field bleachers. - Music bandstand in center field between fence and bleachers set up in 1953. - Wind usually blew out toward the lake. - Center field standing-room area was a garden in 1957. - Field was lowered 2 feet in 1976. - Cleveland Stadium/League Park ratio of home games from 1936 to 1946--1/77, 15/63, 18/58, 30/47, 49/33, 32/45, 46/34, 48/29, 44/34, 46/31, 41/36. - Featured in two movies--The Kid from Cleveland in 1949, Fortune Cookie in mid-1960s. - Opened formally on July 1, 1931--13 months before the Indians' first home game on July 31, 1932. - Largest regular season crowd ever--86,563--for doubleheader against Yankees, September 12, 1954. DALLAS, TEXAS ARLINGTON STADIUM STYLE Expanded Minor League A.K.A. Turnpike Stadium, 1965 to 1971 OCCUPANT AL Rangers April 21, 1972 to October 3, 1993. LOCATION Arlington, Texas-between Dallas and Fort Worth; Left Field (E) Stadium Drive East and Six Flags Over Texas Amusement Park; 3rd Base (N) 1500 South Copeland Road; 1st Base (W) Stadium Drive West; Right Field (S) Randol Mill Road SURFACE 419 Bermuda grass DIMENSIONS Foul Lines: 330; Power Alleys: 380 (1972), 370 (1974), 383 (1981), 380 (1982); Center Field 400; Backstop: 60; Foul Territory: Small FENCES 11 (1972), 12 (1981), 11 (1986) FORMER USE Minor league ballpark from 1965 to 1971 called Turnpike Stadium PHENOMENA - Built in 1965 as Turnpike Stadium. - Like Dodger Stadium, the field was below the surrounding parking lots. Before 1978, when the upper deck was added, fans would walk in at the top of the stadium. - Wind blew in directly from the outfield. - Hottest park in the majors, which increased the number of home runs hit here since the warm humid air is not as dense as cooler drier air elsewhere and therefore does not offer as much resistance to the ball in flight. - More advertising signs than any other major league park. - The Lone Ranger on Diamond Vision scoreboard rooted for the Rangers. NEW YORK, NEW YORK POLO GROUNDS (IV) STYLE Major League Classic A.K.A. Brush Stadium 1911 to 1919, Coogan's Bluff, Coogan's Hollow, Matty Schwab's house, Harlem Meadow OCCUPANT NL Giants June 28, 1911 to September 29, 1957; AL Yankees May 30, 1912 (morning game); April 17, 1913 to October 8, 1922; NL Mets April 13 1962 to September 18, 1962 EVENT Negro League World Series first game, 1946 All Star Game 1934, 1942 LOCATION Center Field (SE) Eighth Avenue, then IRT elevated tracks, Harlem River and Harlem River Drive; 3rd Base (NE) West 159th Street and IRT Rail Yards; Home Plate (NW) Bridge Park, then Harlem River Speedway, Coogan's Bluff, and Croton Aqueduct; 1st Base (SW) West 157th Street trace; Same site as Polo Grounds (111); In Coogan's Hollow, 115 feet below Coogan's Bluff, the last remaining portion of a farm granted to Mr. John Lion Gardiner by the King of England in the seventeenth century DIMENSIONS Left Field: 277 (1911), 286.67 (1921), 279.67 (1923), 279 (1930), 280 (1943), 279 (1955); Left Field, Second Deck: 250; Left Center, Left of Bullpen: 447; Left-Center, Right of Bullpen: 455; Front Clubhouse Steps: 460; Center Field: 433 (1911), 483 (1923), 484.75 (1927), 505 (1930), 430 (1931), 480 (1934), 430 (1938), 505 (1940), 490 (1943), 505 (1944), 480 (1945), 490 (1946), 484 (1947), 505 (1949), 483 (1952), 480 (1953), 483 (1954), 480 (1955), 475 (1962), 483 (1963); Bleacher Corners: 475; Right-Center, Left of Bullpen: 449; Right-Center, Right of Bullpen: 440; Right Field: 256.25 (1921), 257.67 (1923), 257.5 (1931), 257.67 (1942), 259 (1943), 257.67 (1944); Right Field Photographers Perch: 249; Backstop: 65 (1942), 70 (1943), 65 (1944), 70 (1946), 74 (1949), 65 (1954), 74 (1955), 65 (1962); Foul Territory: Very large. There's a lot of confusion here. During the Giants' stay it was 483 to the front of the clubhouse, and probably 505 to the rear clubhouse wall above the overhang. Why the 483 marker sometimes was changed to 480 or 475, is not known but it could have been due to remeasurements or a slight shift of home plate's location. Or it could have been a measurement to the base of the Eddie Grant Memorial. In the Giants' time, reading from left to right, the markers read 315, 360, 414, 447, 455, 483, 455, 449, 395, 338, 294. In the Mets' time, they read 306, 405, 475, 405, 281. The foul lines were never marked. One possibility is that it was 433 feet to the front of the bleachers, 475 to the beginning of the clubhouse overhang, 483 to the rear wall under the overhang, and 505 to the front of the high wall. The 21-foot overhang of the second deck in left reduced the distance to the second deck from 279 to 250, not 258, because of the angle involved. FENCES 1911-22 Left to Center: 10 (concrete); Center: 20 (tarp); Right-Center: 10 (concrete); Right Field 12 sloping to 11 at pole (concrete) FENCES 1923-63 Left Field 16.81 (concrete); Left-Center: 18 (concrete); Where Left-Center Wall Ended at Bleachers: 12 (concrete); Center Field Bleachers Wall: 8.5 (4.25 wire on top of 4.25 concrete) on both sides of clubhouse runway; Center Field Hitters' Background: 16.5 on both sides of clubhouse runway; Center Field Clubhouse: 60 high and 60 wide--50 high in 1963; Center Field Top of Longines Clock: 80; Center Field Top of Right Side of ScoreBoard: 71; Center Field Top of Left Side of Scoreboard: 68; Center Field Top of Middle of Scoreboard 64; Center Field Top of 5 Right