The forerunner of the National League, the National
Association (NA) existed as a professional league from 1871-1875.
We do not have enough information to have separate pages for all NA parks
as we do with 20th century American and National
League stadiums. What follows is a team-by-team listing of National
Association parks.
The Marylands of Baltimore
played their single home game during their short existence in the Madison
Avenue Grounds. The park was also used by the Kekiongas Fort Wayne and
the Olympics of Washington for a game on July 8, 1871.
The Baltimore Canaries, often
listed as "Lord Baltimore" in the standings, performed in Newington
Park, which was later home to the 1882 Baltimore Orioles of the American
Association.
The Atlantics of Brooklyn called
the Capitoline Grounds home during the 1872 season, but moved down
Marcy Avenue to the Union Grounds for the 1873 season. The
multipurpose Capitoline Grounds were built in 1862 by Ruben Decker as an
ice skating rink (something it became again each mid-November) but was
used for baseball starting in 1865. The Capitoline Grounds were torn
down after the Atlantics' lease expired following the 1872 season and the
land was sold off to developers.
The Eckfords of Brooklynplayed
at the Union Grounds from their days as an amateur club in 1862
through their last season in the National Association in 1872. The Union
Grounds were the first ever enclosed baseball park, an innovation
attributed to park designer William Cammeyer. The grounds opened May 15,
1862 and had a capacity of 2000. His six and a half foot fence was at
least 500 feet from the batter in left, center, and right and there was a
small building in-play at approximately 350 feet in right field.
The White Stockings of Chicagoused the Union Base Ball Grounds on the site of a former dump
until the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burned down the stands. The foul
lines for the park were an estimated 375 feet with 6 foot fences. The team
ceased to exist while the city recovered and the new White Stockings moved
into the 23rd Street Grounds (also known as State Street Grounds),
which had been built in 1872, for the 1874 season.
The Forest Citys of Cleveland played in
front of as many as 3,000 at the old National Association Grounds,
which had previously been known as the Case Commons. They also played one
"home" game against Philadelphia at Cincinnati's Lincoln Park
Grounds in 1871. (The game between the same two teams at the same park
the next day was considered a home game for the Athletics.)
The Resolutes of Elizabethmay have
been resolute in the desire to be thought of as having come from
Elizabeth, New Jersey, but their home games were played at the Waverly
Fairgrounds (also known as Domestic Field, Waverly Park, Weequahic
Park) in Waverly, New Jersey. (Waverly is part of Elizabeth today and the
former ballpark grounds are park of the B'Nai Jeshuron Cemetary and
Weequahic City Park.)
The Kekiongas of Ft. Wayneplayed
their home games, including the first ever major league game on May 4,
1871 against Cleveland, at the Kekionga Base Ball Grounds. (Not
Hamilton Field, as previously reported here and elsewhere but corrected by
Phil Lowry.) The park's grandstand was ornate and known as the "Grand
Duchess," which soon became the nickname for the park. The team
disbanded after the season and the park burned down on November 5th of
1871 - apparently without ever having been photographed as no known photos
exist today. It was replaced by Swinney
Park.
The Dark Blues of Hartfordplayed
at the Hartford Ball Club Grounds. The ground is remembered today
for three large apple trees in the outfield and is now the location of the
Church of the Good Shepherd. A number off ball fields are nearby as a
trip with Google Earth will show. (Note: You must have Google Earth
installed for this link to work.)
The Westerns of Keokuk, Iowa, played their
eight home games at Perry Park (also known as Walte's Pasture). The
park was expanded ahead of their entry into the NA to a capacity of 1000.
The outfield had two lakes with which fielders had to contend. Present-day
fielders would have to contend
with the community swimming pool. (Note: You must have Google Earth
installed for this link to work.)
The Mansfields of Middleton played all
11 of their home games in the Mansfield Club Grounds, which was
located near the Connecticut River. A hospital is
now on the site. (Note: You must have Google Earth installed for this
link to work.)
