Columbia Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other places known as Columbia Park, see Columbia Park (disambiguation)
Columbia Park was a baseball stadium that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics baseball team from 1901 until their move to Shibe Park in 1909.
Columbia Park was on the block bordered by North 29th Street, Columbia Avenue (now Cecil B. Moore Avenue), North 30th Street, and Oxford Street in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia (ironically, beer sales were prohibited in the park). The cost of construction was $35,000. The stadium was very small, and originally had a seating capacity of only 9,500. This was eventually increased to 13,600 by the addition of bleacher seating in the outfield. During some sold out games, unofficial additional seating could be found on top of the adjoining homes. There was only one dressing room, for the home team; visiting teams had to change at their hotels.
The opening game in Columbia Park was held on April 26, 1901, after the first two games were rained out. The Athletics played the Washington Nationals (Senators) in front of an overflow crowd of 10,524, with some fans standing on the outfield walls and the roofs of nearby houses. The Athletics lost 5-1, despite three hits by second baseman Nap Lajoie.
The Athletics won two American League pennants in Columbia Park, one in 1902 and one in 1905. Because the National League refused to play against the American League in 1902, only the 1905 World Series was held in the Park; the Athletics lost to the New York Giants 4 games to 1.
The stadium also briefly served as the home of the Philadelphia Athletics football club, before the team folded in 1902. The Philadelphia Phillies temporarily called Columbia Park home in 1903, while Baker Bowl was repaired after a balcony collapse.
The final game played at the park took place on October 3, 1908; the visiting Boston Americans defeated the Athletics 5-0 in the second game of a doubleheader. The lack of seating at Columbia Park was the main reason the Athletics left for Shibe Park. After the Athletics left, the park was almost entirely abandoned. Columbia Park was eventually demolished in the 1910s to make way for new homes.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by first ballpark |
Home of the Philadelphia Athletics 1901 – 1908 |
Succeeded by Shibe Park |
|