Scoreboard Windows: 57; Center Field Top of 4 Left Scoreboard Windows: 55; Center Field Bottom of 5 Right Scoreboard Windows: 53; Center Field Bottom of 4 Left Scoreboard Windows: 48; Center Field Bottom of Club-house Scoreboard: 31; Center Field Top of Rear Clubhouse Wall: 28; Center Field Top of Front Clubhouse Wall: 19; Center Field Top of 14 Lower Clubhouse Windows: 16; Center Field Bottom of 14 Lower Clubhouse Windows: 11; Center Field Clubhouse floor Overhang: 8; Center Field Top of Eddie Grant Memorial: 5; Center Field Width of Little Office on Top of Lower Clubhouse: 10; Right Center: 12 (concrete); Right Field: 10.64 (concrete) FORMER USE Underneath the Harlem River until filled in with dirt in the late 1870s. CURRENT USE Polo Grounds Towers--four 30-story apartment buildings. Willie Mays Field--an asphalt playground with 6 basketball backboards where center field used to be, a brass historical marker in place. PHENOMENA - Originally named for owner John T. Brush. - Second deck in right had 9-foot photographer's perch overhang 60 feet from foul pole out into right-center. - Bullpens in fair territory in left-center and right-center. - There was no line on the 60-foot-high center field clubhouse above which a ball would be a home run. - The outfield was slightly sunken. A manager, standing in his dugout, could see only the top half of his outfielders. At the wall, the field was 8 feet below the infield. - The left field second deck overhang meant that a homer to left was easier than a homer to right, even though the wall in left was 279 and the wall in right was 258. The overhang was 21 feet, but it effectively shortened the distance required for a pop-fly homer to the second deck in left to 250 feet because of the angle involved. - The overhangs here and at Tiger Stadium and Shibe Park have more significance than one might suspect, according to research published by the professional society for physicists, the American Physical Society. The batted ball's trajectory consists of two component vectors, horizontal and vertical. The vertical deceleration is constant over time due to gravity, but the horizontal deceleration increases over time due to wind resistance and atmospheric drag. Near the end of its flight, the ball is coming down sharply, rather than arcing down as it arched up, as would occur in a vacuum. So many outfielders have watched helplessly as a ball they could catch dropped into the 2nd deck. - Hitter's background extended beyond the end of the bleacher wall, several feet into the clubhouse gap. - The field sloped in a "turtle back" just beyond the infield dirt. It sloped down 1.5 feet to drains about 20 feet into the outfield, then back up again. - Right-center wall sloped gradually from 11 feet at pole to 12 feet at the bleachers. - Left-center wall sloped from 16 feet 9.75 inches at the pole to 18 feet in left center, then abruptly fell to 16 feet and then to 14 feet and sloped gradually to 12 feet at the bleachers. When ad signs were removed in the 1940s, the abrupt changes in height in left-center disappeared. - After the all-wooden Polo Grounds (III) burned down April 14, 1911, Polo Grounds (IV) was built with temporary stands for 1911. The infield stands were rebuilt with concrete for 1912, and the outfield concrete double deck was finished in 1922. The bleachers in left-center and center were wood remaining from before the fire. - In 1914, there were 2 bends in the wall in right-center. - In 1917, the fans exited from the field through gates under the center field bleachers. - Morris James Mansion sat up on Coogan's Bluff, overlooking the ballpark. - Brush Stairway led down from Coogan's Bluff to the Speedway and the ticket booths behind home plate. - Coats of arms of all the teams in the National League on the top of the grandstand. Removed in the 1920s. - Dedicated on May 30, 1921, to a former Giant killed in World War 1, the Eddie Grant Memorial stood in center at the base of the clubhouse wall. It was 5 feet high. The Memorial reads: In Memory of Capt. Edward Leslie Grant 307th Infantry - 77th Division A.E.E Soldier - Scholar - Athlete Killed in action Argonne Forest October 5, 1918 Philadelphia Nationals 1907-1908-1909-1910 Cincinnati Reds 1911-1912-1913 New York Giants 1913-1914-1915 Erected by friends in Baseball, Journalism, and the Service. - In the winter of 1922-23, the concrete double decks were extended all the way to either side of the new concrete bleachers in center, housing the clubhouse. Unfortunately, the Roman Colosseum facade frescoes were removed during that winter also. - Bleachers in center remodeled in 1923. - In 1929, the first attempt was made to wire the umpires for sound and reconnect them into the PA system. It didn't work too well. - Speaker placed above Grant Memorial in 1931 - Field raised 4 1/2 feet in 1949 to help with drainage. In 1609 and 1874 maps, the location is shown to be underneath the Harlem River. The water table was only 2-6 feet below the playing surface, and drainage was complicated by rainwater cascading off the 115-foot-high Coogan's Bluff down onto the site. - During the 1950s, groundskeeper Matty Schwab and his family lived in an apartment under Section 3 of the left field stands built for him by Horace Stoneham. The apartment was the main bait in Mr. Stoneham's successful offer to grab