Basic Information*
Location: 55 Sullivan Place, Brooklyn, New York City, NY 11224
Baseball Tennent: Brooklyn Dodgers
Broke Ground: March 4, 1912
First Game: April 9, 1913
First Night Game:June 15, 1932
Last Game:September 24, 1957
Demolished: February 23, 1960
Cost: $750,000 (19 million dollars today)
Architect: Clarence Randall van Buskirk
Construction: Castle Brothers, Inc.
Field Surface: Natural Grass
Dimensions*
Centerfield: Original (1913)-450 Feet Final (1955)-393 Feet
Left-Center: 351 Feet
Left Field: Original (1913)-419 Feet Final (1957)-348 Feet
Right-Center: 352 Feet
Right Field: Original (1913)-301 Feet Final (1938)-297 Feet
Capacity**
1913: 18,000
1914-1923: 30,000
1924-1925: 26,000
1926-1931: 28,000
1932-1936: 32,000
1937-1945: 35,000
1946-1949: 34,219
1949-1954: 32,111
1955-1957: 31,902
Highest Attendance: 41,209 (May 30, 1934)
History****
Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Dodgers), was not the original home of the famed ball club. The Dodgers organization began in 1883 as part of the American Association and the was known then as the Brooklyn Grays. The first ballpark the team played in was Washington Park. When the team became part of the National League in 1890, they continued to play in Washington Park and then later in Eastern park. In 1898 they began playing in a new park, which was named Washington Park after their original ballpark. Their first game in the new Washington Park took place on April 30, 1898. The new ballpark was like others at the time in that it was a wooden ballpark. The new park could seat up to 18,000 fans.
Around 1890, Charles Ebbets began investing in the team. By 1898, he owned 80 percent of the club and became the club president***. Ebbets desired an improved ballpark for his team. He knew that a wooden ballpark was not conducive to the game of baseball. He began looking for a new location to build a superior ballpark for his team. He began buying land in the Brooklyn neighborhood of pigtown, and by 1912 had sufficient land on which to build his new park. The project was soon underway with construction officially beginning on March 14, 1912. The ball was quickly finished and was opened in time for the team’s first game of the 1913 season on April 9th where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies. Ebbets Field, named after Charles Ebbets himself, was much different than its predecessor in that it was a steel and concrete park that was much less susceptible to fire. It was discovered early on that there were no press boxes built into the stadium. Press boxes were eventually added in the upper deck of the ballpark.
The team went through many changes between its inception and the move to Ebbets Field. Over the decades the team had many names including, the Atlantics, the Bridegrooms, the Superbas, and the Robins, before settling on the Dodgers in 1932. An addition was added to Ebbets Field in 1926. During the renovation, bleachers were built in the outfield and in 1929 a permanent press box was built. More changes occurred in 1931 when the grandstand was extended and a scoreboard was erected on the right-field wall. On June 15, 1938, Ebbets field saw its first night game, a game where the Dodgers were no-hit by Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds.
By the 1940s the park began deteriorating, and by the 1950s the situation became even worse. The park was no longer the glorious structure it once was. The location of the park in Brooklyn was also becoming less popular, with many fans moving away from the area. Parking became a struggle for fans out of the area. In 1940 the Dodgers were purchased by Walter O’Malley, who desperately wanted to build a new stadium. He developed a plan which he announced in 1952. He wanted to build a bigger stadium and a domed stadium. However, finding sufficient land in Brooklyn was virtually impossible. O’Malley had many disagreements with the state over the proposed new stadium. O’Malley threatened to move the team to California if he was not allowed to build his new stadium. He made good on his threat, and the team played their last game at Ebbets Field on September 25, 1957, where they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodger became the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1958 where they played at the Los Angeles Coliseum until Dodgers Stadium opened in 1962. Ebbets Field was demolished in 1960 and was eventually replaced by an apartment building. A plaque was created to celebrate Ebbets Field.
While the Dodgers time at Ebbets Field’s was relatively short-lived, there were many important moments during its existence. The Dodgers won the National League Pennant at Ebbets field in 1916, 1920, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956. They won the World Series in 1955. Ebbets Field also saw Jackie Robinson break the color barrier when he began playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. In addition to the many talented players that took the field, many unique fans took to the stands. Hilda Chester was one of the most popular fans at the stadium. She was known for the loud noises she made with a cowbell. The stadium was also home to Gladys Gooding an organist who provided musical accompaniments to games. One of the most recognizable advertisements in the ballpark was the Schaefer Beer ad in right field. While, sadly, the ballpark no longer exists, it is clear that it is was as still is one of baseball’s most prominent stadiums.
References
*Baseball Almanac (2019). Ebbets field. Retrieved from https://www.baseball-almanac.com/stadium/stadiume.shtml
** Lowry, Phil (2006). Green cathedrals: The ultimate celebration of all 273 major league and negro league ballparks past and present.New York City: Addison Wesley Publishing Company.
*** New York Times, January 13, 1898, p. 4.
****Ballparks of Baseball. (2019). Ebbets Field. Retrieved from https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/ebbets-field/
The Baseball Phanatic 