What stands on the land where some old ballparks use to be?

[JPL BMX]

What stands on the land where some old ballparks use to be, like the Polo Grounds, Baker Bowl, Shibe Park and Forbes Field? Is it office buildings, houses, malls or whatever, where they use to stand before getting razed.

[Bob Hannah]

Howard University Hospital now occupies the grounds where Griffith Stadium stood.

[efin98]

In Boston:
The former Huntington Ave. Grounds of the Red Sox is now part of Northeastern University marked by a statue of Cy Young, it's nearby neighbor the South End Grounds that once housed the Boston Braves is now an MBTA Orange Line station but no known markage of it's former use, and South End Grounds' successor Braves Field is now owned by Boston University with the footprint of the old stadium and the former clubhouse/ticket office intact and the former Right Field pavillion still in use as the bleachers for "Nickerson Field"...

[scrabblehack]

On what was the infield, anyway, is Forbes Quadrangle of the University of Pittsburgh ("Pitt"). I assume it's still there. One of the tiles in the floor is made of glass. Next to that tile is another tile with a plaque on it. The plaque explains that underneath the glass is home plate from Forbes Field, where Bill Mazeroski hit the home run to win the 1960 World Series.

I grew up on the outskirts of Pgh. and visited only a couple of times. I assume it's still there.

I had thought they left some of the fences as well but then Pitt was expanding and I want to say those may have come down. I'm not sure though.

[Chisox73]

Where Old Comiskey Park used to stand,it's now a parking lot.

But there's a replica of the batters box and the foul lines marking the spot of the old park

[Coal Cracker]

Hilltop Park, where the Yankees first played as the New York Highlanders in 1903, is now the location of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. I believe there is a marker of where home plate used to be located.

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/hilltop1.jpg

[Bluesteve32]

Old LA Wrigley is now the Gilbert Lindsay Community Center which includes a park, gymnasium, and youth ball fields.

Chavez Ravine is now luxury condominiums. Wait, that has not happened yet, but stay tuned. :p

[rxpro]

What stands on the land where some old ballparks use to be, like the Polo Grounds, Baker Bowl, Shibe Park and Forbes Field? Is it office buildings, houses, malls or whatever, where they use to stand before getting razed.

...is now a housing project in brooklyn

[Astros4Life]

On what was the infield, anyway, is Forbes Quadrangle of the University of Pittsburgh ("Pitt"). I assume it's still there. One of the tiles in the floor is made of glass. Next to that tile is another tile with a plaque on it. The plaque explains that underneath the glass is home plate from Forbes Field, where Bill Mazeroski hit the home run to win the 1960 World Series.

I had thought they left some of the fences as well but then Pitt was expanding and I want to say those may have come down. I'm not sure though.

the plaque and home plate is still there and there is a picture from the cathedral of learning looking down into forbes on that day and the outfield wall is still there or at least it was last may when i was in pitt

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

On the site of the polo grounds stands 4 apartment buildings and a school . DONALD

[wamby]

The stadium housing the New Browns is built on the site of Municipal Stadium. The site that housed League Park is basiccally a vacant lot with a couple of ball diamonds. A small piece of League Park is still standing, I think it was their ticket offices.

[Astros4Life]

where colt stadium was is now parking lot for the dome and the power house (aka reliant) and a fingers furniture is on teh site of ole buffs stadium across I-45 from the University of Houston

[BeatEmBucs]

The wall's still there, as well as the flagpole and home plate of forbes field. The playing areas of exposition park and 3 rivers are now part of the PNC Park (and Heinz Field) parking lot. I like how that massive Mall of America is where old Metropolitan Stadium stood.

[driver62]

Crosley Field in Cincinnati is now an industrial park. No marker for home plate.

[ballparks]

Old Sportsmans Park is now a Boys and Girls Club on Grand Ave. in St. Louis. Not the best part of town.

[mojorisin71]

Old LA Wrigley is now the Gilbert Lindsay Community Center which includes a park, gymnasium, and youth ball fields.

Chavez Ravine is now luxury condominiums. Wait, that has not happened yet, but stay tuned. :p

Luxury condos in Echo Park? Ain't happening.

Old LA Wrigley is the one off Avalon, right? Isn't there a high school around there? (haven't been deep into South Central in months, so my sense of geography is bad)

[Augustin_"Gus"]

Jarry Park in Montréal is now a tennis stadium, host of the Candian open every year. I believe part of the structure of the old stadium was incorporated into the tennis facility.

Old Delorimier Stadium, where the Royals and Jackie Robinson played in the International league is now a High School. There's a little space commemorating the Royals and the stadium at the corner of Delorimier and Ontario streets.

[PopTop]

Old LA Wrigley is now the Gilbert Lindsay Community Center which includes a park, gymnasium, and youth ball fields.Thanks for posting that photo, Blue :cool: I always thought that was a cool looking stadium, and remember watching the old Home Run Derby on TV that was held at Left Coast Wrigley.

[Bluesteve32]

Luxury condos in Echo Park? Ain't happening.

McCondo wants that, the reason he wanted the Dodgers was for the land of Chavez Ravine. It would be gated condos, I am sure. :laugh :p

I think it would be the ruination of the Dodgers if that did happen.

Old LA Wrigley is the one off Avalon, right? Isn't there a high school around there? (haven't been deep into South Central in months, so my sense of geography is bad)

It is only a mile from the Coliseum and a couple blocks south of MLK (the former Santa Barbara Avenue as it was in that day). It really was not is South Central per say and it is the Gilbert Lindsay Community Center and not a high school. Jefferson High is not that far away and it is between the city of Vernon and the Coliseum. Page 674 of the Thomas Guide, zip 90011.

Also it was not torn down in 1966 as several websites do say since I was there in spring 1968 for an event. I am very clear on that memory and it was during the school year we moved, so that cannot be disputed, since kids remember the year they attend a new school.

[mojorisin71]

McCondo wants that, the reason he wanted the Dodgers was for the land of Chavez Ravine. It would be gated condos, I am sure. :laugh :p

I think it would be the ruination of the Dodgers if that did happen.

Gated condos in downtown LA. Sounds more plausible. :)



It is only a mile from the Coliseum and a couple blocks south of MLK (the former Santa Barbara Avenue as it was in that day). It really was not is South Central per say and it is the Gilbert Lindsay Community Center and not a high school. Jefferson High is not that far away and it is between the city of Vernon and the Coliseum. Page 674 of the Thomas Guide, zip 90011.

Also it was not torn down in 1966 as several websites do say since I was there in spring 1968 for an event. I am very clear on that memory and it was during the school year we moved, so that cannot be disputed, since kids remember the year they attend a new school.

When I first arrived in the US, I remember the 11 freeway still being around and MLK Blvd not yet renamed. I always though South Central encompassed all the area south of the 10, but it's just a matter of perspective.

It could be a discrepancy on behalf of the sites' makers, since many of them rely on the same source. I wasn't around in the late 60s, so I wouldn't be able to corroborate what you're saying.

[tonypug]

Old LA Wrigley is now the Gilbert Lindsay Community Center which includes a park, gymnasium, and youth ball fields.

Chavez Ravine is now luxury condominiums. Wait, that has not happened yet, but stay tuned. :p
BlueSteve when that happens please let us know, tHERE ARE SEVERAL OF US WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE WRECKING BALL HIT THAT PLACE.

[Bluesteve32]

BlueSteve when that happens please let us know, tHERE ARE SEVERAL OF US WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE WRECKING BALL HIT THAT PLACE.

It will be my pleasure when it does. You realize that many of us hate the LA Dodgers a much as you do. ;)

[Elvis]

BlueSteve when that happens please let us know, tHERE ARE SEVERAL OF US WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE WRECKING BALL HIT THAT PLACE.

Wow, don't be so bitter. :eek: That's kind of like an American Indian saying, "I'd like to see someone blow up the US capitol." :(

[icee82]

There is an industrial park where Crosley Field once stood. There is a marker that is near home plate but it is not the exact location. Also the wall and flagpole are still standing where Forbes Field once stood. I was there last summer and got some photos of the old wall.

[catcher24]

I believe the new Cleveland Browns football stadium is on the same spot that Municipal Stadium stood. The Rock & Roll HOF and the Cleveland Museum of Science are now in the same area, too. The renovations have turned this area into a very nice location to visit.

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Well, I don't think Fulton County Stadium could be considered a geniuely "old" ballpark like the Baker Bowl or the Polo Grounds, but FCS is just a parking lot now. There is a marker for Hank Aaron's 715th homer, all of the bases and the wall still stands.

[sonderweg]

A historical marker stands at the site of the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. A photo (http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/national/bakerb.htm) of the site today shows that nothing in particular is located there.

Also, the field at Municpal Stadium in West Palm Beach is partly overgrown, partly under a Home Depot. Cal Ripken hit his first professional home run there while in the Florida State League. Great players like Hank Aaron and Gary Carter went to spring training there.

[shoeless1920]

There's a Lowe's where once stood Sick's Stadium, home of the 1969 American League expansion Seattle Pilots (became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970). Just outside the entrance to the store is a marker for home plate.

[Bluesteve32]

How about what was there before the stadium was built?

Some forty years ago, Gene Autry got the city of Anaheim to build a stadium in orange groves and alfalfa fields near the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5). Harde to believe that anyplace in So Cal was not developed.

[mojorisin71]

Hmmm...before?

Dodger Stadium: there were a lot of houses there and O'Malley got the city of LA to evict each and every single one of them.

PETCO Park: the park lies where there used to be office buildings and the area south of downtown had some sort of a waterfront. Of course, the Gaslamp is close to skid row, but that's just down Harbor Dr.

[Dodger Black and Blue]

Forbes Field's home plate is in the University of Pittsburgh's "Posvar Hall", if you ever want to see it. Center field is still standing, with flag pole and everything, about 450 feet away.

I'm at work right now, but I'll take some pictures of it on my walk home and post them here.




Isn't there supposed to be a plaque marking where Maz hit the homerun to win the 1960 WS? I haven't found it, yet.

[BeatEmBucs]

Isn't there supposed to be a plaque marking where Maz hit the homerun to win the 1960 WS? I haven't found it, yet.

The plaque is still there, but it's on the posvar hall side of the road they built that cuts thru where the outfield used to be. They have a brick path where the left field wall was, and the spot where the homer cleared the wall is where the plaque is....on the Posvar Hall side of that road (can't remember the name of the road, but the CF wall is on the left side, and "Mazeroski Field" is just beyond that wall.)