Mr. Schwab away from the hated Dodgers in 1950. - A two-foot-square section of sod from center field was removed and taken to San Francisco in the fall of 1957. - Home plate was moved out toward center several feet by the Mets in the winter of 1961-62. - During the Mets' stay in 1962 and 1963, Johnny McCarthy and his crew of groundskeepers painted Schwab's four rooms pink, installed a shower and plywood on the floor and lockers, and called it their Pink Room. - In 1962 and 1963, the Howard Clothes sign on the outfield wall promised a boat to any player hitting it. - Demolition started on April 10, 1964, with same wrecking ball that demolished Ebbets Field. PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA BAKER BOWL STYLE Major League Classic A.K.A. Huntingdon Street Baseball Grounds 1895 to July 1913, National League Park (III) 1895 to 1938, Hump, Cigar Box, Band Box, Philadelphia Park OCCUPANT NL Phillies April 14, 1904 to May 14, 1927; NL Phillies June 24, 1927 to June 20, 1938; also neutral use by NL Cleveland versus Baltimore July 29, July 30, and August 11, 1898; and versus Washington August 5, 6, and 8, 1898 EVENT Negro League World Series first and second games 1924, fifth and sixth games 1925, fourth and fifth games 1926 LOCATION Left Field (N) West Lehigh Avenue; 3rd Base (W) North 15th Street; 1st Base (S) West Huntingdon Street; Right Field (E) North Broad Street; Beneath Philadelphia and Reading Railroad tracks in a tunnel DIMENSIONS Left Field: 335 (1921), 341.5 (1926), 341 (1930), 341.5 (1931); Center Field: 408; Right-Center: 300; Right Field: 272 (1921), 279.5 (1924), 280.5 (1925); Backstop: 60 FENCES Left Field: 4 (1895), 12 (1929); Center Field Clubhouse: 35 (with 12 screen on top 1915); Right Field: 40 (tin over brick 1895), 60 (40 tin over brick, topped by 20 screen 1915) CURRENT USE Parking lot and car wash in right-center, gas station in center, bus garage from home down right field foul line PHENOMENA - Named after Phillie owner William F Baker. - Named the Hump because it was on an elevated piece of ground that had a railroad tunnel underneath the outfield. - Swimming pool in the basement of the center field clubhouse prior to World War I. - Coke and "Health Soap Stops B.O." Lifebuoy signs on the high right field wall. - Extra seats added in front of the fence in center for the 1915 World Series led directly to the Phillies losing the Series' last game. - During Prohibition, the outfield wall liquor ads were boarded over with dirty grimy blank boards. - Home plate moved back a foot in 1925, making the right field foul pole 280.5 rather than 279.5. - Torn down in 1950. SHIBE PARK STYLE Major League Classic A.K.A. Connie Mack Stadium 1953 to 1970 OCCUPANT AL Athletics April 12, 1909 to September 19, 1954; NL Phillies May 16 to May 28, 1927; NL Phillies July 4, 1938 to October 1, 1970 EVENT Negro League World Series fifth game 1942; fourth game 1945; third game 1947; All Star Game 1943, 1952 LOCATION Left Field (N) West Somerset Street; 3rd Base (W) North 21st Street; 1st Base (S)West Lehigh Avenue; Right Field (E) North 20th Street DIMENSIONS Left Field: 360 (1909), 378 (late 1909), 380 (1921), 334 (1922), 312 (1926), 334 (1930); Center: 515 (1909), 502 (late 1909), 468 (1922), 448 (1950), 440 (1951), 460 (1953), 468 (1954), 447 (1956), 410 (1969); Right Center: 393 (1909), 390 (1969); Right Center, Left of Scoreboard: 400 (1942); Right Field: 360 (1909), 340 (late 1909), 380 (1921), 307 (1926), 331 (1931), 331 (to lower 1934), 329 (to upper iron fence 1934); Backstop: 90 (1942), 86 (1943), 78 (1956), 64 (1960) FENCES Left Field to Left Center: 12 (4 screen above 8 concrete 1949); Center Field, Small Section: 20 (1955), 8 (wood 1956), 3 (canvas 1969) Right-Center Scoreboard: 50 (top of black scoreboard 1956), 60 (top of Ballantine Beer sign 1956); Right Field: 12 (concrete 1909), 34 (22 corrugated iron above 12 concrete 1935), 30 (1943), 50 (1949), 40 (1953), 30 (1954), 40 (1955), 32 (1956) FORMER USE City dog pound, also a brickyard in the Swampoodle neighborhood nearby CURRENT USE Vacant site. Several hundred of the seats are being used now in Duncan Park, home of the Sally League Phillies in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and in War Memorial Stadium, Greensboro, North Carolina PHENOMENA - The first concrete and steel stadium in the majors. - Named for Ben Shibe, an A's stockholder and baseball manufacturer. - French Renaissance churchlike dome on exterior roof behind the plate which housed Connie Mack's office. - Sod transplanted here from Columbia Park. - Highest pitcher's mound--20 inches high. - Batting cage sat behind short fence in center when the measurement was only 447. - Corrugated iron fence in right--balls bounced at crazy angles off it--top 22 feet of 34-foot fence--2-foot-deep frame--was 329 to front of frame, 231 to rear of frame where iron sheets were. - Conduit on right field wall was in play. - Slopes in front of the outfield fences in early years. - Ladder in front of left field scoreboard, 1909--went all the way to the top. - Doubledecked in 1925; also in that year left field stands added. - Mezzanine added in 1929. - Right field wall reinforcement in 1934 reduced distance to front of the frame from 331 to 329, but sign wasn't changed until 1956. - Before 1935, 20th Street residents could sit in their front