New Haven's NA
club, known as the Elm Citys, performed in the Howard Avenue
Grounds though they played their April 21st, 1875 home game at
Hamilton Park (Brewster Race Track). The former location of the park is
just northeast of the Yale University campus just across the West River.
The Mutuals of New Yorkshared
the Union Grounds (see above) with the Eckfords of Brooklyn
from 1871 to 1872. They then shared the park with the Brooklyn Atlantics
from 1873-1875.
A
colorized version of an 1879 stereogram
showing the Fair-Grounds in Rockford,
Illinois. Visible are the pitcher's area and
where home plate was. If
you have Google Earth installed,
click here
to be "flown" to the site. The
field is no longer visible, but you can see
the old park and the race-track that served
(unintentionally) as the first warning track
in Major League history. (If you do not have
it installed, get
it from Google. It allows you to view
virtually anywhere on Earth in 3D using
satellite imagery.)
The Centennials of Philadelphiaplayed in the aptly named Centennial Park (also known as
Columbia Park) during their short and unpleasant stay in the NA. The park
was located at 24th and Columbia avenues and was formerly known as the
Horse Market. The park was remodeled for the Centennials with a large
pavilion, a substantial fence, and "special accommodations for
ladies."
The White Stockings of
Philadelphia (also known as the Quakers) shared the Jefferson
Street Grounds(see above) with the Athletic. They played
neutral cite games in the Star Baseball Park in Covington, Kentucky and at
the Ludlow Baseball Park in Ludlow, Kentucky.
The Forest Citys of Rockford (not to be
confused with the Forest Citys of Cleveland) lived up to their nickname by
playing in a park with trees behind the catcher and along the foul lines.
The park was known as the Agricultural Society Fair Grounds (now
simply known as Fairgrounds Park) and featured an uneven surface that
forced runners coming home from third to run noticeably downhill (an 1871 Chicago
Tribune article referred to them as the "up and down fair
ground"). It also had a quarter-mile horse/bike track around the park
that served as a proto-warning track. We have used Google Earth (see box
on right) to locate the site of this park. If our educated guess about
where home plate was is correct, it was approximately 245 feet down the
left field line to the racing track (and 357 feet to the creek), 260 feet
to the racing track in center (387 feet to the creek), and 237 feet down
the line in right field (no creek beyond right field, but a present-day
foul ball hit 452 feet would land in the swimming pool!), with tree
branches nearly in fair territory along this line. Philip Lowry (see
bibliography/sources below) has called it "the most interesting and
the strangest ballpark in Major League history." We'd like to
encourage the citizens of Rockford to place a plaque there, if they
haven't already.
The Brown Stockings of St. Louisplayed in Grand Avenue Park (also known as the first
Sportsman's Park). The site had been used for baseball since the early
1860s and was later the location of Sportsman's
Park.
The Red Stockings of St. Louis
played their 14 home games at the Red Stocking Base-Ball Park,
which had been built in 1874. The park was later renamed Compton Park
before finally being demolished in 1898. (Note: You must have Google Earth
installed for this
link to work.)
The Haymakers of Troy called the Haymaker's
Grounds home for the 1871 and '72 seasons. Colorado Rockies fans
will be relieved to know that the highest scoring game in Major League
Baseball was played here on June 28, 1871 as the Athletic of Philadelphia
trounced the Haymaker 49-33! (Note: You must have Google Earth installed
for this link to
work.)
The Nationals of Washingtonplayed at the National Grounds, which were located at 16th
Street and R Street. The 1875 team played at the Olympic Grounds.
The Olympics of Washingtonplayed
- you guessed it - at the Olympic Grounds, where the capacity was a
reported 500. The park was built by Michael Scanlon.
David Nemec, the tireless 19th Century Baseball
researcher, has also written a novel called Early
Dreams, which takes place during this era and features real-life characters
such as Cap Anson, George Wright, and Henry Lucas.
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