[Astros4Life]

How about what was there before the stadium was built?

before they built the astrodome and nearby colt stadium the land they occupy was rice fields and where minute maid is now was the train yard for union station (houstons rail hub for 100 years)

[Elvis]

CBS Television City (Where they taped All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Carol Burnett, The Price is Right etc.) sits on the site of Gilmore Field, the Former home of the Hollywood Stars of the PCL.

Gilmore Field itself was the site of many movies and TV shows that filmed there (The Stratton Story, The Jackie Robinson Story etc). Also Gilmore Stadium was next to Gilmore Field and hosted among other things the 1940 NFL Pro-Bowl and many years of motorsports.

[sschirmer]

I believe the new Cleveland Browns football stadium is on the same spot that Municipal Stadium stood. The Rock & Roll HOF and the Cleveland Museum of Science are now in the same area, too. The renovations have turned this area into a very nice location to visit.

You are correct. Old League Park, where the Tribe played from 1910-1946, is still a park. Part of the old ticket office is still standing along with some of the grandstand along the first base line. The neighborhood is a disgrace, and everytime I stop by to see it I fear for my life. :eek:

[catcher24]

I knew the new Browns' Stadium was very close to the spot of old Municipal. Just wasn't sure if it was the same or if they had moved it a ways, like they did in Pittsburgh. That is a really nice area now, with the two museums. Went to see the Titanic exhibit at the Science Museum Labor Day weekend - two years ago, I think. Happened to be the same weekend as the airshow, so saw a lot of that, too.

Where is the location of old League Park? I've thought about trying to locate it. Is there a plaque too? Seems like I read that in one of my baseball park books. I have five and I'm always ready to buy another. I love ballparks. I have gone to different parks when there was no game and during the off season, just to see them (as I imagine many others here have done).

[sschirmer]

I knew the new Browns' Stadium was very close to the spot of old Municipal. Just wasn't sure if it was the same or if they had moved it a ways, like they did in Pittsburgh. That is a really nice area now, with the two museums. Went to see the Titanic exhibit at the Science Museum Labor Day weekend - two years ago, I think. Happened to be the same weekend as the airshow, so saw a lot of that, too.

Where is the location of old League Park? I've thought about trying to locate it. Is there a plaque too? Seems like I read that in one of my baseball park books. I have five and I'm always ready to buy another. I love ballparks. I have gone to different parks when there was no game and during the off season, just to see them (as I imagine many others here have done).

League Park is (or was) located at the corner of E.66th & Lexington Ave. East of downtown. Yes, there is an Ohio Historical Plaque on the grounds. It's kind of crazy to be out there and think that Ruth, Gehrig, Speaker, etc. have been on the same ground. If you are ever in downtown Cleveland, you can follow either Euclid or Carnegie east, as both of these are main veins out of downtown, toward the Cleveland Clinic. When you get to 66th turn left from either street and you will run into Lexington Ave. Mind you, the neighborhood is a nightmare, so either go during the day, or be heavily armed!

[Dodger Black and Blue]

The plaque is still there, but it's on the posvar hall side of the road they built that cuts thru where the outfield used to be. They have a brick path where the left field wall was, and the spot where the homer cleared the wall is where the plaque is....on the Posvar Hall side of that road (can't remember the name of the road, but the CF wall is on the left side, and "Mazeroski Field" is just beyond that wall.)

It's Roberto Clemente Drive!


Yeah, I passed by the brick outline of the wall the other day and you know that construction that's tearing up the corner of Forbes and Bigelow? They've extended it to the point where they've DUG OUT THE BRICKS!


I did, however, find the plaque, but didn't know it was actually ON the outline of the wall.

I can't figure out Macs to save my life, but when I get home, I'll try to post the picture on here. ... If I remember.

[BeatEmBucs]

It's Roberto Clemente Drive!


Yeah, I passed by the brick outline of the wall the other day and you know that construction that's tearing up the corner of Forbes and Bigelow? They've extended it to the point where they've DUG OUT THE BRICKS!


I did, however, find the plaque, but didn't know it was actually ON the outline of the wall.

I can't figure out Macs to save my life, but when I get home, I'll try to post the picture on here. ... If I remember.

I should've known that road, I've been on it so many times.I'm surprised the construction has gone that close to Posvar hall, I wonder what's gonna become of the construction area. Hopefully when it's all done they'll put the bricks of the old wall back in place.

[JACKIE42]

...is now a housing project in brooklyn


ebbetts field
is now a housing project in brooklyn[QUOTE=rxpro]

Do you mean Ebbets Field?

[rxpro]

ebbetts field
is now a housing project in brooklyn[QUOTE=rxpro]

Do you mean Ebbets Field?
I thought so....am I mistaken??

what can I say...I am from the Bronx!

[JACKIE42]

[QUOTE=JACKIE42]ebbetts field
is now a housing project in Brooklyn
I thought so....am I mistaken??

what can I say...I am from the Bronx!


The only 2 things I think should be spelled correctly are, players names, and names of ball parks. You butchered the spelling of Ebbets Field, thats what I was correcting, Im from Brooklyn, but I can spell Yankee Stadium.

[efin98]

[QUOTE=rxpro]


The only 2 things I think should be spelled correctly are, players names, and names of ball parks. You butchered the spelling of Ebbets Field, thats what I was correcting, Im from Brooklyn, but I can spell Yankee Stadium.

Big deal, he added an extra "T" by accident. No need to have an attitude.

[JACKIE42]

[QUOTE=JACKIE42]

Big deal, he added an extra "T" by accident. No need to have an attitude.

Mind your own business, now hows that for attitude.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Hello this is what is left of old league park in cleveland today

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Hello here is another photo of what was left of some of the grandstand at league park today

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Hello this is what the site of forbes field looks like today

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is part of the wall that was left after the demolition of forbes field in 1971.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This part of the forbes field wall was located in old 3 rivers stadium in a club in the ballpark.you can see a photo in a sporting news ballpark book a man taking down the wall before the demolition so it could be placed in 3 rivers stadium.(does anyone in the pittsburgh area know was this wall saved before 3 rivers was torn down.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is the outfield wall with the flag pole today

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is part of the forbes field wall outline on the street.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

A hospital was built on the site of old griffith stadium site. howard university hospital. the stadium was torn down in 1965

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This is what is left of braves field in boston, its called NICKERSON FIELD at boston university. the old ticket and office building is still there along with a part of the outfield wall. this part in the photo was in right field before the jury box.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Hello all.crosley field was torn down in 1972 at the original findley and western ave site, but crosley was reborn in blue ash ohio in the late 80,sthat scoreboard is not the original scoreboard they went to the manufactor to build a duplicate scoreboard with the ads from 1970.later i will post photos of the original crosley field site.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

THE scoreboard at blue ash ohio crosley field

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Old comiskey park is now a parking lot for the new dump across the street. as you can see homeplate and the batters boxes are still there along with the foul lines.i saw 13 games at old comiskey park and will never go to the new one.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This is the homeplate in the parking lot today(site of old comiskey park)

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

The old kansas city royals stadium was torn down in 1976 and this is what it looks like today KANSAS CITY MUNICIPAL STADIUM

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This is the site of homeplate of old metropolitan stadium which is now the mall of america.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This is what the site of seals stadium looks like today

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

I was at the polo grounds towers and ebbets field apartments in june 1988. i will post some photos of the site soon enjoy these photos posted today Donald

[tonypug]

Great photos Donald thanks. At least some of the parks have momentos on the sites where they once stood.

[JACKIE42]

http://members.tripod.com/franksballparks/ebbets2.jpg
http://members.tripod.com/franksballparks/ebbets3.jpg

Are you sick to your stomach yet Tony?

http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2004-01/11086129.jpg

1960, notice the broken windows.

[sschirmer]

Polo, very nice work. I've actually played several games at the new Crosley in Blue Ash. They actually have the Terrace out in left, and all the dimensions are the same as the original. As a matter of fact, if you look closely at the scoreboard, it's a duplicate of how it looked after the last out of the last game at the original Crosley Field on 06-26-1970. Pretty interesting, as Mays and McCovey were in the Giants lineup, as were Rose and Bench for the Reds. Marichal may have even pitched that game, but don't quote me on that one.

[Elvis]

This is what is left of braves field in boston, its called NICKERSON FIELD at boston university. the old ticket and office building is still there along with a part of the outfield wall. this part in the photo was in right field before the jury box.

It's also worth noting that that photo shows the original RF Pavilion (http://www.ballparktour.com/bfmain20.jpg), virtually unchanged since 1915.

[catcher24]

Polo Grounds 1957 - Great photos. Thanks for sharing. I'm hoping to get to some of those locations when I retire. Looks from the photos like I'd better go in a tank to the site of League Park in Cleveland! :laugh

[rxpro]

[QUOTE=rxpro]


The only 2 things I think should be spelled correctly are, players names, and names of ball parks. You butchered the spelling of Ebbets Field, thats what I was correcting, Im from Brooklyn, but I can spell Yankee Stadium.
sorry I was born after it was torn down and thanks for the sarcasm...did I spell that right?

[rxpro]

[QUOTE=JACKIE42]

Big deal, he added an extra "T" by accident. No need to have an attitude.

thanks for the backup...did I spell that right??

thanks again,

[ScrewBll45]

Old Colt Stadium where the Houston Colt .45s played is now the Astrodome parking lot.

[ScrewBll45]

This is what the site of seals stadium looks like today



Ouch, old Buff Stadium is now a furniture store, but there a museum underneath it. Homeplate is still in the same place.

[efin98]

It's also worth noting that that photo shows the original RF Pavilion (http://www.ballparktour.com/bfmain20.jpg), virtually unchanged since 1915.

It's been changed, but not by much. Improved the seating and added a press box. Not too bad of a job incorporating it into the new "stadium".

[catcher24]

Originally posted by
Screwbll45:
Old Colt Stadium where the Houston Colt .45s played is now the Astrodome parking lot.

But didn't they also tear down the Dome? What's there now?

[sschirmer]

But didn't they also tear down the Dome? What's there now?

The Dome is still there.

