It Is Suggested That Fans Clip The Series For Future Reference
October 20, 2013 8:37 AM   Subscribe

 
Here's a neat bit of ballpark trivia...
The two oldest MLB stadiums today are Fenway and Wrigley, built in 1912 and 1914 respectively. The third oldest stadium is...Dodger Stadium, built in 1962.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:45 AM on October 20, 2013 [2 favorites]


Shibe Park.

sorry not sorry
posted by maryr at 9:04 AM on October 20, 2013 [4 favorites]


i drove by tigers/briggs stadium ealier this year - it looked just like this - the diamond and the field is still maintained but everything else is gone

i went there as a kid in 1968 to watch them play the orioles - it was really spooky seeing what had become of the place
posted by pyramid termite at 9:16 AM on October 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


Good stuff. Very entertaining.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:58 AM on October 20, 2013


Yeah, these are charming, thank you for posting them.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:03 AM on October 20, 2013


Shame the Fenway one is so hard to read. I guess even by the '40s it was crammed full of memories.

i went there as a kid in 1968 to watch them play the orioles - it was really spooky seeing what had become of the place

I saw a similar picture of what remains of Tiger Stadium recently and I gasped out loud. I can't believe it's just a vacant lot. I think Fenway Park is the only building I would literally lie down in front of the bulldozers for, and I suspect I'd have to wait in line or the privilege to do so.

Thanks for the post, chavenet.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:44 AM on October 20, 2013 [2 favorites]


I was one of those who was horrified that Tiger Stadium was abandoned and then destroyed. My dad and I went to the first home game of the ALDS this year at Comerica Park and I came away impressed. It is a much better facility than Tiger Stadium.

There is a group that maintains the old field in Detroit. They are called the Navin Field Grounds Crew.
posted by zzazazz at 12:08 PM on October 20, 2013


The City of Cleveland recently began renovating League Park, which is not only notable for being home of the Indians, but also the Negro League champion Cleveland Buckeyes. It's nice to see cities attempt to preserve these stadiums, considering what happened to Shibe Park (which is now a megachurch) and Forbes Field (of which only one wall remains, having been incorporated into the University of Pittsburgh campus).
posted by enjoymoreradio at 12:52 PM on October 20, 2013


It's strange to think that the upcoming World Series games will be played in Boston in the same stadium where the Cardinals beat the Red Sox in 1946 (the first World Series game in Fenway was in 1912) while in Saint Louis, it won't even be the same stadium where they played in 2004 (but the Cards already have two WS wins in Busch III).
posted by maryr at 1:38 PM on October 20, 2013 [3 favorites]


These are wonderful, thank you.

In 1991 I went to the very last Orioles game at Memorial Stadium, built in 1950. Cal Ripken was the last to bat, and there was open, unabashed weeping throughout the stands by the end of the night.

It was an amazing experience, and I've admittedly been pretty jaded about any of the new "fancy" ballparks I've been to since.

P.S. GO SOX!
posted by argonauta at 2:18 PM on October 20, 2013 [2 favorites]


Man, the Polo Grounds... what a crazy place to play ball.
posted by rodii at 4:22 PM on October 20, 2013 [3 favorites]


Flagged for FUCKING AWESOME
posted by Spatch at 5:48 PM on October 20, 2013


Man, the Polo Grounds... what a crazy place to play ball.

No kidding. Do any of the modern baseball sim video games allow you to play in the Polo Grounds? The Red Sox played an exhibition game against the Dodgers a few years back in the LA Coliseum, and the left (?) field wall was something like 250 feet, so they had to rig up a massive net "wall" to keep routine fly balls in the park. Pesky's Pole is around 300 feet, but the wall is basically running parallel to the foul line for a while, so there is not a lot of real estate to hit a homer there.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:55 PM on October 20, 2013


Personally, I'm not a Pirates fan (and I've never been to Pittsburgh), but my vote for the best current park goes to PNC Park. Its view is so dramatic!
posted by sonic meat machine at 5:18 AM on October 21, 2013 [1 favorite]


I saw my first major league game at Griffith Stadium; interesting that in the drawing he just says "the Big Train"—everybody would have known that was Walter Johnson.

When I lived in Upper Manhattan I used to walk to the sites of the Polo Grounds and Hilltop Park (where the Yankees played 1903-1912, when they were still the Highlanders and before they became the minions of Mordor). And one time when I visited Boston I located and gazed thoughtfully at the remaining wall of Braves Field (no apostrophe! I know the drawing has one, but that's because he's thinking of "the field of the Braves"). And I watched the Sox play in Old Comiskey, with its amazing urinals. I love old parks.
posted by languagehat at 8:15 AM on October 21, 2013 [1 favorite]


languagehat: but that's because he's thinking of "the field of the Braves"

♫♪ ...and the laaaaaand of thaaaaaaa freeeeeeeeeee! Play ball! ♪♫

posted by Rock Steady at 8:18 AM on October 21, 2013


Related: Old aerial shots of baseball stadiums.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:01 AM on October 23, 2013 [2 favorites]


Good thing I did! Screencapped them after poring through the Sporting News archives when they were free on line, great stuff. Thanks for sharing the links.
posted by alpineinc at 7:40 AM on October 31, 2013


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