Past Ballparks of New York City
New
York City (Manhattan, Queens & Brooklyn)
September 29, 2007
By
Ken Schlapp
The First Washington Park was built in
1883 for Charlie Byrne’s Brooklyn Club during their season in the
Inter-State Association of Professional Ball Players. This park was
built next to the Old Stone House in South Brooklyn between 3rd
and 5th Streets and 4th & 5th
Avenues. In 1884, the Brooklyn Club joined the Major Leagues in the
American Association. They would continue to play there as part of
the American
Association through the 1889 season and in 1890 as part of the
National League. They even won the pennant in 1889 and in 1890,
meaning that they won the pennant in 2 separate Major Leagues, when
they were known as the Bridegrooms. Unfortunately, during that
period of winning, much of the Park had been burnt down and had to
be partially rebuilt. After the 1890 season, the Bridegrooms moved
to Eastern Park. Baseball of some form had continued to be played
in the Park until 1892, when much of the park was buried (including
the Old Stone House) when the city attempted to even the slope of
the area. Afterwards, there were circuses and more baseball played
on this site, including a 1923 exhibition match between the Dodgers
and a local semipro outfit. The name changed to Edison Field, then
JJ Byrne Park, and in 2008 back to Washington Park. Thankfully, the
Old Stone House was dug up in 1933, rebuilt with the original stones
in 1934, and can be seen by all today. I have even had the pleasure
of playing base ball on this site as a member of the New York Gotham
Base Ball Club. Although it is no longer a Major League Stadium, I
am still pleased to see baseball and softball played on this site.
I am also pleased to see the Old Stone House intact, but wish there
would be more of a mention of the old baseball park.
Are next stop was practically across
the street, so there was no need to get back into my car, we just
got on our feet and walked. When Charlie Byrne passed away in 1898,
Charlie Ebbets took over the team. He felt that attendance at
Eastern Park was not satisfactory and worked on moving the team back
to south Brooklyn. In fact he moved it to a spot bordered by 1st
& 3rd streets, and 3rd & 4th
Avenues, which was right next to the old Washington Park, and aptly
named this new park Washington Park too. Attendance at this new
stadium exceeded that of Eastern Park, and the fans were even
treated to National League pennants in 1899 and 1900. The Dodgers
continued to play at Washington Park until the beginning of the 1913
season, when they moved into Ebbets Field.
 In
December of 1912, the 2nd coming of Washington Park was
dismantled. However, that would not be the last of baseball on this
historic site. The Brooklyn Tip Tops of the Federal League, which
was a new Major League that began play in 1914, needed a place to
play. Therefore, they built a 3rd Washington Park on the
site of the 2nd Washington Park. Unfortunately, the new
Park was not ready for the beginning of the season, forcing the Tip
Tops to play their first 13 games on the road before making their
debut (and Washington Park III’s debut) on May 11, 1914 with a 2-0
loss to Pittsburgh. A unique feature for this new park was that the
scoreboard in center field was actually in play. Unfortunately, the
Federal League only lasted 2 seasons, meaning that this park was
only in use as a Major League stadium for 1914 and 1915. The park
was used in some form for sporting and other events until the end of
1917, then the site was used for materials storage and warehouses
built on part of the playing surface. The Brooklyn Edison electric
company took over in 1925 and finally knocked down the stands in
1926.
The electric company, however, did not
knock down the wall that stood along 3rd avenue, so David
and I were able to walk along the wall and take photos of what was
one of the oldest standing structures from a baseball stadium.
There has been controversy as to whether this wall was part of the
Washington Park the Dodgers had played, which would make this wall
the oldest remaining piece of a baseball stadium. However, based on
research made by my partner in this journey, David
 Dyte,
and others, newspaper evidence and photos support the assumption
that this was a remnant from the Tip Tops 3rd rendition
of Washington Park. Therefore, Fenway Park is the oldest remaining
structure from a baseball stadium, and baseball is still played
there. Unfortunately, after our journey, the electric company (now
Con Ed) knocked down about two thirds of the wall. The third that
is still left is all that remains of the Tip Tops home field. I am
glad I was able to see the wall prior to its near complete
demolition.
As a side note, I have to mention that
despite John Maine’s heroics during our journey, that the Mets did
not win the pennant. Tom Glavine gave a horrendous showing the next
day and was knocked out in the first inning, while the Mets were
sent home for good in 2007 when the Phillies won their game.
Bottom line – This was an amazing
Journey with my friend David Dyte. We have since shared many
baseball ventures together, but I am in his debt for doing all the
research to bring me to all of these amazing baseball sites in
Brooklyn and Queens (Manhattan was my job). I also thank his and
Andrew Ross’ BrooklynBallparks.com website for all of the facts that
I have including in this story. What a great baseball day!
Basic trip facts:
Stadium - N/A (still at 35)
-Old Stadium Sites visited – Polo Grounds I, II, III, & IV, Hilltop
Park, Long Island Grounds, Grauer’s Ridgewood Park, Wallace’s
Ridgewood Grounds, Union Grounds, Capitoline Grounds, Eastern Park,
Ebbets Field, Washington Parks I, II, & III (Total – 38)
-Under construction Stadium Sites visited – None (Total – 2)
-Miles traveled – 85 via Driving (Totals: Driving – 19,581, Subway -
38, Amtrak – 460, Air - 13,136, Total – 33,215)
-States, provinces, Districts and/or commonwealths passed through –
New York (Totals: States – 48, Provinces – 2, Districts – 1,
Commonwealths - 1)
-Attendance – 2
-Lodging – Lou Gehrig’s Block
NYC Ballparks
Part I |