[sschirmer]

Polo Grounds 1957 - Great photos. Thanks for sharing. I'm hoping to get to some of those locations when I retire. Looks from the photos like I'd better go in a tank to the site of League Park in Cleveland! :laugh

You have no idea how right you are. I go out there about once a year to do a little filming, and check out the Historical marker and such. I get harrassed just about every time. For a couple years now there has been a sign there about a re-hab project that is supposed to happen, calling it "League Park Youth Center", but nothing has ever changed. Speaking of Youth Centers, Sportsman's Park in St. Louis also has a Youth Center on it now. Once again, also in a bad part of town. I have photos I've taken, I'll have to download them.

[catcher24]

Posted by Sschirmer:
The Dome is still there.

OK, I was obviously mistaken. Thought I had read somewhere that hey took it down, but maybe I read that they had turned it into some type of tourist attraction? Or maybe I haven't had enough sleep lately! :crazy

[ScrewBll45]

OK, I was obviously mistaken. Thought I had read somewhere that hey took it down, but maybe I read that they had turned it into some type of tourist attraction? Or maybe I haven't had enough sleep lately! :crazy


There are what, 4 ex-astros who are politicians in the Houston area now? They'd fight for the dome pretty hard.

[KHenry14]

The place where Candlestick used to be is a dump. Oh wait, the stadium is still there!

KH14

[catcher24]

Posted by KHenry14:
The place where Candlestick used to be is a dump. Oh wait, the stadium is still there!

Thanks! You gave me a morning laugh! :laugh

[ScrewBll45]

The place where Candlestick used to be is a dump. Oh wait, the stadium is still there!

KH14

:laugh , you giants fans are something else...

[sschirmer]

The place where Candlestick used to be is a dump. Oh wait, the stadium is still there!

KH14

Classic! LMAO, yet again!

[ScrewBll45]

The place where Candlestick used to be is a dump. Oh wait, the stadium is still there!

KH14

"Candlestick was built on the water. It should have been built under it."
- Roger Maris

[driver62]

Icee82 stated that Crosley field has a marker close to where home plate was. This is not correct. There is a marker but it's in what was once left field. In fact, it may be outside the left field wall. It had to be moved when one of the places in the now industrial park expanded their building.

[sschirmer]

Icee82 stated that Crosley field has a marker close to where home plate was. This is not correct. There is a marker but it's in what was once left field. In fact, it may be outside the left field wall. It had to be moved when one of the places in the now industrial park expanded their building.

I noticed that too, but I had not been down there for a while, so I wasn't sure if something had changed. I believe Metro parks some of there buses in the old Crosley location.

[Bluesteve32]

Hre are some pics of the site where LA Wrigle used to stand. There is a very small hospital and a rec center, no plaque or marker explaining its significance or anything. Very sad.

[Bluesteve32]

There are two dirt soccer fields on this parcel of land. I think the rocks in the middle (near the light poles in the upper left) may be near where home plate was, from the best I can tell.

[Bluesteve32]

This is Wrigley Little League's field which seem to be in good shape considering the area.

[Bluesteve32]

Here is another of the Wrigley Little League's field. It looks like it may have been part of the parking or the end of the left field grandstands when the ballpark stood.

[Bluesteve32]

Here is a pic of the park that has the usual benches and barbeque grills. This would have been center field. The foreground is the second of the two dirt soccer fields.

[Bluesteve32]

This pic is from the left field bullpen of the Wrigley Little League field. I think this would not be far from where the left field grandstand would have ended. The street where the left field fence is about 40 feet to the right of this pic.

[Bluesteve32]

Here is a pic of the paygrond in the foreground and the small hospital in the background. This would have been about right field , the hospital would be the right field bleechers and the parking lot.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Are the homes that use to stand beyond the left field wall when wrigley was there are they still there. when you see homerun derby on tv you can see the homes beyond the left field fence. Donald

[Bluesteve32]

Are the homes that use to stand beyond the left field wall when wrigley was there are they still there. when you see homerun derby on tv you can see the homes beyond the left field fence. Donald

They are still there in poor shape. I was leary of taking anymore pics, I did have a couple of people come to me in the park to panhandle. The lawns are dry and many have weed and/or dirt in the front. Most need some new paint, too and the roofs were very shabby.

[Steve Jeltz]

What about the site of Shibe Park? The last I heard it became a weed infested site after it was torn down.

How about what was there before the stadium was built?
What was at Wrigley Field and Fenway before they were built?

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

[QUOTE=Steve Jeltz]What about the site of Shibe Park? The last I heard it became a weed infested site after it was torn down.

QUOTE]
On the site of old shibe park(CONNIE MACK STADIUM)is now a church.i was there in 1989 and it was a vacated lot the stadium was torn down in 1976.the church was built in the early 1990.s

[catcher24]

What was at Wrigley Field and Fenway before they were built?

Fenway was built in a marshy area of Boston, known as the Fens. The site had been drained a few years earlier, but I don't know if it was still an empty area or if there were residences/businesses here when the park was erected.

[skeletor]

Let's see...vary mounds of trash...oh, wait...like Candlestick, the
corner is still around...dying a slow death...but unlike Candlestick,
it was a beloved & classic place to see a game....

All sorts of trash, from discarded Detroit newspapers, beer cans,
dog poop, faygo bottles, bums sleeping in and around the nooks
of the stadium...and rust, rust, and more rust..as nature is slowly
re claming the corner..Olde Polo1957, must be chomping at the bit !

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

[QUOTE=skeletor]Let's see...vary mounds of trash...oh, wait...like Candlestick, the
corner is still around...dying a slow death...but unlike Candlestick,
it was a beloved & classic place to see a game....

All sorts of trash, from discarded Detroit newspapers, beer cans,
dog poop, faygo bottles, bums sleeping in and around the nooks
of the stadium...and rust, rust, and more rust..as nature is slowly
re claming the corner..Olde Polo1957, must be chomping at the bit ![/QUOTE

Well i live not to far from tiger stadium and see it alot and there are no newspapers,no faygo bottles no trash around the stadium, you dont know what you are talking about.

[Crosley Fielder]

I was inspecting the grounds where Crosley Field once stood when I was in the area about ten years ago. The only vestige of the place that I could see was where left field was. Under one of the current building's foundations was the distinct inlcine of The Terrace.

Crosley Field was bordered by streets. The street-alley that was beyond the left field wall was York Street. If my memory is correct the the right center field wall was Western Ave and the street running down the Right Field grandstand was Findley Street. They are still there. But....a new four lane street runs trough where the first base to second base part of the infield used to be and into left field. Interstate 75 now runs beyond the outfield wall.

Chuck Foertmeyer in Cincinnati has a site devoted to Crosley Field. I have a gallery of pictures on it and I'll try to post them in the next day or two. This is Monday.

[Pighead]

There's a retirement community where Memorial Stadium used to be. I think (have not visually confirmed) that the looped driveway of the place is generally the outline of the stadium - that funky horseshoe shape.

I was looking for any trace of Crosley Field during a recent venture to Cincinnati and found nothing honoring the field...seems a shame...Crosley Field has its very own, very cool web site though....

Veterans Stadium in Philly (a much bigger dump than Candlestick, complete with the constant odor of refuse) is a soon-to-be parking lot for the rest of the sports complex.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

this what the site of the polo grounds looks like today.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

In this photo to the right of the photo is were the polo grounds parking lot use to be.this is from 155th street which was next to the polo grounds.the apartments on the right side of the photo are the polo grounds towers.

[JPL BMX]

Does it have any marking of where home plate use to be at the site, or any monuments where the stadium was?

[wamby]

League Park is (or was) located at the corner of E.66th & Lexington Ave. East of downtown. Yes, there is an Ohio Historical Plaque on the grounds. It's kind of crazy to be out there and think that Ruth, Gehrig, Speaker, etc. have been on the same ground. If you are ever in downtown Cleveland, you can follow either Euclid or Carnegie east, as both of these are main veins out of downtown, toward the Cleveland Clinic. When you get to 66th turn left from either street and you will run into Lexington Ave. Mind you, the neighborhood is a nightmare, so either go during the day, or be heavily armed!

League Park was in the Hough section of Cleveland. Before the mid-fifties, Hough was one of the nicest parts of the city. The neighborhood is bad now, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was 30-40 years ago. It is no longer the roughest section of Cleveland, but it may be the poorest.

If you're going to go there from downtown, take Carnegie. The lights are murder on Euclid Ave.

[sschirmer]

League Park was in the Hough section of Cleveland. Before the mid-fifties, Hough was one of the nicest parts of the city. The neighborhood is bad now, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was 30-40 years ago. It is no longer the roughest section of Cleveland, but it may be the poorest.

If you're going to go there from downtown, take Carnegie. The lights are murder on Euclid Ave.

Take Carnegie is right, and not only because of the lights, Euclid is in the condition of a poorly maintained cattle trail right now. It's horrible.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Does it have any marking of where home plate use to be at the site, or any monuments where the stadium was?
Yes they have a plaque on one of the apartment buildings showing were homeplate was, they also have a basketball court named after willie mays.the apartment complex is called the polo grounds towers. and they also have a old rusty stairway coming down from coogans bluff that fans use to use to get to the ballpark. i was at the site in 1988 very sad.

[Crosley Fielder]

Here's a link to pics I took at Crosley Field two days after the last game was played there in June of 1970. The photo captions belong to Chuck Foertmeyer, who owns crosley-field.com. and is also a successful author.

http://www.crosley-field.com/tomp.html


With this link Chuck has taken my pictures and superimposed present day pics to give you an idea of where the old ballpark used to be.

http://www.crosley-field.com/HP/index.html

Hope you guys enjoy the pictures.

PS....they belong to me so give'm some respect. ha

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

this is a photo of the basketball & tennis courts that are named after willie mays and is located now where centerfield was. photo-1988

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This photo shows the sign at the entrance of the polo grounds towers on 8th avenue.by the way the man in the photo next to the polo grounds towers sign with a giants hat and jersey on is me POLO GROUNDS 1957. this photo was taken in 1988. Donald detroit

[Crosley Fielder]

Hey Polo Grounds....in your picture of where CF used to be at the Polo Grounds.....which way was the CF wall and which direction...right or left... was home plate? Thanks.....

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Hey Polo Grounds....in your picture of where CF used to be at the Polo Grounds.....which way was the CF wall and which direction...right or left... was home plate? Thanks.....