bedroom or on their roof and see the game free over the 12-foot right-field fence. Fans could see the lines of laundry on the roof of 20th Street houses. Connie Mack lost a suit to prevent this, so he built the high right-field fence. - 1948 plans to add 18,000 seats in right field and reduce Foul line to 315 feet never materialized. - In 1956, the old Yankee Stadium scoreboard was installed in front of the right-center wall; later a clock was added--balls hitting the clock were homers--top of clock was 75 feet high; top of Ballantine Beer sign, 60 feet high. - In 1956 the normal screen was replaced by see-through plexiglass--protected the fans behind the plate from foul balls. - Home plate moved to Veterans Stadium in 1971. - Fire damaged it on August 20, 1971. - Last game on October 1, 1970. - Torn down in June 1976. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA FORBES FIELD STYLE Major League Classic A.K.A. Oakland Orchard, Dreyfuss' Folly OCCUPANT NL Pirates June 30, 1909 to June 28, 1970; NNL Grays 1939 to 1948 EVENT Negro League World Series second game 1942; fourth and fifth games 1944; second game in 1945; All Star Game 1944, 1959 LOCATION Left Field (NE,) Schenley Park, then Bigelow Boulevard; 3rd Base (NW) Sennott (also spelled "Sonnett" at times) Street, then Cathedral of Learning; 1st Base (SW) Boquet (also spelled "Bouquet" at tunes) Street; Right Field (SE) Joncaire Street, Pierre Ravine, Junction Hollow, Junction Railroad tracks DIMENSIONS Left Field: 360 (1909), 356.5 (1921), 356 (1922), 360 (1926), 365 (1930), 335 (1947), 365 (1954); Deepest Corner, Left of Straightaway Center, at the Flag Pole: 462 (1909), 457 (1930); Center Field 442 (1926), 435 (1930); Right-Center, Right Side of Exit Gate: 416 (1955); Right-Center: 375 (1942); Bend at Left End of Screen: 375; Right Field: 376 (1909), 376.5 (1921), 376 (1922), 300 (1925); Backstop: 110 (1909), 84 (1938), 80 (1947), 84 (1953), 75 (1959) FENCES Left Field Front Fence: 8 (5 screen above 3 wood 1947), 12 (9 screen on top of 3 wood 1949), 14 (screen 1950); Left Field Wall: 12 (1909), 12 (brick and ivy 1946); Left Field Scoreboard: 25.42 (steel left and right sides), 27 (middle); Wooden Marine Sergeant at Parade Rest to Right of scoreboard: 32 (June 26, 1943 to end of season); Side Wall Angling Back to Meet Brick Wall in Left-Center: 12 (wood, when front fence was up); Cages Around Light Tower Just Right of Scoreboard and in Power Alleys: 16.5; Center Field 12 (wood 1909), 12 (brick and ivy 1946); Right-Center: 9.5 (concrete 1925); Screen--Left Side at 375 Mark: 24 (14.5 wire above 9.5 concrete 1932); Screen-Right Side at Flag Pole: 27.67 (18.17 wire above 9.5 concrete 1932) FORMER USE Part of Schenley Farms, a hothouse and livery stable. Land for grazing cows. Ravine where right field would be. Football site for University of Pennsylvania vs. Carnegie Tech October 31, 1908, game. Penn won on the rocky field. CURRENT USE Mervis Hall, out in right field, and the University of Pittsburgh's Forbes Quadrangle in the infield. The center field and right-center brick walls still stand, along with the base of the flag pole. Mazeroski Field, a Little League diamond beyond the left field brick, wall, still remains. Roberto Clemente Drive now bisects the site, and runs about 10 feet under what used to be the playing surface of the infield. PHENOMENA - 1st base by a misspelled street: Boquet Street was named for General Henry Bouquet a Swiss soldier who fought for the British in the French and Indian War's decisive battle at Fort Duquesne. - Named for General John Forbes, a British general in the French and Indian War who captured Fort Duquesne and renamed it Fort Pitt in 1758. - Ivy-covered brick wall in left and left-center. - The 14-foot Longines clock with speaker horns on top of the left field scoreboard were out of play--a drive hitting it was a home run. - Fans in the upper left corner of the left field bleachers could not see the plate because of the third base grandstand, which stood between them and the plate. Right field roof was 86 feet high. - During World War II, the right field screen could not be replaced due to the priority given to the war effort. It deteriorated badly. - No no-hitter was ever pitched here. - Home plate remains in almost its exact original location, only now it is encased in glass on the first-floor walkway of the University of Pittsburgh's Forbes Quadrangle. - The bottoms of the light-tower cages in left-center, center, and right-center were in play, as was the bottom of the center field flag pole. - Just to the left of the flag pole stood the batting cage, also in play. Before being placed in left-center, it stood behind home plate. - Very hard infield surface--ask Tony Kubek! - Back in the 1910s, there was a small scoreboard on the center field wall. - In 1920s, cars and trucks were repaired and sold beneath the left field bleachers. - Right field stands built in 1925, reducing distance to right field foul pole by 76.5 feet. Right field screen added in 1932. It was taken down for a short period once, then put back up. - Barney Dreyfuss Monument was just to the left of the exit gate in right-center where fans exited the ballpark into Schenley Park after a game. It was installed on June 30, 1934, on the park's 25th anniversary, and was made of granite with a bronze