League Park (Cincinnati)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

League Park

Location	Findlay St. & McLean Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates	39°07′00.94″N, 84°32′12.02″W
Broke ground	1884
Opened	May 1, 1884
Renovated	April 20, 1894
Closed	October 2, 1901
Demolished	1901
Owner
Surface	Grass
Former names
American Park (1884-1890)
Tenants
Cincinnati Reds (AA) (1884-1889) Cincinnati Reds (NL) (1890-1901)
Capacity
3,000
Dimensions
Left Field - 253 ft (77.1 m)

For the defunct baseball venue in Cleveland, see League Park.

League Park was a baseball field that formerly stood in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home of the Cincinnati Reds from 1884 to 1901. Located at McLean Avenue and Findlay Avenue, this was the first incarnation of what is considered three baseball fields to have stood on this site. This field was originally known as American Park in honor of the fact that the Reds were

[edit] History

When the ballpark opened, the Reds were playing in a major league called the American Association. So the new park was named American Park to honor their affiliation with the league. The first game to be played at American Park was on April 9th 1884. It was an exhibition game against the then National League Cleveland Blues. The Reds first official home opening day at American Park was on May 1st 1884 against their American Association rival the Columbus Buckeyes. Cincinnati lost that game 10-9 in heartbreaking fashion. One of the interesting features of the then new American Park was the "terrace". An incline that later served as the warning track in left field, was a natural feature of the site. Before the ballpark was built, the incline was the way pedestrians walked from York Street down into the brickyard.

When the Reds returned to the National League in 1890, the name of the park would be changed to League Park to honor the teams original and now current circuit. In those days, the National League was refereed to as "the League".

In 1894 the ballpark went through some changes. The owner of the Reds John Brush would build a brand new grandstand and add an amphitheater. In order to build a new grandstand he had the field totally shifted. The field originally faced York Street and McLean Street. York Street was behind right field. Now the field would face York Street and Western Avenue. With York Street being behind the far right field. Brush chose not to demolish most of the park. And in doing so he managed to keep most of the old bleachers and the original grandstands from the old ballpark. These remaining bleachers and grandstand wrapped around what was home plate, but would now be right field.

With all of the changes that took place in 1894, one would think that the name of the ballpark would change. That was not the case, John Brush would continue to call the park League Park. Historians sometimes refer to it as League Park II.

In 1900 the ballpark caught on fire, burning the recently built grand stands and part of the pavilion. The Reds considered moving to East End Park (located on the East side) where the Cincinnati Kelly's played in 1891. But decided to shift the baseball diamond Back to the way it was before 1894 and reuse the original grandstands. While at the same time construct temporary grandstands. Interestedly enough, the original grandstands and bleachers were not harmed in the fire.

After a season in a half of playing in the charred ballpark, the Reds rebuilt permant new grand stands. The look of the new grand stands were far better than the previous ones built for League Park II. It's columns and pillars were inspired by classical architecture. And created a very lovely atmosphere. With the complettion of the new grandstand, the field was repositioned back to the way it was from 1894-1900.

The new grandstands were called the Palace of the Fans. And for some strange reason, baseball historians consider 1902 the end of League Park. And the beginning of a new park called Palace of the Fans. But during that time, Cincinnatians still referred to the gorunds as League Park. Similar to the way that some still refer to Cinergy Field as Riverfront Stadium. If anything, Palace of the Fans should have been called League Park III.

[edit] Trivia

Stadiums housing various Cincinnati teams stood at this location from 1884 on through to Crosley Field. The first park (simply called League Park) was hastily built in time for the American Association's 1884 season. Part of the stands collapsed on opening day killing one and leaving others injured. The park was very short to right with balls hit over the right field fence counting only as a double until additional land was purchased a few weeks into the season. This increased the distance to right by 50 feet.

What is usually referred to as Cincinnati's second League Park (or League Park II but also known as Redland Field) was on the same land as the first, but with a bigger grandstand and the orientation altered so the sun would be at the batter's back. The stadium is also believed to be the first with a center field wall painted a dark color to aid batters. It was painted black in 1895. This would later be known as the batter's eye.