In that photo i took in 1988 i was standing next to were the plaque is on the building saying that homeplate was there. so the baseketball and tennis courts is in centerfield. in the photo i am looking from homeplate to centerfield. and in the other photo i am standing on 8th ave were the clubhouse was.

[sschirmer]

This photo shows the sign at the entrance of the polo grounds towers on 8th avenue.by the way the man in the photo next to the polo grounds towers sign with a giants hat and jersey on is me POLO GROUNDS 1957. this photo was taken in 1988. Donald detroit


Donald, it looks like you're hiding from the FBI, and trying to conceal your identity.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This what the site of ebbets field looks today. i took this photo in 1988.this photo was taken with me standing on bedford ave were right field and the scoreboard was.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This is where the main entrance to ebbets field was. again i took this photo in 1988.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This is what the plaque looks like that is posted on one of the buildings showing were homeplate was when the polo grounds was there

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This photo shows coogans bluff.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This photo shows the polo grounds towers from above at coogans bluff

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This a photo of what the polo grounds stairs plaque looks like today

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This is what the stairs that took fans down to the polo grounds today looks like. the stairs are blocked off so no one can use them.you can see in this photo were the plaque is located on the stairs.

[sschirmer]

Dude, those were awesome pictures. I've been through that upper Manhatten area, but never gotten out of the car. How were the locals to you?

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Dude, those were awesome pictures. I've been through that upper Manhatten area, but never gotten out of the car. How were the locals to you?

they were all right except while i shot the photo of the polo grounds plaque someone in one of the apartments above dropped a flower pot to the ground. it was not close but after that i left the area.i guess someone did not like seeing this young white man in the area?

[sschirmer]

they were all right except while i shot the photo of the polo grounds plaque someone in one of the apartments above dropped a flower pot to the ground. it was not close but after that i left the area.i guess someone did not like seeing this young white man in the area?

I thought that might be the case. One of my friends used to be a PI in NY, and he hated having to go down there.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

This is a photo that i found on the net showing the church that was built on the former site of shibe park(CONNIE MACK STADIUM)soon i will post a couple of photos that i took back in 1989 that showed just a empty lot at that time.

[64Cards]

Great stuff donald, glad you made it alive through treks to some of the old ballpark sites, I know a lot of them are in some rather funky neighborhoods, like where old Sportsman's Park in St. Louis was. As Schirmer mentioned, it's a Boys Club Center, Gussie Busch donated the land after they moved downtown in May of 1966. I don't think there is anything that would indicate that the ballpark was there. However, the light towers from Sportsmans Park were taken in 1966 and put on the football field at Riverview Gardens High School in North St. Louis County, I got to play ball under those lights. Many years ago.

[sschirmer]

Great stuff donald, glad you made it alive through treks to some of the old ballpark sites, I know a lot of them are in some rather funky neighborhoods, like where old Sportsman's Park in St. Louis was. As Schirmer mentioned, it's a Boys Club Center, Gussie Busch donated the land after they moved downtown in May of 1966. I don't think there is anything that would indicate that the ballpark was there. However, the light towers from Sportsmans Park were taken in 1966 and put on the football field at Riverview Gardens High School in North St. Louis County, I got to play ball under those lights. Many years ago.

Wow, that's great info. I always wondered what happened to some of those items from the old ballyards. I've seen pics of Shibe Park in the 70s, being used as a junkyard. Really sad, weeds growing all over the place, grandstand falling apart, etc.

[jjmcgr]

I often visit the sites of old ballparks, the most recent being Kansas City, Chicago and Minneapolis (Bloomington).

Municipal Stadium in KC was located in a neighborhood which now looks seedy and not the kind of place you'd go to at night. A famous barbeque place is right down the street, however. The site itself (which includes what had been a parking lot running adjacent to the ballpark from left to centerfield. Finley had built a zoo in centerfield).

The first time I went by the site about 2 years ago it was just a vacant lot. But recently it looksl ike upscale condos are being built in the northern part of the lot where the old parking lot was. Probably the whole lot will be developed, though I imagine they'll have a wall and security around it since the condos do not seem to match the rest of the neighborhood.

There is a plaque on the corner of E. 22d Street and Brooklyn Ave at what used to be the rightfield corner. I thought I took a picture of it but cannot find it. I'll go back and take another one of these weekends.

The new KC stadium complex is about 5 miles to the southwest of this old site which was about a mile or two east of the downtown KC area.

[jjmcgr]

Went to catch a Sox game in Minneapolis a few weeks back so, of ocurse, had to visit the old Metropolitan Stadium site in the close-in suburb of Bloomington.
In 1984 I flew to Minneapolis on my way to attend an Army course at Fort McCoy, WI. Since the old stadium was built right next ot the airport you could see it form the plane on landing and taking off and it was in rough shape then, having been abandoned several years before. Looked like some of those sad pictures of Braves Field in the mid 50s.

Since then they have built the mall/theme park Mall of America on the site and the old playing field is right in the midst of the theme park. I've attached pix of the old home plate site. Supposedly there was a chair (like the red chair at fenway withouty the ball park around it) hanging on the wall in its original spot where Killebrew hit a massive homer, but we couldn't find it.

In a twist of irony they just built a light rain (i.e. trolley cars) line in Minneapolis that basically runs from the Mall of America to the Metrodome (throughh the airport and after the dome on briefly to downtown Minneapolis).

[jjmcgr]

Last summer went to Chicago to see the Sox play the White Sox at new Comiskey. The site of the old Comiskey, scene of the first All Star Game, the Black Sox, Disco Demo Night, etc., is now just a subdued parking lot just north of the new place. Attached is a picture of the home plate and an overall picture of the old site. Since the plate and foul lines are still there, you can get a good feel for the site. The second picture was taken from inside the new stadium. The old home plate faced northeast. The new homeplate faces southeast. The first night I was there the White Sox had a fireworks show even though the Red sox had just killed them in the game!

[sschirmer]

What sucks about new Comisky is the fact that McCuddy's was supposed to be rebuilt after the demolition of the old one. Of course, nothing like that has happened. Ticks me off.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

What sucks about new Comisky is the fact that McCuddy's was supposed to be rebuilt after the demolition of the old one. Of course, nothing like that has happened. Ticks me off.

You are right they were suppose to rebuild McCuddys after the new dump was opened in 1991. it never happened. i was at mccuddys once in 1987 it was nice.

[Perseas]

Well, I don't think Fulton County Stadium could be considered a geniuely "old" ballpark like the Baker Bowl or the Polo Grounds, but FCS is just a parking lot now. There is a marker for Hank Aaron's 715th homer, all of the bases and the wall still stands.

And here's a pic from GoogleEarth ... The whole outline of the field is clearly visible and you can see that marker ABF talks about...

[sschirmer]

Nice picture. Believe it or not, I actually like the way they've done that.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

this is another view of those polo grounds stairs. you can see the plaque in the photo at the bottom of the stairs

[sschirmer]

Is that a syringe I see?

[Bluesteve32]

Here is a current aerial photo from the USGS.

[Bluesteve32]

It is broken in several pics:

see the whole thing together here:

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=10&Z=11&X=1914&Y=18818&W=2&qs=%7clos+angeles%7cca%7c

[sschirmer]

You are right they were suppose to rebuild McCuddys after the new dump was opened in 1991. it never happened. i was at mccuddys once in 1987 it was nice.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the greatest bar in the world, but it was ripe with history.

[64Cards]

I often visit the sites of old ballparks, the most recent being Kansas City, Chicago and Minneapolis (Bloomington).

Municipal Stadium in KC was located in a neighborhood which now looks seedy and not the kind of place you'd go to at night. A famous barbeque place is right down the street, however.

The famous bbq place is Arthur Bryants. It's terrific, I don't know if they still have a dog laying around in the kitchen area, but hell, our dog usually lays around in the kitchen too. I would have loved to have seen, back when old Municipal Stadium was there, a bunch of those great, massive lineman the Chiefs had, like Buck Buchanan, Jim Tyrer, and EJ Holub tear into some ribs and some cold ones after practice.

Another great bbq place in KC is Gates.

[History Of Baseball Fan]

this is another view of those polo grounds stairs. you can see the plaque in the photo at the bottom of the stairs

are all of your pictures of where the Polo Grounds use to be all taken back in 1988 ? if they were, has the area changed much since 1988 ?

i like the picture of Coogans Bluff. i was just watching a history of baseball show, and it showed fans looking down on the field on Coogans Bluff, during the 1908 World Series, almost exactly where on of your pictures was :D

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

are all of your pictures of where the Polo Grounds use to be all taken back in 1988 ? if they were, has the area changed much since 1988 ?

i like the picture of Coogans Bluff. i was just watching a history of baseball show, and it showed fans looking down on the field on Coogans Bluff, during the 1908 World Series, almost exactly where on of your pictures was :D
I have not been to new york city since 1991 i dont know if the area around were the polo grounds was has changed since then. this photo i found on the web and you can see from above what the area were the polo grounds was looks like. you can see in the photo coogans bluff and 155th and also 157th streets and 8th ave.the area next to the 155th street bridge was the parking lot for the polo grounds when the stadium was still there.

[steveox]

Whatever happend to Pittsburghs shibe park? and the old Oriole Park in baltimore where the old AAA Orioles used to play in 1910s-1940s i learn oriole park burned down in 1942.Plus what happend to griffith stadium where the old washigton nats played from 1920s-late 1950s. I like to see photos whats replaced there now?

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Whatever happend to Pittsburghs shibe park? and the old Oriole Park in baltimore where the old AAA Orioles used to play in 1910s-1940s i learn oriole park burned down in 1942.Plus what happend to griffith stadium where the old washigton nats played from 1920s-late 1950s. I like to see photos whats replaced there now?
Shibe park was in philadelphia and washington used griffith stadium until 1961. if you go back to the begining in this thread it will cover forbes field, shibe park, wrigley field LA, polo grounds, ebbets field and the others.

[Smokey Stover]

Old Sportsmans Park is now a Boys and Girls Club on Grand Ave. in St. Louis. Not the best part of town.

I have not been back to the site of Sportsmans Park, but on TV I saw an interview with the manager of the community park/club, and I think he was planning to put a ball field specifically where the field was originally (if he could get funding).
Good man - he remembers and respects history.

