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Throughout sports
there are certain franchises that have storied histories that will
never be forgotten. Located in Brooklyn, the Dodgers and their
ballpark for over four decades Ebbets Field will never be forgotten
in sports history as it is remembered as one of the most nostalgic
stadiums ever built. The history of baseball in Brooklyn dates back
to the 1850s. In 1884 the Brooklyn baseball club became part of the
newly founded American Association where they played in the original
Washington Park. Over their first 30 years the Dodgers had a variety
of names including be known as the Atlantics, Grays, Bridegrooms,
Grooms, Superbas and Trolley Dodgers. The team joined the National
League in 1890 and played at the first Washington Park and Eastern
Park until 1897. A new Washington Park was built for the team in
South Brooklyn and opened on April 30, 1898. This wooden ballpark
had a seating capacity of 16,000 to 18,000.
harles Ebbets bought
the Dodgers in the early 1900s and wanted to build a
new steel and concrete ballpark because Washington
Park faced the fate of many other ballparks of the
time, fire. Originally there was thought of building
a new ballpark on the site of Washington Park but
this was to determined to be to costly. Ebbets began
searching for land to construct a ballpark, finding
land in the Flatbrush area of Brooklyn along Bedford
Avenue and Cedar Place. Although this area was in
the slums of Brooklyn, over 40 people owned parcels
of land. Ebbets
began purchasing land in 1905, 1,200 parcels in total, before having
enough land to construct a ballpark in 1912.
Construction on the ballpark began March
14, 1912. Ebbets decided to name the ballpark after himself, thus it
was named Ebbets Field. Completed in just over a year, the Brooklyn
Dodgers played their first game at the ballpark on April 9, 1913. Ebbets Field had a capacity of 23,000
consisting of a covered double decked grandstand extending from the
right field foul pole to homeplate and around to the third base
side. A lower level of seating continued down the third base side to
the left field foul pole. The right field wall consisted of a nine
foot wall. Outside, the facade consisted of brick and arches. One of the most
impressive features of the facade was an 80-foot rotunda, made of Italian
marble that greeted fans. Once opening day arose a problem was
discovered, there was no press box. A press box was placed in two rows of seats in the upper deck.
The first addition to Ebbets Field was in
1926 when bleachers were added in the outfield. In 1929, a press
box was finally constructed and hung under the upper deck. The
largest addition to Ebbets Field
came in 1931 when the double
decked grandstand was extended down the third base line, around the
left field foul pole and into centerfield. The upper deck in left
field hung over the playing field. A scoreboard and a 40 ft.
concave, angled in the middle right field wall was built in 1931. After the 1931
expansions Ebbets Field remained
basically the same. Night baseball was first played on June 15,
1938. Fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers continued going to Ebbets Field
to watch their Dodgers play. Hilda Chester became a popular woman
who sat in the bleachers and made lots of noise with her cowbell.
The right and left field walls became plastered with advertisements,
the most famous being the Schaefer beer ad that gave the official
scorer's ruling on hits and errors. Below this ad was an Abe Stark "Hit sign, win suit"
advertisement.
In the late 1940s and
early 1950s Ebbets Field became structurally unsound, the plumbing
was bad, had a small capacity and narrow aisles. It was also
constrained by its location and was in a community in decline. As
fans moved out of Brooklyn they began wanting to drive to the
ballpark. However, there was limited parking at Ebbets Field and it
was far away from major roads. In 1946 Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley
commissioned Captain Emil Praegar to design a new stadium. To be
constructed with private funds, O'Malley did not publicly unveil
this plan until 1952. If constructed it would have had a seating
capacity of 52,000 and been the first stadium with a dome. O'Malley
faced several problems in having a new ballpark built including not
being able to secure land in Brooklyn. He was willing to be a tenant
in a state owned stadium but opposition from the most powerful
person in New York City, Robert Moses was to great.
Disagreement between
Moses and the Dodgers led O’Malley to make threats that the New York Giants and Dodgers
may move to
California. The team moved seven home games in 1956 and 1957 to
Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, NJ as part of its negotiating
tactics against the city. In 1956, the demise of Ebbets Field began
when a real estate developer bought the ballpark. By then it became known that the
Giants and Dodgers were going to move to the west coast. The Dodgers
played their last game at Ebbets Field on September 24, 1957.
Demolition on Ebbets Field began on February 23, 1960. After
demolition, the
scoreboard and lights from Ebbets Field were used at minor
league parks. The flag
pole located in center field was donated to a
company in Flatlands, NY. A church was constructed at this location
in 2007 and the whereabouts of the
flagpoles are unknown. Today the Ebbets Field apartments stand where this once great ballpark was located.
A
plaque commemorates the ballpark's existence at the site. The cornerstone of Ebbets Field can be found at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
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