my ballpark photos [Archive]

bnbusser

09-29-2007, 04:56 PM

I posted on here about 2 months ago with my website of photography of various ballparks. I have updated it to include 12 parks now. From the way Tiger stadium looks now, to old comiskey, to rickwood field. I keep adding parks all the time. I am about to add Shea, Citizens bank and Yankee stadium this weekend. All photos are by me except where noted.

www.ballparks.phanfare.com

click on the photo, a new page comes up, then click on slideshow and specially selected music plays.... ie money by pink floyd for comiskey park II.

please let me know what you think. email me at bnbusser@aol.com

bnbusser

09-29-2007, 07:41 PM

a pic of citizens bank from july of 07

curb my enthusiasm

09-30-2007, 09:39 AM

Great website! I'm especially looking forward to your pictures of Yankee Stadium.

bnbusser

09-30-2007, 11:53 AM

Stray Cat

09-30-2007, 12:49 PM

Love the music choices. Cool. :bowdown:
Any Forbes Field pictures?

bnbusser

09-30-2007, 01:04 PM

the only photos I have of whats left of Forbes is from about 15 years ago. I can get access to the old forbes field photos, which I will do, much like I did for Connie Mack stadium.

curb my enthusiasm

09-30-2007, 07:30 PM

Thanks! The biggest hits on the ballparks are for old Comiskey park. I will be posting yankee stadium soon. I just took the tour of it a few weeks ago, and it is not in good shape. Since they are getting a new park, they are just letting it go.

The concourses are absolutely disgusting, wouldn't you agree? I was there August 2nd.

What else about the current stadium did you find was not kept up? I noticed that a lot of the seats needed a paint job, but obviously they don't care.

The thing that I hate the most about the current stadium is that when you sit in the upper deck down the baselines, you cannot see a large portion of the outfield. But it is a great view behind home plate.

bnbusser

09-30-2007, 09:10 PM

When I took the Yankee stadium tour earlier this month, we went to the pressbox, the clubhouse and field. The pressbox was old and in bad need of a face lift. Same with the clubhouse. It just seemed like yankee stadium needed a good cleaning. I was looking at the infrastructure on the tour, and I am sure there are parts of YS that are in worse shape with rust and decay.

curb my enthusiasm

09-30-2007, 09:25 PM

What I found very interesting about your photos is New Comiskey Park. When it first opened in 1993, it was just so drab, plain, and sterile. The upper deck was way too steep and far away from the field. However, nowadays I feel that it is one of the nicest parks in the Major Leagues to watch a game. They realized that they didn't get it right the first time and have done a wonderful job renovating that stadium.

I was wondering, are you going to post photos of minor league parks? There's some really nice ones that have opened in recent years, both in AA and AAA.

bnbusser

09-30-2007, 09:36 PM

I agree with you on the cell or comiskey.... I was there the first year it was opened... I hated it. Its better now, but is still way behind Camden yards, citizens bank, pnc etc.

I put up 2 minor league parks so far on the site. Silver stadium in Rochester and Rickwood field in Birmingham. I have a ton of photos of Rickwood. I will be adding more minor league parks, such as MacArthur in Syracuse, Engel in Chattanooga and a few others. I think I may put up Boston garden next.

curb my enthusiasm

10-01-2007, 08:33 AM

It would definitely be nice to see some football stadiums, as well as hockey and basketball arenas. Even some college stadiums would be great.

bnbusser

10-01-2007, 11:35 AM

yeah I am gonna be posting those too (football, hockey etc) I have over 600 arenas, parks and stadiums in my photo collection... thank GOD for digital now

tdinan

10-01-2007, 01:31 PM

Amazing pics. The shots of a deserted Tiger Stadium are haunting.

bnbusser

10-01-2007, 05:31 PM

I am trying to get back in to do a virtual tour of Tiger stadium b4 they decide what to do with it.

tdinan

10-01-2007, 05:54 PM

It's too bad someone could not have done the same thing you did at some of the jewel boxes of yesteryear...Ebbets Field, Polo Grounds, Crosley Field, Forbes Field, and Sportsman's Park. I feel like I know what it would have been like to see a game at Memorial Stadium and Tiger Stadium. Loved Old Comiskey too.

bnbusser

10-01-2007, 07:10 PM

Thanks alot. That makes my site worth it. I am lucky because I have been to so many parks, and alot of people cant get to them. I know what you mean about the old parks. It seems that all the old photos are the same from the polo grounds, shibe etc... I ve been in the hall of fame's photo archives, and there aren't many photos of old parks that haven't been seen. I ve only seen one pic of the rotunda in Brooklyn and one pic of the press lounge at Ebbets field.

Gary Dunaier

10-01-2007, 10:33 PM

It seems that all the old photos are the same from the polo grounds, shibe etc... I ve been in the hall of fame's photo archives, and there aren't many photos of old parks that haven't been seen.
Unfortunately, it appears that the fans of the day weren't as interested in ballparks as we are today.