tablet. - Greenberg Gardens, also called Kiner's Korner: the area between the scoreboard and a chicken coop wire short fence in left put there to increase home run production from 1947 to 1953--called Greenberg Gardens 1947, Kiner's Korner 1948 to 1953. - When Greenberg Gardens were in place, a Western Union clock stood on top of the scoreboard, to the right of the familiar Gruen Clock. Torn down in 1972 and 1973. - In 1938, with the Buccos apparently on their way to the World Series, they built a third deck of seats behind the plate called the Crow's Nest, which had the major leagues' first elevator. Bucs finally made the Series 22 years later. - During World War II, from June 26 through the end of the 1943 season, a huge U.S. Marine made of wood stood against the left field wall, just to the right of the scoreboard. Standing at parade rest, the Marine sergeant was 32 feet high, 15 feet wide across his feet, and in play. - Honus Wagner statue in Schenley Park erected 1955-18 feet high, 1,800 pounds--moved to Three Rivers with Bucs in 1970. - A plaque today marks the spot where Bill Mazeroski's World Series-winning homer left the park in 1960 and flew into the trees above Yogi Berra's Head - Green foam rubber crash pads placed on concrete wall in right and right-center, first in majors. Wooden walls installed in left and center in 1909, replaced with brick and ivy in 1946. - Street deadending into Sennott Street by 3rd base was called at various times Pennant Place and Forbes Field Avenue. - Fires damaged park December 24, 1970, and July 17, 1971. Destruction began July 28, 1971. - Site now occupied by Deliverance Evangelistic Church. ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI SPORTSMAN'S PARK (IV) STYLE Major League Classic A.K.A. Busch Stadium (1) 1953 to 1966, Bill Veeck's House OCCUPANT AL Browns April 14, 1909 to September 27, 1953; NL Cardinals July 1, 1920 to May 8, 1966; NAL New Orleans-St. Louis Stars one game 1941 EVENT All Star Game 1940, 1948, 1957 LOCATION Left Field (NE) Sullivan Avenue; 3rd Base (NW) North Spring Avenue; 1st Base (SW) 3623 Dodier Street; Right Field (SE) 2911 North Grand Avenue, later North Grand Boulevard. Same as earlier Sportsman's Parks, but turned around so that home plate was in the west-southwest corner DIMENSIONS Left Field: 368 (1909), 340 (1921), 356 (1923), 355 (1926), 360 (1930), 351.1 (1931); Left Center: 379; Center Field: 430 (1926), 450 (1930), 445 (1931), 420 (1938), 422 (1939); Deepest Corner Just Left of Dead Center: 426 (1938); Deepest Corner Just Right of Dead Center: 422 (1938); Right Center: 354 (1942); Right Field: 335 (1909), 315 (1921), 320 (1926), 310 (1931), 332 (1938), 309.5 (1939); Backstop: 75 (1942), 67 (1953) FENCES Left to Center: 11.5 (concrete); 354 Mark in Right-Center to Right: 11.5 (1909), 33 (11.5 concrete below 21.5 wire July 5, 1929), 11.5 (1955), 36.67 (11.5 concrete below 25.17 wire 1956) CURRENT USE Herbert Hoover Boys' Club, with a baseball diamond where the major league one used to be PHENOMENA - The local newspaper, the Globe-Democrat, had an ad on the right-center wall which showed the star of the previous game. Just to the right of this ad, the league standings for both leagues were listed. - The Busch eagle would flap its wings after a Cardinal home run. It sat on top of the left-center scoreboard. During World War II there was War Chest sign there. - Cards office was at 3623 Dodier, Browns office was at 2911 North Grand - Pavilion seats in the power alley in right center. - Second deck from first to third added in 1909. - Second deck expanded to foul poles in 1925. - Bleachers were added to parts of outfield in 1926. - Beginning in the 1940s, the outfield signs were 351, 358, 379, 400, 426, 425, 422, 422, 405, 354, 322, and 310. In the mid 1950s, the 426 and the right 422 signs that marked the corners just left and right of straightaway center were removed. - Flag pole in fair territory until removed in the 1950s. - Bill Veeck's family lived in an apartment under the stands in the 1950s. - When he bought the stadium from the Browns in 1953, Card owner Gussie Busch almost named it Budweiser Stadium, but was prevented by league pressure. - The wire screen in front of the right field pavilion was removed for the entire 1955 season. It had been installed on July 5, 1929. - A helicopter carried home plate to Busch Memorial Stadium after the last game on May 8, 1966. - The old 1902-8 grandstand behind home plate became the left field pavilion in this park from 1909 to 1925 when it was replaced. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA SEALS STADIUM STYLE Minor League A.K.A. Home Plate Mine OCCUPANT NL Giants April 15, 1958 to September 20, 1959 LOCATION Left Field (E) Potrero Avenue; 3rd Base (N) Alameda Street; 1st Base (W) Bryant Street; Right Field (S) 16th Street and Franklin Square Park DIMENSIONS Left Field: 365 (1958), 361 (1959); Left Center: 375 (1958), 364 (1959); Just Left of Straightaway Center in the Corner: 404; Center Field: 410 (1958), 400 (1959); Just Right of Straightaway Center in the Corner: 415; Just Right of the 415 Mark Where the Seals Jutted Out: 397; Right Field 355 (1958), 350 (1959); Backstop: 55.42 FENCES Left Field: 15 (5 concrete below 10 wire); Center Field Scoreboard: 30.5; Right Field: 16 (5 concrete below 11 wire) CURRENT USE San Francisco Auto