Cheers
Warren

[RedSox2004]

Looks like they built something at the location of Shibe Park

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=N+21st+St+%26+W+Lehigh+Ave,+Philadelphia,+P A+19132&spn=0.005614,0.007991&t=k&iwloc=A&hl=en

I was there years ago and was amazed how little land there was in the stadium footprint

The Red Sox orginal stadium is now the home of Northeastern University

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=northeastern+university+boston&ll=42.341147,-71.088324&spn=0.005417,0.004668&t=k&hl=en

Jarry Park is still intact as a tennis complex
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=parc+jarry+montreal&ll=45.531898,-73.627732&spn=0.005134,0.004668&t=k&hl=en

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Looks like they built something at the location of Shibe Park

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=N+21st+St+%26+W+Lehigh+Ave,+Philadelphia,+P A+19132&spn=0.005614,0.007991&t=k&iwloc=A&hl=en

I was there years ago and was amazed how little land there was in the stadium footprint

The Red Sox orginal stadium is now the home of Northeastern University

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=northeastern+university+boston&ll=42.341147,-71.088324&spn=0.005417,0.004668&t=k&hl=en

Jarry Park is still intact as a tennis complex
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=parc+jarry+montreal&ll=45.531898,-73.627732&spn=0.005134,0.004668&t=k&hl=en

A church was built back in the early 1990s on the site of connie mack stadium(SHIBE PARK)

[southendgrounds]

In Boston:
The former Huntington Ave. Grounds of the Red Sox is now part of Northeastern University marked by a statue of Cy Young, it's nearby neighbor the South End Grounds that once housed the Boston Braves is now an MBTA Orange Line station but no known markage of it's former use, and South End Grounds' successor Braves Field is now owned by Boston University with the footprint of the old stadium and the former clubhouse/ticket office intact and the former Right Field pavillion still in use as the bleachers for "Nickerson Field"...

South End Grounds grandstand and infield were actually on the parking lot northeast of Ruggles MBTA Station, and the outfield was where Northeastern University's Columbus Ave. Parking Garage stands. There is a Boston Historical Society marker at Ruggles. Also, on Red Sox game days, a special shuttle is run from Ruggles to Fenway to encourage use of the Orange Line.

[southendgrounds]

This one superimposes maps of Huntington Ave Grounds and South End Grounds on terraserver image. Ruggles Station is in the lower left quadrant.

[steveox]

Whatever happend to braves field in boston?

[Transplanted Fan]

Whatever happend to braves field in boston?
It's now Boston University's primary athletics facility, Nickerson Field. In fact, it uses the old first base stands as its primary seating area.

Link to the Nickerson Field page at BU Athletics (http://www.bu.edu/athletics/inside/facilities/nickerson.html)

[steveox]

See i know John Hopkins University bought the memorial stadium property.But all they had to do was remove the upper deck only and they could had used that field for football games and hopkins lacrosse in the spring.That was a waste by turning into apartment complex.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is what the site of the old buffalo war memorial stadium looks like today.the stadium was the home for the buffalo bills,buffalo bisons and was used for the movie THE NATURAL. it was torn down around 1989.

[SABR Steve]

In Boston:
The former Huntington Ave. Grounds of the Red Sox is now part of Northeastern University marked by a statue of Cy Young, it's nearby neighbor the South End Grounds that once housed the Boston Braves is now an MBTA Orange Line station but no known markage of it's former use, and South End Grounds' successor Braves Field is now owned by Boston University with the footprint of the old stadium and the former clubhouse/ticket office intact and the former Right Field pavillion still in use as the bleachers for "Nickerson Field"...

Regarding the South End Grounds, "Green Cathedrals" states that the original "twin spired turret is now atop a new building on Columbus Avenue." Any information?

[efin98]

Regarding the South End Grounds, "Green Cathedrals" states that the original "twin spired turret is now atop a new building on Columbus Avenue." Any information?

Never heard of that. Would be interesting to find that out though...

[Elvis]

Regarding the South End Grounds, "Green Cathedrals" states that the original "twin spired turret is now atop a new building on Columbus Avenue." Any information?

No. But here's a photo of the old place.

http://www.ballparktour.com/SouthEnd1b.jpg

[Centreville82]

Looks like another Cards fan mentioned Sportsman's Park.

Robison Field (1899-1920)

The 2nd home of the Cardinals. The park was located on Vandeventer and Natural Bridge avenues in North St. Louis. Beaumont High School occupies the land..

[Centreville82]

I have not been back to the site of Sportsmans Park, but on TV I saw an interview with the manager of the community park/club, and I think he was planning to put a ball field specifically where the field was originally (if he could get funding).
Good man - he remembers and respects history.

Cheers
Warren


Herbert Hoover's Boys Club is the name...

[catcher24]

Regarding War Memorial, there is a plaque near what used to be the home plate entrance, with (as I recall) some of the bricks or wall nearby. On Best Street, I believe. If you ever go, make sure it's during the day or you're heavily armed. Not a nice part of the city.

[CAV]

The old home of the Texas Rangers is now a green space with some parking spaces around it that fans use to park at the Ballpark in Arlington or Ameriquest Field. The Rangers and the City of Arlington have built a little league baseball field that looks like Ameriquest Field next to the site.

The new park was built about 12 years ago about 500 yards south of the old stadium. Arlington Stadium was built in a natural bowl shape and that land feature still exists.

[Crosley Fielder]

Polo, very nice work. I've actually played several games at the new Crosley in Blue Ash. They actually have the Terrace out in left, and all the dimensions are the same as the original. As a matter of fact, if you look closely at the scoreboard, it's a duplicate of how it looked after the last out of the last game at the original Crosley Field on 06-26-1970. Pretty interesting, as Mays and McCovey were in the Giants lineup, as were Rose and Bench for the Reds. Marichal may have even pitched that game, but don't quote me on that one.
Seems like Marichal did pitch that game. I was there.

[bluejaysfan]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Toronto&ll=43.632534,-79.415016&spn=0.007377,0.021629&t=k

I apologize for the length of this link. This is where Exhibition Stadium use to stand on the CNE Grounds. It is a parking lot for the Ricoh Coliseum and the various other buildings. You'll notice in the parking lot a darkened section that forms a backwards checkmark. That was the old 1B/3B grandstand.

[SABR Steve]

Hre are some pics of the site where LA Wrigle used to stand. There is a very small hospital and a rec center, no plaque or marker explaining its significance or anything. Very sad.

We ought to start a campaign and get these old sites monumented, if they aren't all ready. This is our history we're losing.

[Chef Bill]

This has been a fascinating thread. I've especially enjoyed the satellite images of former ballpark sites.

For those who haven't seen it, here is a Google satellite photo of the Ebbets Field site -- 55 Sullivan Place, Brooklyn. The Marble Rotunda entrance was at the northeast corner of McKeever Place and Sullivan Place, with the right field wall along Beford Ave. and the left field stands on Montgomery Street. The outline of the site is unchanged in the 93 years since Ebbets Field opened in 1913.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=55+Sullivan+Place,+Brooklyn,+NY&ll=40.664795,-73.957955&spn=0.003768,0.010729&t=h

[bluejaysfan]

You can't even tell that a stadium once stood there!

[Bluesteve32]

We ought to start a campaign and get these old sites monumented, if they aren't all ready. This is our history we're losing.

I concur. Something needs to be done. In most cases a simple plaque would suffice, but something that gives that site its significance to a generation of baseball fans in a city is more than appropriate.

[CAV]

This has been a fascinating thread. I've especially enjoyed the satellite images of former ballpark sites.

For those who haven't seen it, here is a Google satellite photo of the Ebbets Field site -- 55 Sullivan Place, Brooklyn. The Marble Rotunda entrance was at the northeast corner of McKeever Place and Sullivan Place, with the right field wall along Beford Ave. and the left field stands on Montgomery Street. The outline of the site is unchanged in the 93 years since Ebbets Field opened in 1913.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=55+Sullivan+Place,+Brooklyn,+NY&ll=40.664795,-73.957955&spn=0.003768,0.010729&t=h

In the satellite image it looks like the Yankees are playing a day game the day this image was taken! You can see some fans in the stands and several hundred outside the stadium.

[efin98]

In the satellite image it looks like the Yankees are playing a day game the day this image was taken! You can see some fans in the stands and several hundred outside the stadium.

There's at least 20,000 fans already in the stadium and grounds keepers and coaches on the field itself...

[Chef Bill]

There's at least 20,000 fans already in the stadium and grounds keepers and coaches on the field itself...

And if you look REAL close, you can see Newk warming up in the Dodgers' bullpen! :clapping

[efin98]

And if you look REAL close, you can see Newk warming up in the Dodgers' bullpen! :clapping

It's a map, not a time machine

[CAV]

And if you look REAL close, you can see Newk warming up in the Dodgers' bullpen! :clapping

Go back to the pic and scroll up to where Yankee Stadium is in the Brox and you can see that a day game is about to start! Sadly, there is nothing but a boring building where the Dodgers' bullpen used to be!

[Rennie Stennett]

It is now the Seahawks Stadium (201 South King Street). This area, the area just south of Pioneer Square, used to be swampy wetlands. Much of the fill from the removal of Denny Hill a hundred years ago, (now the Regrade) was pushed into this area.

[efin98]

This may get some of you excited: one of the proposed sites for a new stadium to host a new Canadian-American League team within the City of Boston is Boston University's Nickerson Field- aka the former site of Braves Field! Should the mayor of Boston and the city council give the OK that site looks like it will be on the fast track to being chosen.

It may not be Braves Field revisited, but any professional baseball played there is a good thing.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is what the old comskey park site looks like today. you can see to the left of the photo the homeplate site and the left field foul line painted on the concrete.

[Rennie Stennett]

It is now the Seahawks Stadium (201 South King Street). This area, the area just south of Pioneer Square, used to be tideflats. Much of the fill from the removal of Denny Hill a hundred years ago, (now the Regrade) was pushed into this area.http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/450stadiumXX_wide.jpg

[Rennie Stennett]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/dome_dest_anim.gif

[Rennie Stennett]

Tideflats http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/ust003.jpg

[Bluesteve32]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/dome_dest_anim.gif

Nothing like an implosion to remove the wold of domed and cookie cutter stadiums. ;)

[redbuck]

Braves Field: http://ballparkreviews.com/boston/braves.htm
Comiskey Park: http://ballparkreviews.com/comiskey/oldcomisk.htm
Crosley Field: http://ballparkreviews.com/cinci/crosley.htm
Forbes Field: http://ballparkreviews.com/pburgh/forbes.htm
Huntington Avenue Grounds: http://ballparkreviews.com/boston/hground.htm
League Park: http://ballparkreviews.com/clevelnd/league.htm
Sicks Stadium: http://ballparkreviews.com/seattle/sicks.htm

[GoBrewersGo]

Helfaer Field, a little league ballpark, stands on the site of Milwaukee County Stadium, in the Miller Park parking lot. The foul poles are sections of the County Stadium originals.

http://www.brewers-fan.de/bilder/09_helfaer_field_g.jpg

[Seattle1]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/450stadiumXX_wide.jpg

It is now the Seahawks Stadium (201 South King Street). This area, the area just south of Pioneer Square, used to be tideflats. Much of the fill from the removal of Denny Hill a hundred years ago, (now the Regrade) was pushed into this area.