One can only imagine...

bnbusser

10-01-2007, 10:45 PM

We let all these classic parks deteriorate (see Connie Mack, Ebbets, etc.) and tore them down in the 60's and 70's, then were forced to see games in ash trays. I doubt many tears were shed when they blew up the vet, riverfront, 3 rivers etc etc. But to me, the WORST park I have ever seen, and photographed, had to be the Olympic stadium in Montreal. Just god awful. They should have blown that place up and went back to using old Jarry park. The Kingdome in Seattle wasn't far behind. Reminded me of a morgue. It was dark, dingy and dirty.

Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock

10-01-2007, 10:52 PM

Great site...one of my new favorites.

It's hard to believe that there aren't more old pictures of some of the classic ballparks somewhere. Surely there was at least someone who took some photos of the old parks and put them away.

Anyone care to guess what attic they might be in?

dgk

10-02-2007, 06:02 AM

I am trying to get back in to do a virtual tour of Tiger stadium b4 they decide what to do with it.

they have decided what to do with it and are already removing seats.

PeteU

10-02-2007, 07:21 AM

What a great site! Keep it up!

I loved, loved, loved the pictures of Memorial Stadium. It looks like you were there in 1991, the final Orioles season there.

You did a great write-up of the place.

bnbusser

10-02-2007, 01:30 PM

What a great site! Keep it up!

I loved, loved, loved the pictures of Memorial Stadium. It looks like you were there in 1991, the final Orioles season there.

You did a great write-up of the place.

Thanks! I was at Memorial with 8 games to go. I ve visited the site everytime I ve been back to Baltimore. Too bad they had to tear it down, but according to someone close to the situation there, Memorial stadium was literally crumbling. The infrastructure of the park was rusting away. They had to condem it.

PeteU

10-02-2007, 01:57 PM

Thanks! I was at Memorial with 8 games to go. I ve visited the site everytime I ve been back to Baltimore. Too bad they had to tear it down, but according to someone close to the situation there, Memorial stadium was literally crumbling. The infrastructure of the park was rusting away. They had to condem it.

The old lady was close to 50 years old when they tore her down, so it's not too surprising. But many Orioles fan miss the place dearly.

I liked how you included pictures when it was the home of the Stallions. Watching the CFL was an interesting experience, and helped fill the void of pro football in Baltimore before the NFL returned in 1996.

It's heartbreaking seeing the spot empty now. I haven't been back to see it since they tore it down, but from the aerial photos it looks as though there has been some effort to preserve the footprint of the field in the YMCA site.

bnbusser

10-02-2007, 02:09 PM

The old lady was close to 50 years old when they tore her down, so it's not too surprising. But many Orioles fan miss the place dearly.

I liked how you included pictures when it was the home of the Stallions. Watching the CFL was an interesting experience, and helped fill the void of pro football in Baltimore before the NFL returned in 1996.

It's heartbreaking seeing the spot empty now. I haven't been back to see it since they tore it down, but from the aerial photos it looks as though there has been some effort to preserve the footprint of the field in the YMCA site.

I actually got in to Memorial that day with the help of their coach Don Matthews. He let me in and took me on a tour of the old girl. He took me down to the locker rooms and let me roam around. That was alot of fun. I am glad I got to see at least one game at Memorial before they took it down. By the way, do you remember the name of the abandoned high school right across the street from Memorial?

PeteU

10-02-2007, 03:11 PM

I actually got in to Memorial that day with the help of their coach Don Matthews. He let me in and took me on a tour of the old girl. He took me down to the locker rooms and let me roam around. That was alot of fun. I am glad I got to see at least one game at Memorial before they took it down. By the way, do you remember the name of the abandoned high school right across the street from Memorial?

I was wondering how you were able to get such good access.

The high school was named Eastern High School. I seem to remember on the hill leading up to Eastern High, there was a circular Orioles logo implanted in the hillside.

bnbusser

10-02-2007, 03:52 PM

I was wondering how you were able to get such good access.

The high school was named Eastern High School. I seem to remember on the hill leading up to Eastern High, there was a circular Orioles logo implanted in the hillside.

I ve shot for different magazines and they helped me get passes. When I upload the ballpark in arlington, you will see clubhouse shots and field views. I also have done work for the hall of fame (tiger stadium now pics) and they have helped out too. I ll have photos uploaded of RFK stadium before the Nats showed up in 05.

PeteU

10-03-2007, 11:38 AM

I ll have photos uploaded of RFK stadium before the Nats showed up in 05.

Very cool. Looks as though I've got another ballpark website to bookmark and check up on now.

What I'm curious to see is any pictures of RFK when they had it in a temporary configuration for baseball exhibition games in the 1980s. It was actually the football configuration (it was too much of a bother swinging around the decks to put the place into its traditional Senators/Nationals baseball configuration) and left field was only 260 feet away. Hall of Famer Luke Appling, playing in an old timer's exhibition game, managed to knock one over the fence despite being 75 years old.