Center PHENOMENA - Opened April 7, 1931 - The original deed for the land under the park was listed as "Home Plate Mine." - No warning track. - Wind blew from right to left. - Nearby Hamms Brewery still standing. WASHINGTON, D.C. GRIFFITH STADIUM STYLE Major League Classic A.K.A. National Park (III) 1911 to 1921, Clark Griffith Park 1922 OCCUPANT AL Senators (1) April 12, 1911 to October 2, 1960; ECL Potomacs 1924; NEWL Pilots 1932; NNL Elite Giants 1936 to 1937; NNL Washington-Homestead Grays half of their home games 1937 to 1948; NNL Black Senators 1938; AL Senators (II) April 10 to September 21, 1961; Negro League World Series first game 1942, first and second games 1943; third game 1945 EVENT All Star Game 1937, 1956 LOCATION Left Field (E) Larch Street, later Fifth Street NW; 3rd Base (N) Howard University, then W Street NW; 1st Base (W) J. Frank Kelley Lumber and Mill Works, then Georgia Avenue NW, also called Seventh Street NW; Right Field (S) Spruce Street, later U Street NW DIMENSIONS Left Field: 407 (1911) , 424 (1921), 358 (1926), 407 (1931), 402 (1936), 405 (1942), 375 (Opening Day 1947), 405 (remainder 1947), 402 (1948), 386 (1950), 408 (1951), 405 (1952), 388 (1954), 386 (1956), 350 (1957), 388 (1961); Left of Left-Center at Corner: 383 (1931), 366 (1954), 360 (1956); Right of Left-Center at Bend in Bleachers: 409 (1942), 398 (1954), 383 (1955), 380 (1956); Left-Center: 391 (1911), 380 (1950); Center Field 421; Center Field Corner to Left of Building Protection Wall: 423 (1926), 441 (1930), 422 (1931), 426 (1936), 420 (1942), 426 (1948), 420 (1950), 394 (1951), 420 (1952) 421 (1953), 426 (1954), 421 (1955), 426 (1961); Inner Tip of Building Protection Wall: 409 (1943), 408 (1953); Deepest Corner-Right End of Building Protection Wall; Right Center: 378 (1954), 372 (1955), 373 (1956); Right Field 328 (1909), 326 (1921), 328 (marked 1926), 320 (actual 1926), 320 (1956); Backstop: 61 FENCES Left Field 11.25 (foul pole to 408 mark concrete 1953), 12 (from 410 corner near left field foul pole to 408 mark just right of dead center 1954), 8 to 10 (wood in the corner in front of the bullpen at the foul pole 1955), 6.5 (wire and plywood in front of bullpen 1956); Center Field: 30 (concrete 408 mark to 457 1954), 6 (wire and plywood 1956); Right-Center: to the left of the scoreboard in front of the bullpen: 4 (wood from 457 mark to 435 mark 1953), 10 (wood 1955), 4 (wood 1959); Right Center Scoreboard 41 (1946); National Bohemian Beer Bottle: 56 (1946); Right Field 30 (concrete 1953), 31 (concrete 1954) CURRENT USE Howard University Medical Center and Howard University College of Dentistry, 909 seats now in use at Tinker Field in Orlando, Florida PHENOMENA - Loudspeaker horn high on the wall in center. - The center field wall detoured around 5 houses and a huge tree in center, jutting into the field of play. - Right field foul line was the grandstand wall for the last 15 or so feet in front of the foul pole, so there was no way to catch a foul ball there. - It was downhill from the plate to first base, supposedly to help save a step for slow Washington batters. - Right field clock out of play. - Ball rolling between top of scoreboard and bottom of the clock was in play: if it didn't come out, it was a homer; if it did, the outfielder could throw it back into play. - U.S. presidents traditionally opened each season here by throwing out the first ball. - Memorials honoring Walter Johnson and Clark Griffith stood outside the main entrance to the first base grandstand. The former now stands at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland; the latter at RFK Stadium. - Freight of National Bohemian Beer Bottle, above right-center scoreboard, approximately 50 feet. - Park rebuilt after March 17, 1911 fire; completed on July 24, 1911. - Doubledecked in 1920 from the bases down to the foul poles with a roof higher than the original second deck roof behind the plate. - Temporary seats placed in front of left field bleachers for the 1924 World Series. - In 1954, the visitor's bullpen was enclosed behind a screen fence in the left field corner in fair territory. - Clark Calvin Griffith Memorial, dedicated by Vice President Nixon on August 8, 1956, was later moved to R.F.K. Stadium. - In 1956, all the distances to the outfield fences were remeasured, and it was discovered that right field had lost 8 feet over the years! - Also in 1956, 10 rows of temporary seats were added in front of the left field bleacher section. - Park demolished from January 26 to August 14, 1965. Negro League and Auxiliary Major League Baseball Sites ATLANTA, GEORGIA PONCE DE LEON PARK STYLE Minor League A.K.A. Spiller Park 1924 to 1932, Poncey OCCUPANT NSL Black Crackers 1932; NAL Black Crackers 1938 LOCATION Left Field: (N) Parking lot; 3rd Base (W) North Boulevard; 1st Base (S) 650 Ponce de Leon Boulevard; Right Field: (E) Southern Railroad tracks DIMENSIONS Left Field 365 (1932), 330 (1949); Left-Center, Left Side of Scoreboard 525; Center Field 462 (1932), 448 (1938), 410 (1949); Right Field 321 (1932), 324 (1938) FENCES Left Field: 2 (hedge, April 1949), 4 (cyclone fence, May 1949); Left-Center: 25 (scoreboard); Center Field 6; Right-Center: Magnolia Tree halfway up very steep enbankment, no fence; Right Field: 15 CURRENT USE Parking lot opposite Sears department store since being torn down