Sounds like they pushed a lot more than that in there as fill. I took a tour of Qwest Field once and the tour guide said they used anything they could get their hands on as fill: garbage, old building debris, you name it. Qwest Field is very heavily reinforced due to risk of earthquake in the region, and being built on backfill which tends to liquify in the event of a quake (like portions of San Francisco in 1989). Anyway, they had to drive enormous reinforcing posts deep into the ground as part of the process, and one post in particular kept hitting something that would not budge. They dug it up and it was a discarded train locomotive that had been used as fill material! :eek:

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is another view of the polo grounds towers today.

[soberdennis]

There is an industrial park where Crosley Field once stood. There is a marker that is near home plate but it is not the exact location. Also the wall and flagpole are still standing where Forbes Field once stood. I was there last summer and got some photos of the old wall.
But Crosley Field was rebuilt on a farm in Kentucky.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

But Crosley Field was rebuilt on a farm in Kentucky.Crosley field was rebuilt in kentucky but was torn down in the early 1970s. crosley field is now in blue ash ohio.

[driver62]

Actually, the marker for Crosley field is nowhere near home plate. It's located in what was once left field.

[Rennie Stennett]

It is now the Seahawks Stadium (201 South King Street). This area, the area just south of Pioneer Square, used to be tideflats. Much of the fill from the removal of Denny Hill a hundred years ago, (now the Regrade) was pushed into this area.

Sounds like they pushed a lot more than that in there as fill. I took a tour of Qwest Field once and the tour guide said they used anything they could get their hands on as fill: garbage, old building debris, you name it. Qwest Field is very heavily reinforced due to risk of earthquake in the region, and being built on backfill which tends to liquify in the event of a quake (like portions of San Francisco in 1989). Anyway, they had to drive enormous reinforcing posts deep into the ground as part of the process, and one post in particular kept hitting something that would not budge. They dug it up and it was a discarded train locomotive that had been used as fill material! :eek:

That's a great story. The removal of Denny Hill was a big job. Most, if not all structures had to be destoyed. With both the Union Station and King Street Station next door, I can see how a locomotive got into the mix. Your right about the area being fill, as well as Harbor Island and the Duwamish River Head. I read that they took out about 17 turns in the Duwamish River, which used to Serpintine for sure, to make it more accessable. If you ever drive in the Georgetown Area of Seattle and wonder how the hell they put this road like this or that road like that, it is because they built the roads before the idea of taking the curves out of the river.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/ust003.jpg

Tideflats used to be in the spot that is now Qwest and Safeco Field.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/dome_dest_anim.gif

Speaking of King Street Station, they are doing a complete renovation to this historic building.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/KSS_OriginalWaitingRoom_la.jpg

[Rennie Stennett]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/Doomtown7/450Kingstreet20_2.jpg

[lonelywind]

The new KC stadium complex is about 5 miles to the southwest of this old site which was about a mile or two east of the downtown KC area.
Actually, the Truman Sports Complex is southeast of the old Municipal Stadium site, not southwest.

[sfgiants29]

I believe a Lowe's stands on the old Sick's Stadium grounds in Seattle.

[Crosley Fielder]

Thanks for posting the pic of the outfield wall at Forbes Field. I've never seen it from that perspective. And how many times did I watch the Reds on TV in the 50s and 60s playing there? As a kid you think these things will go on forever....like your life. ha ha

[candomarty]

In July, 2006 I went to the site of the old Sportsman's Park (Busch Stadium #1) for the first time since 1966, when it gave way to Busch Stadium #2 (also now gone). They had a great sign donated by Gannett Outdoor, and the field itself (both pictured below) has remained green in the service of the Herbert Hoover Boys Club.

[tonypug]

In July, 2006 I went to the site of the old Sportsman's Park (Busch Stadium #1) for the first time since 1966, when it gave way to Busch Stadium #2 (also now gone). They had a great sign donated by Gannett Outdoor, and the field itself (both pictured below) has remained green in the service of the Herbert Hoover Boys Club.
Thanks for sharing and welcome.

[Williamsburg2599]

Any picture or satelite images of the place where the first baseball game ever was played?(Elysian Field, NJ)

[catcher24]

A quick search of Google turned up this photo:

14256

Photo copyright of Paul Healey, http://www.projectballpark.org/other/elysian.html.

Accompanying text:

BASEBALL

On June 19, 1846 the first
match game of baseball was
played here on the Elysian
Fields between the Knicker-
bockers and the New Yorks.
It is generally conceded that
until this time the game was
not seriously regarded.

DONATED BY
HOBOKEN INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

[steveironcity]

Exposition Park

http://www.ebaseballparks.com/images/exposition.jpg

[steve4ster]

This is a great thread thanks to the initiator.....in 2003 I got a wild hair to visit all the major league parks....I had already done a number of them.....have done three more extended road trips since then and along the way quickly decided to all the sites where ballparks used to stand.........I take photos of myself...try to find any old timers who might have remembered the area when the parks was there....

It has been a blast, a socio-economic geography lesson as well...

A few notes...I am up to 20 existing parks........20 more sites where parks used to stand......and 12 minor league parks

Can confirm that most all the info here is dead on.......here is my list of parks
visited that used to be and any extra info I have gleaned that is not previously mentioned......

1.Griffith Stadium....washingtom dc........I too thought the site to be the hospital........as i was snapping my pix...an elderly black gentleman came and corrected me.....he swear that the site is actually a little off and that the housing projects visible from the hospital parking lot is the actual...he also saw Josh Gibson play there so he seems a reliable source....not sure of any markers

2.Ebbets field.....Brooklyn
3. Washington park...brooklyn( in use until 1912) location at 3rd ave.....222 first st part of clubhouse wall part of con edison building
4. hilltop park,,,,new York broadway and w. 168....columbia univ med center
5. huntington ave grounds......boston
6. South end grounds.......boston
7. Braves field.......boston
8. Forbes fiels......great phot op at wall in pittsburg site of Maz's homer
9. Three River.....pittsburg......easy trip to heinz field parking lot....next to pnc park
10. exposition park....pittsbutg.........same site....look around for plaque
11. Shibe park/ connie mack.......the site is a church....interestingly as you face ther plaque in front ...look to the right and you will see row house whose rooftops appear to be the location where fans viewed games ala wrigley before mack built a spite wall....can anyone confirm this
12.crosley field....cincinnati.....this site appears from my research to also have been the location of two previous parks lisited below...
13. palace of the fans....cincinnati
14. league park ....cincinnati
15. milwaukee county stadium...parking lot of miller field...little league ballfield there
16. exhibition stadium ....toronto......along the lakeshore south of the existing skydome...never found a marker
17. league park....cleveland...great site...with existing grandstand wall and building and field...plaque......tough area, but played ball with some neighborhood kids there on the outfield some greats used to roam
18. municipal stadium....clevekland..........at site of existing football stadium, near rock and roll hall of fame.......evidently no plaque......seems all the folks at the stadium i talked to just forgot the " mistake by the lake
19.sportsman's park ....st louis........
20. Atlanta/fulton county staium..........parking lot of turner field...diamond lined out and part of fence where aaron's 715 went...great photo op
21. comisky....chicago.....parking lot of us cellular
22. Memorial Stadium.....baltimore
23. Busch stadium....st.louis........parking lot of new field...piece still standing i believe
24 Riverfront.....cincinnati........at site of new football stadium......has a plaque been added ?
25 Veteran's stadium....philadelphia.....out by the spectrum site

It is a great hobby.....be careful....but you'll find many people helpful in the neighborhoods forgotten by time

[steve4ster]

tHAT IS A GREAT IDEA........mlb IS THE LOGICAL ONE TO SPEND SOME OF OUR HARD EARNED BUCKS TO COMMERERATE THESE HISTORICAL AREAS IN SOME UNIFORM WAY......THEY HAVE ABANDONED THESE SITES AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS THEY USED AND LEFT BEHIND

[ted P.]

The University of Pittsburgh Law School stands on old Forbes Field. he did preserve part of the outfield wall and it is designated as an historical monument

[TJH1923]

Unfortunately, I am in the neighborhood of the Polo Grounds quite often. I often wonder what it would be like if the old ballpark were still in existence. I look across the Harlem River and see the the spur that connected the 167 St. station (The Bronx) and the Polo Grounds (Manhattan, 8th Ave). It would have even been good if the Mets stayed there. The Polo Grounds was torn down before I was born (not by much). I would have loved to visit that Park and Ebbets Field. When is time travel going to be operational? :radio

[riverfrontier]

Hopefully they'll have time machines up and running soon so I can have dinner with Jesus, Einstein, and Tupac. I would like to say that the site of Riverfront Stadium is between Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ballpark. Not on the actual site of the football stadium. There is a slight difference.

[The Kid]

Boston Colledge stands over the Huntington ave. baseball grounds.

[fothead]

Not like anyone would care, but Waverly Fairgrounds, the home of the 1873 Elizabeth Resolutes of the National Association (and hosted all of it's 9 home games) now has a Jewish cemetary on the site.

[steve4ster]

A hospital was built on the site of old griffith stadium site. howard university hospital. the stadium was torn down in 1965

When I visited this site, i happened upon a very reputable older black gentleman in white shirt and tie, who convinced me that the site is not the hospital itself but a smallish housing development within sight of the hospital....he sworw this to be the fact and corroborated it by saying he had seem josh gibson play at griffith many times....it is still his neighborhood and i trust what he stated

[steve4ster]

Boston Colledge stands over the Huntington ave. baseball grounds.

This is in error....northeastern university...also home plate area in gymnasium area now ?