If anyone has any pictures of that, I'd love to see it.

Gary Dunaier

10-03-2007, 12:00 PM

What I'm curious to see is any pictures of RFK when they had it in a temporary configuration for baseball exhibition games in the 1980s.
The Mets and Phillies played an exhibition game at RFK prior to the start of the 1987 season.

bnbusser

10-03-2007, 03:59 PM

The Mets and Phillies played an exhibition game at RFK prior to the start of the 1987 season.

I don't think the dimensions were too much different at RFK when the old Senators played there.

curb my enthusiasm

10-03-2007, 09:26 PM

I ve shot for different magazines and they helped me get passes. When I upload the ballpark in arlington, you will see clubhouse shots and field views. I also have done work for the hall of fame (tiger stadium now pics) and they have helped out too. I ll have photos uploaded of RFK stadium before the Nats showed up in 05.

Do you happen to have any photos of the Texas Rangers' old ballpark? I believe it was called Arlington Stadium. I've never seen any good photos of that place. I watched several games in that place on TV when I was a kid, but they never really showed the ballpark all that well. Maybe there wasn't much to see. I heard that it was originally a small minor league stadium that they expanded for the Major Leagues.

nymdan

10-03-2007, 10:11 PM

bnbusser

10-03-2007, 11:23 PM

PeteU

10-04-2007, 04:49 AM

I don't think the dimensions were too much different at RFK when the old Senators played there.

You're right, the dimensions were pretty much the same between the Senators and Nationals.

However, in the 33 year lapse of professional baseball at RFK, the moveable stands which typically allowed the stadium to transform from a football stadium to a baseball stadium got stuck in place. So when they had some exhibition games during the 1980s, instead of bothering trying to get the stands moving again (which I heard was costlier than one might think), they just played the games in the very odd football configuration. I believe they put up a 20 foot fence in left field to try to offset the 260 foot foul line. (The same set up was done in Dolphins Stadium--then Joe Robbie Stadium--in 1988 for some exhibition games before the left field stands were made retractable.)

I believe they finally got the stands unstuck for a 1991 exhibition series when Washington was trying to get an expansion team, and again in a 1998 exhibition series. But I think the stands got stuck again prior to the Nationals arriving, and getting the place back to a baseball setup was easier said than done.

PeteU

10-04-2007, 04:56 AM

Do you happen to have any photos of the Texas Rangers' old ballpark? I believe it was called Arlington Stadium. I've never seen any good photos of that place. I watched several games in that place on TV when I was a kid, but they never really showed the ballpark all that well. Maybe there wasn't much to see. I heard that it was originally a small minor league stadium that they expanded for the Major Leagues.

http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/arling03.jpg

(Courtesy of ballparks.com)

As you can see, you weren't missing a whole lot. Probably the most distinctive thing about the place was the scoreboard--first the giant Texas emblem on it, and then a large wrap around scoreboard all across the outfield with various advertisements in between.

Other than that, it wasn't that different from the "cookie cutters" in St. Louis, Washington, Atlanta, Cincinatti, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, except that the upper deck didn't wrap around the entire field.

curb my enthusiasm

10-04-2007, 06:03 AM

You're right. It looks pretty boring. It does look like one of those cookie-cutters, but with the upper deck missing. And despite having no upper deck, there was absolutely no view.

Gary Dunaier

10-04-2007, 08:12 AM

Here are some pictures I found on the internet...

http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/arling01.jpg

http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/arling02.jpg

http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/arling03.jpg

http://www.barryhowe.com/images/pastbb_images/arlington2.jpg

http://www.barryhowe.com/images/pastbb_images/arlington8.jpg

bnbusser

10-04-2007, 08:12 AM

You're right. It looks pretty boring. It does look like one of those cookie-cutters, but with the upper deck missing. And despite having no upper deck, there was absolutely no view.

I saw a few games at the old park in Arlington. The thing that sticks out most is how god awful HOT it was. True story.... I went to a night game one time, and the thermometer at gametime (7 pm) said 94 degrees... at 9 pm the temp went UP to 97 degrees. The wind would blow and it was like you stuck your face in front of a furnace..

grape ape

10-13-2007, 07:55 PM

Brilliant pictures of the old stadiums! I'm envious of your getting access like that. I've been lucky in that I've been able to finagle my way into most clubhouses but it's really tough to get pictures of home team's. Cincinnati is the worst. They won't even allow access to the visitors under any circumstances. Frustrating, because all I want are pictures. Usually minor leagues are very accessible. I just had a personalized tour of Cheney stadium in Tacoma. Fantastic, if you haven't been. I also recommend the San Antonio's stadium. The front office staff couldn't have been nicer. I'll be checking your site often. Do you have any pictures of the clubhouse at Riverfront? They are hard to find. I used to work at the stadium and could go anywhere but the Reds.