in 1967 PHENOMENA - First Ponce de Leon Park, built in 1907, burned down September 9, 1923. - A 2-foot-high hedge formed the outfield fence from the left field line to the right side of the left-center scoreboard in 1949. It reduced the foul line from 365 to 330 and caused numerous arguments because a left fielder had to stay within the hedge. If he fell over it, the hit was a homer. BROOKLYN, NEW YORK DEXTER PARK STYLE Negro League A.K.A. Sterling Oval OCCUPANT ECL Royal Giants 1923 to 1927 LOCATION Woodhaven, Long Island Left (N) Simpson Street, now called Park Lane South; 3rd Base (NW) Cypress Hills Cemetery; 1st Base (W) Elderta Lane and 75th Street; Center Field (E) Lott Avenue, now called 76th Street PHENOMENA - Had probably the most creative outfield wall billboard ever. An optician's ad read: "Don't Kill the Umpire--Maybe It's Your Eyes." - Owners Max and Milt Rosner operated the semipro Brooklyn Bushwicks. - Huge incline in right field caused by horse buried under the grass. - First lights installed on east coast, 1930. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS SOUTH SIDE PARK (III) STYLE Cricket Ground A.K.A. 39th Street Grounds (11), White Stocking Park (III) 1901 to 1903, Chicago Cricket Club, White Sox Park (I) 1904 to 1910, American Giants Field 1911 to 1940, Schorling's Park 1920 to 1940 OCCUPANT AL White Sox April 24,1901 to June 27, 1910; NNL Giants 1920; NNL American Giants 1920 to 1931, 1933 to 1935; NSL American Giants 1932; NAL American Giants 1937 to 1940; Neutral site use by NNL Cleveland Tigers 1928, by NNL Kansas City Monarchs in 1920s, by NNL Cuban Stars West in 1920s LOCATION Left Field (N) West 38th Street; 3rd Base (W) South Princeton Avenue; 1st Base (S) West 39th Street, now West Pershing Road; Right Field (E) Wentworth Avenue DIMENSIONS Left Field: 355; Left Center: 400; Center Field: 450 FORMER USE Home of Wanderers cricket team CURRENT USE Housing project three blocks from Comiskey Park PHENOMENA - Opened in 1900. - Overhanging roof added in 1902. - Fence cut back sharply around J.F. Kidwell Greenhouse buildings in right center, making right-center relatively short compared to center and right. - Used as a dog racing track during the summer of 1933, forcing the NNL American Giants to move all their home games from May 28 through the end of the 1933 season to Indianapolis. - Burned down Christmas Day 1940. EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY GROVE STREET OVAL STYLE Negro League A.K.A. Grove Street Senior Ball Diamond, Monte Irvin Field, East Orange Oval OCCUPANT NNL Cubans 1940 to 1948; NAL Cubans 1949 to 1950; also neutral site used by NNL Newark Bears 1936 to 1948 LOCATION East Orange, New Jersey Left Field (E) Greenwood Avenue; 3rd Base (N) Grove Place; 1st Base (W) Grove Street North; Right Field (S) Eaton Place; DIMENSIONS Left Field: 240; Center Field: 360 to the water fountain; Right Field: 280 FENCES Left Field: 25 (garage walls); Center Field: 4 (water fountain); Right Field: None CURRENT USE Still used as a community ball diamond PHENOMENA - No fence in center field where there were some hedges. - Water fountain in play in deepest center field. - Trees in right, as well as tennis courts beyond. - Scoreboard in left, as well as poplar trees. - Clubhouse down right field line in foul territory. - "Bujum" Jud Wilson hit longest ball ever hit over water fountain in center. - Property purchased by city in October 1907 and park dedicated Labor Day 1908 in a game between the New Jersey State Senate and the New Jersey State General Assembly. - Fire destroyed the first grandstand at 4 AM, May 3, 1925; new grandstand dedicated May 1, 1926. - Renamed Monte Irvin Field at June 6, 1986 ceremony in culmination of 4 years effort initiated by this author and the SABR Negro Leagues Committee, who designed the plaque marking the site. JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY ROOSEVELT STADIUM STYLE Minor League OCCUPANT NL Dodgers for seven 1956 games and eight 1957 games from April 19, 1956 to September 3, 1957; some NNL New York Black Yankees games in 1940s LOCATION Left Field (NE) Hackensack River; 3rd Base (NW) Newark Bay; 1st Base (SW) Danforth Avenue; Right Field (SE) State Highway 440; at Droyers Point DIMENSIONS Foul lines: 330; Power Alleys: 397; Center Field: 411; Backstop: 60 FENCES Foul Line Corners: 11; Left Field to Center Field: 4; Right-Center to Right Field: 7 FORMER USE A landfill for dirt excavated from Holland Tunnel PHENOMENA - Built as a WPA project in 1937 and named for FDR. Newark Bay mist brought mosquitoes and mist into the outfield. - Thanksgiving morning football games between St. Peter's and Dickinson were always sold out in the 1940s. - Torn down in 1984. NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE SULPHUR DELL (II) STYLE Minor League A.K.A. Sulphur Springs Bottom, Sulphur Dell Park, Athletic Park, Dump, Suffer Hell OCCUPANT NNL Elite Giants 1933 to 1934 LOCATION Left Field (N) Jackson Street; 3rd Base (W) Summer Street, later 900 Fifth Avenue North; 1st Base (S) Tennessee Central Railroad tracks; Right Field (E) Cherry Street, later Fourth Avenue North DIMENSIONS Left Field: 334; Center Field: 421; Right Field: 262 (235 when fans sat behind ropes on the bank) FENCES All Around: 16 (wood 1927); Left and Center: 16 (wood 1931); Right Field: 38.5 to 46 (16 wood