[CultofCubs]

The West Side Park the field the Cubs used before Weeghman which turned into Wrigley Field has the University of Illinois College of Medicine Medical Center built on that spot now.

[driver62]

Hopefully they'll have time machines up and running soon so I can have dinner with Jesus, Einstein, and Tupac. I would like to say that the site of Riverfront Stadium is between Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ballpark. Not on the actual site of the football stadium. There is a slight difference.

You are correct about the location of Riverfront stadium. Paul Brown stadium is located where produce warehouses use to stand. I've been to Riverfront many times and we would park in the lots next to the produce warehouses.
The area where Riverfront use to stand is now parking lots and one big hole in the ground next to GABP. Hopefully they will fill it in someday and put something there.

[EbtsFldGuy]

I found this thread tonight, and read every post, and found them all informative and helpful. (I don't care at all, as most others don't, about spelling errors either. Don't let that guy bother anyone)

I am interested in old ballparks, and have long had the notion that the sites of the former parks are mostly in what is now rundown areas. Reading this thread, however, tells me that that is not true. Some are, others aren't.

I live in NYC and often go by the site of the Polo Grounds, and have been back to the site of Ebbets Field five times. Each visit was sad, especially EF, as I remembered my youth and the happy trips with my late Dad to see our beloved Brooklyn Dodgers.

About a block from EF is a mural of the park. If I ever return there (not a wise venture alone or at night now), I'll emulate Donald and get a shot of it and post it.

Much of the area around EF, structure-wise, is as it was in 1957, but the character of the Dodger days is long gone.

The PG is exactly as Donald put it. His experience with the flower pot being dropped from an upper floor apartment is not surprising. There IS still danger in indulging your nostalgia interests.

Though not many posts about it are found here, perhaps the most dangerous area now is the site of the former Shibe Park (Connie Mack Stadium) in N. Phila.

In November, I made my first trip to LA. Went to see Dodger Stadium out of curiosity (though I STILL rue the move from Brooklyn 49 years ago). I have to say it is handsome and well appointed.

We also went to San Francisco, and saw AT&T park, which is even prettier.

Congratulations and thanks to all of you who have taken time to post photos and information about thes sites of former MLB parks.

What an education for fans of the game!

[Williamsburg2599]

Former site of the Messer Street Grounds, aka Messer Park or Messer Field
Home of the Providence Grays (National League)1878-1885.
Demolished:1889
Demensions:Left field - 281 ft.
Left field Corner - 403 ft.
Left-Center field - 356 ft.
Center field - 318 ft.
Right-Center field - 356 ft.
Right field - 431 ft.
Fences - 12 ft. high
Located south of Willow Street, East of street running south through photograph.
19961

[BlueBird]

BMO Field now sits on theOld Exibition Stadium.

Out with the old...

http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/exhibi01.jpg

...and in with the new.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y294/crimsonmire/IMG_4185.jpg

[JeepingBaseball]

they were all right except while i shot the photo of the polo grounds plaque someone in one of the apartments above dropped a flower pot to the ground. it was not close but after that i left the area.i guess someone did not like seeing this young white man in the area?

It is Harlem, but give them a break. It's not as bad as it seems anymore.

Side note, my grandfather used to work at Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds and then Shea Stadium before tetiring. I'll have to see if I can find any pictures of the stadiums and so forth.

[TJH1923]

It is Harlem, but give them a break. It's not as bad as it seems anymore.

Side note, my grandfather used to work at Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds and then Shea Stadium before tetiring. I'll have to see if I can find any pictures of the stadiums and so forth.

Are you kidding me? The Polo Grounds projects are a zoo. They would eat you up and spit you out before you could try to reason with them. If you look up toilet bowl in the dictionary, you will see a picture of the Polo Grounds PJ's. What is your definition of bad? Are you saying that there is a certain amount of tolerance one should have? He is lucky it did not hit him and even luckier it wasn't a sh*tty diaper or container of urine.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Moderator these 2 threads need to be merged together duplicate threads about former stadiums sites and whats there today.

[fo2grfr]

Here's a slideshow that shows the site of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh as fans gather every year to remember Maz's big hit. It's a really cool slideshow that makes you feel like you're right there in 1960!

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/images/video/multimedia_slideshow.php?res=hi&v=267&1=1


the plaque and home plate is still there and there is a picture from the cathedral of learning looking down into forbes on that day and the outfield wall is still there or at least it was last may when i was in pittsburgh

[catcher24]

Thanks for the link. That was great! Have to get down there this year and see that area!:nod:

[driver62]

The area where Crosley Field or Palace Of The Fans as it was originally called was a brickyard. Since some of it was below street level, they made a terrace in left field going up to the wall. Later, they extended the terrace all the way around.
There was another field called League Park, I think, but it was several blocks from where Crosley was located.
When MLB decided that all fields must have a warning track, Crosley was exempted as the powers that be concluded that running up the terrace was warning enough.

[driver62]

I was wrong about League Park in Cincy. There was no such place. The first field was called Union Grounds and was located about 2 blocks south of where Crosley was built. Then they had Avenue Grounds about one mile north of Union Grounds.
I have no idea what stands on those locations today.

[Crosley Fielder]

I read where the old Houston Colt 45 Stadium was dismantled and rebuilt in Mexico. :) :)

[Williamsburg2599]

I read where the old Houston Colt 45 Stadium was dismantled and rebuilt in Mexico. :) :)

Yes, yes it was.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Stadium

[SpiderFan]

Has anyone heard or know anything about a propsed rejuvenation plan for the old League Park site in Cleveland? I've searched up and down on the net and can't seem to find anything. I think it would be amazing to have an actual functioning ballpark on that spot - as one of the earlier posts mentions the greats that roamed that field - Ruth hit his 500th over the 40 ft. tall, 290 down the line right field wall into the street... fascinating... If anyone knows anything I'd love to hear.

[Crosley Fielder]

In July, 2006 I went to the site of the old Sportsman's Park (Busch Stadium #1) for the first time since 1966, when it gave way to Busch Stadium #2 (also now gone). They had a great sign donated by Gannett Outdoor, and the field itself (both pictured below) has remained green in the service of the Herbert Hoover Boys Club.

The location of the photo of the Boys Club where Sportsmans Park once stood....is it looking from about where center field used to be? Thanks for the pics. Greeat!!! :clapping

[Astros]

Yes, yes it was.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Stadium

Sometimes I wish Wikipedia could be held more accountable for the information they allow on their site. Some of the details are incorrect.

Colt Stadium sat vacant for six years before it became a county tax issue for the Astros and was taken down in 1970 and sold off. Once the Astrodome opened, Judge Roy Hofheinz (owner of the Astros) had it painted gray or as some from that era put it, "paint it vanish". The Astros wanted no link to Colt Stadium.

There were mosquitos but they really did not become a problem until after the huge hole that was dug for the Astrodome was completed. There were undergound rivers that ran through the area and the hole kept filling with water. There were lawsuits that delayed commencement of construction on the Astrodome and they had to continuously pump out water from the hole.

The biggest problem with Colt Stadium was that it had no sun roof at all.

[bluejaysfan]

This is a great thread thanks to the initiator.....in 2003 I got a wild hair to visit all the major league parks....I had already done a number of them.....have done three more extended road trips since then and along the way quickly decided to all the sites where ballparks used to stand.........I take photos of myself...try to find any old timers who might have remembered the area when the parks was there....

It has been a blast, a socio-economic geography lesson as well...

A few notes...I am up to 20 existing parks........20 more sites where parks used to stand......and 12 minor league parks

Can confirm that most all the info here is dead on.......here is my list of parks
visited that used to be and any extra info I have gleaned that is not previously mentioned......

1.Griffith Stadium....washingtom dc........I too thought the site to be the hospital........as i was snapping my pix...an elderly black gentleman came and corrected me.....he swear that the site is actually a little off and that the housing projects visible from the hospital parking lot is the actual...he also saw Josh Gibson play there so he seems a reliable source....not sure of any markers

2.Ebbets field.....Brooklyn
3. Washington park...brooklyn( in use until 1912) location at 3rd ave.....222 first st part of clubhouse wall part of con edison building
4. hilltop park,,,,new York broadway and w. 168....columbia univ med center
5. huntington ave grounds......boston
6. South end grounds.......boston
7. Braves field.......boston
8. Forbes fiels......great phot op at wall in pittsburg site of Maz's homer
9. Three River.....pittsburg......easy trip to heinz field parking lot....next to pnc park
10. exposition park....pittsbutg.........same site....look around for plaque
11. Shibe park/ connie mack.......the site is a church....interestingly as you face ther plaque in front ...look to the right and you will see row house whose rooftops appear to be the location where fans viewed games ala wrigley before mack built a spite wall....can anyone confirm this
12.crosley field....cincinnati.....this site appears from my research to also have been the location of two previous parks lisited below...
13. palace of the fans....cincinnati
14. league park ....cincinnati
15. milwaukee county stadium...parking lot of miller field...little league ballfield there
16. exhibition stadium ....toronto......along the lakeshore south of the existing skydome...never found a marker
17. league park....cleveland...great site...with existing grandstand wall and building and field...plaque......tough area, but played ball with some neighborhood kids there on the outfield some greats used to roam
18. municipal stadium....clevekland..........at site of existing football stadium, near rock and roll hall of fame.......evidently no plaque......seems all the folks at the stadium i talked to just forgot the " mistake by the lake
19.sportsman's park ....st louis........
20. Atlanta/fulton county staium..........parking lot of turner field...diamond lined out and part of fence where aaron's 715 went...great photo op
21. comisky....chicago.....parking lot of us cellular
22. Memorial Stadium.....baltimore
23. Busch stadium....st.louis........parking lot of new field...piece still standing i believe
24 Riverfront.....cincinnati........at site of new football stadium......has a plaque been added ?
25 Veteran's stadium....philadelphia.....out by the spectrum site

It is a great hobby.....be careful....but you'll find many people helpful in the neighborhoods forgotten by time

In regards to Exhibition Stadium, I believe there are seats from the old stadium somewhere in the CNE Complex. A new stadium was built where Exhibition Stadium was, but before I posted a picture that showed an aerial shot of where the old stadium was. You could see the outline of the stadium in the shot.

[driver62]

Crosley Field once was called Palace Of The Fans. The name was changed when Powell Crosley bought the team.
I can find no reference to a League Park in Cincinnati. There were two other fields before Crosley. One was called Union Grounds and the other Avenue Grounds. Maybe it's being confused with League Park in Cleveland.

