Eastern Park was a baseball park in Brooklyn, New York in the 1890s. It was bounded by Eastern Parkway (segment later renamed Pitkin Avenue when Eastern was diverted) to the north (home plate); the Long Island Railroad and Vesta Avenue (later renamed Van Sinderen Street) to the east (left field); Sutter Avenue to the south (center field); and Powell Street to the west (right field). The ballpark held 12,000 people.[1]
It was originally the home of the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders of the Players' League in 1890.[2] Some sources say that it is here that the nickname "Trolley Dodgers", later shortened to "Dodgers", first arose, due to the need for fans to cross various trolley lines to reach the ballpark. After the one-year Players' League experiment, the park became the part-time home of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1891 and then full-time during 1892–1897, between their stints at the two versions of Washington Park.
Eastern Park was considered difficult to reach, and although the team survived there for seven seasons, the venture there was a failure. When Charlie Ebbets acquired the Dodgers, he moved the team back, to the second version of Washington Park, which was both closer to the city center and offered a lower rent.
The park also hosted numerous college and amateur football games during its heyday, notably the Princeton-Yale game of 1890. There was also a track installed, and both bicycling and running races were held from time to time. It was also the home venue of the short lived Brooklyn Bridegrooms Soccer Team in 1894. this was a spin off of the Baseball Franchise that took part in an ill fated attempt by six baseball franchises to fill their stadiums in the off season by running a Soccer League. Brooklyn were top of the league when the season was cancelled uncompleted and was never resumed.