below 22.5 to 30 screen to a point 186 feet from the right field foul line) PHENOMENA - Only one-quarter mile from the Cumberland River, the park was often flooded. - Nicknamed "the Dump" in honor of the exceptional fragrance that drifted over from the nearby smoldering city dump and lent a unique character to Sulphur Dell hot dogs! - Sulphur Dell had the craziest right field in history. Right fielders were called mountain goats because they had to go up and down the irregular hills in right-center and right. The incline in right rose 25 feet, beginning gradually behind first, then rising sharply at a 45-degree angle, then leveling off at a 10-foot-wide shelf one-third of the way up the incline, and then continuing at a 45-degree angle to the fence. - Fielders used to play on the shelf, 235 feet from the plate. When overflow crowds were attracted to a game, a rope was extended in front of the shelf, and fans sat on the upper two thirds of the incline, reducing right field to 235 rather than 262. - The stands were very close to the pancake-shaped diamond. First base was 42 feet from the seats; third base was 26 feet from the seats. - Embankments began in left at 301 and in right at 224. Casey - Stengel once joked that he hit a bunt home run down the 1st base line NEW YORK, NEW YORK DYCKMAN OVAL STYLE Negro League OCCUPANT NNL Cuban Stars 1922; ECL Cuban Stars East 1923 to 1928; ECL Bacharach Giants many games 1923 to 1928; NAL Cuban Stars East 1929; NNL Cuban House of David 1931; NEWL Cuban Stars 1932 LOCATION Left Field (NE) West 204th Street; 3rd Base (NW) Nagle Avenue; 1st Base (SW) Academy Street; Right Field (SE) Tenth Avenue. In Upper Manhattan, 8 blocks east of the Henry Hudson Parkway, 5 blocks east of Inwood Hill Park, south of the Harlem Ship Canal, 4 blocks north of Dyckman Street, in Dyckman section PHENOMENA - The first major league park in New York to have lights for evening games. They were installed in 1930 by Cuban Stars owner Alex Pompez. CAPITAL TEXTURE STYLE Negro League OCCUPANT ECL Lincoln Giants 1928; NAL Lincoln Giants 1929 LOCATION (N) East 138th Street; (W) Fifth Avenue; (S) East 135th Street; (E) Madison Avenue CURRENT USE Riverton Apartments CATHOLIC PROTECTORY OVAL STYLE Amateur OCCUPANT ECL Lincoln Giants 1923 to 1926; NNL Cubans 1935 to 1936 LOCATION Left Field (E) Hoguet Avenue; 3rd Base (N) East Tremont Avenue; 1st Base (W) White Plains Road; Right Field (S) McGraw Avenue. Bronx, 5 miles northeast of Yankee Stadium CURRENT USE Parkchester Apartments, built by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company--Unionport Road now crosses the site from home plate to center field; Metropolitan Avenue now runs from right field in to second base and then curves out to left field. PHENOMENA - The Protectory was a Catholic home and school for impoverished boys whose 50-piece marching band was much in demand. One of the students, Hank Greenberg, is now in the Hall of Fame. - No grass in the infield. - Leveled in 1939 so that Parkchester Apartments could be built. TRIBOROUGH STADIUM STYLE Football Stadium A.K.A. Randall's Island Stadium, J. J. Downing Memorial Stadium OCCUPANT NNL Black Yankees 1938 LOCATION (N) Bronx Kills and Harlem River, Eastern Parkway and Triborough Bridge; (W) House of Refuge, Vesta Avenue; (S) Little Hell Gate, East River, and Ward's Island, Sutter Avenue; (E) Sunken Meadow, Powell Street, Triborough Bridge CURRENT USE Still standing, was used WFL Stars football games in 1974 and NASL Cosmos soccer games in 1975 PHENOMENA - A U-shaped stadium, open at the southwest end. - Eight Ebbets Field light towers were moved here in 1939 when Ebbets had new lights installed. PATERSON, NEW JERSEY HINCHCLIFFE STADIUM STYLE Football Stadium OCCUPANT NNL Black Yankees 1936 to 1937, 1939 to 1945 LOCATION Paterson, New Jersey Center Field (SE) Passaic River; 3rd Base (NE) Redwood Avenue; Home Plate (NW) Liberty Street; 1st Base (SW) Maple Street CURRENT USE Community baseball, still standing, opened 1932 PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA HILLDALE PARK STYLE High School A.K.A. Darby Catholic School Stadium OCCUPANT ECL Hilldales 1923 to 1927; NAL Hilldales 1929; NEWL Hilldales 1932 LOCATION Yeadon, Pennsylvania Left Field (N) Bunting Lane, later MacDade Boulevard; 3rd Base (W) Greenhouses and Cedar Avenue; 1st Base (S) Chester Avenue; Right Field (E) Yeadon School In the suburbs of Philadelphia at a Catholic school on the Darby-Yeadon borderline DIMENSIONS Left Field: 315; Right Center: 400; Right Field: 370 CURRENT USE Acme Super Saver supermarket and drive-in bank PHENOMENA A huge tree sat beyond the fence in right-center; branches hung over the fence and were in play. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA GUS GREENLEE FIELD STYLE Negro League OCCUPANT NEWL Grays 1932; NEWL Crawfords 1932; NNL Grays 1933, 1935 to 1938; NNL Crawfords 1933 to 1938 LOCATION In the hill District Left Field (N) Ridgeway Street; 3rd Base (W) Junilia Street; 1st Base (S) 2500 Bedford Avenue; Right Field (E) Municipal Hospital and Francis Street FORMER USE Entress Brick Company factory CURRENT USE Pittsburgh Housing Authority projects PHENOMENA - Opened on April 29, 1932. - Tin fence in outfield. - Left field foul line was longer than at Forbes Field, where it was 365. - The structure was torn down on December 10, 1938.