[driver62]

Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati was not located where the football stadium is. It was located between the football stadium and GABP. The land is mostly parking lots now and one big hole in the ground unless they have finally filled it in.

[catcher24]

Cincinnati did have a League Park. In Diamonds: The Evolution of the Ballpark by Michael Gershman, he mentions it on p57. I couldn't find where he told when it was constructed, but there is a photo of it on front of an 1896 program, and another photo of the interior as well (both photos are also on p57). It burned down in 1901 and was replaced by the Palace of the Fans. It burned down in 1911, and in 1912 Redland Field (later renamed Crosley Field) was built to replace it.

The book is a wealth of information if you can find it. I've had mine for several years.

[driver62]

Cincinnati did have a League Park. In Diamonds: The Evolution of the Ballpark by Michael Gershman, he mentions it on p57. I couldn't find where he told when it was constructed, but there is a photo of it on front of an 1896 program, and another photo of the interior as well (both photos are also on p57). It burned down in 1901 and was replaced by the Palace of the Fans. It burned down in 1911, and in 1912 Redland Field (later renamed Crosley Field) was built to replace it.

The book is a wealth of information if you can find it. I've had mine for several years.

I never knew that. All of the research I've done on the Reds makes no mention of League Park. Is the book still available?

I did some more reading and you are correct. League Park was built on the site of Crosley Field. In the beginning, it was called American Park as the Reds were in the American Association. The name changed when the Reds joined the National League. After 1901, it was called the Palace Of The Fans and then Crosley Field for the owner Powell Crosley Jr.
Thanks for pointing out my error.

[Lafferty Daniel]

Bassett creek runs directly below the Twins new ballpark site in Minneapolis.

http://www.twinsballpark2010.com/20060602.html



http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/images/2007/05/01/pAjSDTxF.jpg

[TRfromBR]

The original home of major league base-ball in Brooklyn was Washington Park, on 3rd Street, between 4th & 5th Avenues. It was named after George Washington, for his historic leadership in the Battle of Brooklyn, aka the Battle of Long Island.

On August 26, 1776, a pivotal fight between the British (& Hessians) and the American's Marylander's Brigade took place at what is now called "The Old Stone House," in this Park Slope/Gowanus part of Old Brooklyn. This stone farmhouse eventually became the clubhouse for the Brooklyn Superba's (Dodger's.)

Today there stands a replica of that farmhouse at its original location. It is pictured below.

(The famed Con-Ed wall from Washington Park - the oldest extant structure from any major league base-ball park - is actually a remnant of the second Washington Park, built diagonally across the street from the original in the late 1800's. See the following post.)

[TRfromBR]

And this is a segment of the original wall, from the second Washington Park. It is believed to be the oldest remaining structure from any historic base-ball stadium.

[catcher24]

Posted by driver62:
I never knew that. All of the research I've done on the Reds makes no mention of League Park. Is the book still available?

I did some more reading and you are correct. League Park was built on the site of Crosley Field. In the beginning, it was called American Park as the Reds were in the American Association. The name changed when the Reds joined the National League. After 1901, it was called the Palace Of The Fans and then Crosley Field for the owner Powell Crosley Jr.
Thanks for pointing out my error.

I don't think you made any error, you simply didn't find that particular piece of information. There is so much info out there about old (and new) ballparks that I don't think anyone could hope to obtain it all! I have six books on ballparks, and each one has additional info when compared to the others.

The book was published in 1993, and won the Casey Award that year for Best Baseball Book of 1993; it also won the SABR Macmillan Award for Baseball Research. It contains a lot of info, but is still an excellent and entertaining read and makes a great reference as well. It should still be available. Wait.... a quick Amazon check shows that it is still available, starting used at $4.28 + shipping. Try THIS (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/102-0682988-2832128?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Diamonds++The+Evolution+of+the+Ballpark&Go.x=11&Go.y=7&Go=Go) link, you should find something. If you enjoy reading and researching the old ballparks, you'll enjoy it.

Incidentally, the book indicates that League Park actually burned down in 1901 and the Palace of the Fans was built to replace it. Then, over the winter of 1911-1912, Palace of the Fans was torn down and replaced by Redland Field, which was renamed Crossley Field several years later (p107 with photos, if you get the book).

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is a photo showing the wall and flag pole from forbes field in pittsburgh. this photo was taken in 1992.

[PadreHomer]

Good News!

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/sports/baseball/17350106.htm

[PeteU]

THe spot where Memorial Stadium in Baltimore used to be, now a YMCA and apartment complex.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=33rd+Street+Baltimore&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=43.528905,74.707031&ie=UTF8&ll=39.333152,-76.600327&spn=0.010423,0.018239&t=k&z=16&om=1

[PeteU]

This is the old Exhibition Stadium site in Toronto. I believe a soccer stadium is on the site now. From this picture before the soccer field was built, however, you can actually make out where the old stands used to be. The narrow curved parking strip surrounded by grassy area at the top left of the picture is where the old left field stands used to be. At the bottom center of the picture is where home plate used to be. If you look very carefully, you can see the outline of the old grandstands due to the fact it is a darker asphalt than the surrounding parking lot.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Toronto,+Ontario&ie=UTF8&ll=43.632426,-79.418353&spn=0.002221,0.004828&t=k&z=17&om=0

[tonypug]

Good News!

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/sports/baseball/17350106.htm

Now thats something nice for a change.

[hofflalu]

THe spot where Memorial Stadium in Baltimore used to be, now a YMCA and apartment complex.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=33rd+Street+Baltimore&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=43.528905,74.707031&ie=UTF8&ll=39.333152,-76.600327&spn=0.010423,0.018239&t=k&z=16&om=1

Interesting how it looks like that oval of a road markes the outline of the stadium field.

[PeteU]

Interesting how it looks like that oval of a road markes the outline of the stadium field.

I think the original YMCA plans had a baseball diamond in that oval where the old diamond used to be. I really, really, really hope they follow through with that.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is what the site of sportsman park in st louis looks like today. you can see the boys club on the property and thats it.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is what the polo grounds site looked like back in 1988. i took the photo standing on 8th ave.

COPYRIGHTED PHOTO BY DONALD P DETROIT MI

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is another photo that i took on 8th ave looking at the polo grounds site. you can see the polo grounds towers sign in the photo with paint on it.

COPYRIGHTED PHOTO DONALD P DETROIT MI

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is a photo looking at where homeplate was from 1911 to 1964. you can see the plaque on the wall of the apartment. there is also a man standing next to the plaque in the photo.

COPYRIGHTED PHOTO DONALD P DETROIT MI

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

I took this photo looking to were centerfield use to be located.i will say this that it was a dream come true to stand on the very land that this historic stadium was located. i also listened to the Russ Hodges call of bobby thomsons 1951 playoff home run right at the homeplate location.

COPYRIGHTED PHOTO BY DONALD P DETROIT MI

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

I took this photo outside of yankee stadium looking across the river were the polo grounds was.you can see the apartments that were built in the late 1940s on the right side of the photo. they are the smaller apartments located next to 157th street. the larger apartments is were the polo grounds was.

COPYRIGHTED PHOTO BY DONALD P DETROIT MI

[David Atkatz]

Here is a phot of the entrance to Hilltop Park, taken in 1904. You are looking across Broadway, at the intersection of Broadway and 166th Street.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j245/datkatz/hilltop.jpg

Here is the same spot in 2003. It is part of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, and happens to be the entrance to the maternity section where my son Daniel was born.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j245/datkatz/hilltoday.jpg

[brewers96]

Where the old Milwaukee County Stadium was stands Helfaer Field one of the finest yoush stadiums in the US and the outfield was turned in to parking lot. And this summer they added a monument of where Aaron's #755 landed.

[PeteU]

Here is part of the wall that was left after the demolition of forbes field in 1971.

There is also the home plate marker located in the hallway of one of the school buildings. It's publicly accessible so it's worth a look.

[PeteU]

How about what was there before the stadium was built?



As is widely known, the site where Oriole Park at Camden Yards was built included a saloon owned by Babe Ruth's father, where I believe the Bambino may have briefly worked at himself. Of course, there is also the railyard to which Camden Yards is named, and the old train station now houses the Orioles history museum.

As for OPACY's predecessor, Memorial Stadium, it was built on the same site as Municipal Stadium, also a venue of the horseshoe shaped variety.

http://www.ravensnest1.com/baltimore%20stadium.jpg

As you can see, Municpal Stadium was most definetly a football stadium, and hosted several Army-Navy football games. This didn't stop it from hosting baseball, however. After a fire burnt down the original Oriole Park, the minor league Orioles were moved to Municipal Stadium. The layout of the place was quite awkward, with the diamond being shoehorned into a configuration not that unsimilar to the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Although it looks as though Municipal Stadium was simply the same configuration as Memorial Stadium, in fact it was facing the opposite direction, with the open end of the stadium being the south side, as opposed to Memorial's open end being the north side. That meant the old home plate of Municipal Stadium was actually located in the left field area of Memorial Stadium.

When Baltimore started to make a play towards getting back major league ball in the early 1950s, Municipal Stadium was torn down and Memorial Stadium was erected in the same spot. However, it was originally built as a single deck stadium, and construction on the upper deck did not begin until the St. Louis Browns announced their move to Charm City.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is a photo of forbes field homeplate which is still in the same location that it was when the stadium still stood.it is in the middle of a building now.

[Steven Bryant]

While not a Major League park, it is where Ted Williams made his pro debut with the PCL Padres, Lane Field is a parking lot. There is a plaque however donated by SABR.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/60/Imagew5.jpg
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/collections/sports/images/79-741-119.jpg

[catcher24]

Now that's a park built to fit it's environment. Look at how much shorter it is to right than to left.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

While not a Major League park, it is where Ted Williams made his pro debut with the PCL Padres, Lane Field is a parking lot. There is a plaque however donated by SABR.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/60/Imagew5.jpg
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/collections/sports/images/79-741-119.jpg

When was the stadium torn down?

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

One stadium that i cant wait to add to this thread is Shea Stadium.bring on those demolition photos in 2 years.

[Steven Bryant]

When was the stadium torn down?
After the 1957 season. The Padres then moved to Westgate Park, which is where the Fashion Valley shopping mall is today.