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Ebbets Field
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==History== ===Construction=== [[File:Ray Caldwell pitching in the first game at Ebbets Field, April 5, 1913 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Ray Caldwell pitching in the first exhibition game at Ebbets Field, April 5, 1913. The dirt walkway visible between the mound and the plate disappeared after the 1910s.<ref name="Lowry"/>]] After locating the prospective new site to build a permanent stadium to replace the old wooden [[Washington Park (baseball)|Washington Park]], Dodgers' owner [[Charles Ebbets]] acquired the property over several years, starting in 1908, by buying lots until he owned the entire block. Ebbets Field was bounded by [[Bedford Avenue (Brooklyn)|Bedford Avenue]] to the east, Sullivan Place to the South, Cedar Street (renamed McKeever Place in 1932<ref>{{cite news|last1=Roberts|first1=Sam|title=Honorific Streets, Now Cataloged|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/nyregion/honorific-streets-now-cataloged.html|access-date=26 September 2016|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 26, 2014|page=A23}}</ref>) to the west, and Montgomery Street to the north. The land included the site of a garbage dump called [[Pigtown, Brooklyn|Pigtown]], so named because of the pigs that once ate their fill there and the stench that filled the air. At the groundbreaking, the site was described as containing several old houses, shanties, goats, and tomato cans, and although the streets bordering the field were mapped, two of them had not been built yet. Construction began on March 4, 1912.<ref name="NYTdirt">{{cite news|title=Dirt Flies in New Brooklyn Ball Park β President Ebbets Turns the First Spadeful and Borough President Speers Makes Speech|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/03/05/100523394.html?pageNumber=8|access-date=25 September 2016|newspaper=New York Times|date=March 5, 1912|page=4}}</ref> The cornerstone, a piece of Connecticut granite that held newspapers, pictures of baseball players, cards, telegrams, and almanacs, was laid on July 6, 1912. At the laying ceremony, Ebbets said that the ballpark was going to be ready for play on September 1, and that Brooklyn was going to win the National League pennant in 1913.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cornerstone Laid at Ebbets Field β New Baseball Park for the Brooklyns, in Flatbush, to be Ready on Sept. 1|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/07/07/100373345.html?pageNumber=27|access-date=26 September 2016|newspaper=New York Times|date=July 6, 1912|page=S1}}</ref> Neither of Ebbets' predictions was correct: on August 29, 1912, as the deadline drew near and it was obvious that due to an ironworker's strike the ballpark was not even close to being finished, it was announced that Ebbets had sold a 50% interest in the team to brothers [[Stephen McKeever|Stephen W.]] and [[Ed McKeever (baseball owner)|Edward J. McKeever]], who had built their fortune in contracting and were able to speed along the construction.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ebbets Takes In Partners β McKeever Brothers Buy Shares in Brooklyn Baseball Club|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/08/30/104906480.html?pageNumber=7|access-date=26 September 2016|newspaper=New York Times|date=August 30, 1912|page=7}}</ref> Though the sale led to management troubles years later, by early 1913 Ebbets Field was ready, and would become the home of some of baseball's greatest dramas.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ward|first1=Geoffrey C.|last2=Burns|first2=Ken|title=Baseball: An Illustrated History|year=1996|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=0-679-76541-7}}</ref> Newspaper coverage in the spring of 1913 was filled with glowing praise about the new park, calling it "A Monument to the National Game" and predicting it could last 200 years:<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/543869492/|title=Field Rivals Ancient Arenas in Grandeur|work=Brooklyn Standard Union|date=April 9, 1913|page=11|access-date=July 4, 2019|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> in the end it only lasted 47 years, failing to survive the exit of the Dodgers for Los Angeles in 1957. ===Opening=== [[File:Miss Genevieve Ebbets, youngest daughter of Charley Ebbets, throws first ball at opening of Ebbets Field (baseball) LCCN2014692697.jpg|thumb|Charles Ebbets' daughter throws out the first pitch, at an exhibition game on April 5, 1913.]]The first game played was an inter-league exhibition game against the [[New York Yankees]] on April 5, 1913, played before an overcapacity of 30,000 fans, with 5,000 more who had arrived but were not able to get in.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ebbets Field Opening Victory for Superbas β 30,000 Fans Jam Into New Home of Brooklyn Club β Yankees Lose, 3 to 2|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/04/06/100261135.html?pageNumber=58|access-date=26 September 2016|newspaper=New York Times|date=April 6, 1913|page=S1}}</ref> After a loss against the Yankees in another exhibition game on April 7 in front of about 1,000 fans on a very cold day,<ref>{{cite news|title=Yankees Win Costly Game in Brooklyn β Manager Chance, Warhop, and Derrick Injured Playing in Cold Atmosphere|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/04/08/100393298.html?pageNumber=11|access-date=26 September 2016|newspaper=New York Times|date=April 8, 1913|page=11}}</ref> the first regular season game was played on April 9 against the [[Philadelphia Phillies]], with Brooklyn losing, 1β0.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brooklyn Starts Season a Loser|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E0CE0DC1F3AE633A25753C1A9629C946296D6CF|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 10, 1913|page=9|access-date=2010-01-16}}</ref> When the park was opened it was discovered that an American flag, keys to the bleachers, and a press box had all been forgotten. The press box level was not added until 1929.<ref name="Lowry">{{cite book |title=Green Cathedrals |last=Lowry |first=Philip |year=2006 |publisher=Walker & Company |isbn=978-0-8027-1608-8 |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Afo5vtVTz4wC&q=green%20cathedrals&pg=PP1 }}</ref> The original double-decked seating covered all of right field, rounded home plate, and extended past third base, with an open concrete bleacher stand continuing to the left field wall. The ballpark was built on a sloping piece of ground, raised above street level in right field, which resulted in short foul line there of just {{convert|301|ft}}). When it opened, the field was very large for its time in both left field ({{convert|419|ft}}) and center ({{convert|508|ft}}); with additional seating the playing field shrunk to {{convert|356|ft}} in left, {{convert|406|ft}} in center, and {{convert|297|ft}} to right, which gained a screen above its fence and a scoreboard. At its peak it had a capacity of around 32,000. As with Boston's [[Fenway Park]] and Detroit's [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Tiger Stadium]], two ballparks that had opened one year earlier than Ebbets Field, the intimate configuration of some of each park's dimensions prompted some baseball writers to also refer to Ebbets Field as a "cigar box" or a "bandbox."{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} ===Use=== [[File:Ebbets Field 1920 10 06.jpg|thumb|left|Game 1, 1920 World Series]] Ebbets Field was the scene of some early successes, as the Dodgers, also called the "Robins" after long-time manager [[Wilbert Robinson]], won [[National League (baseball)|National League]] championships in [[1916 Brooklyn Robins season|1916]] and [[1920 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1920]]. The seating area was expanded in the 1920s, a boom time for baseball when many ballparks were expanded. The double deck was extended from third base around the left field corner, across left field, and into center field, allowing right-hand hitters to garner many more home runs. By the 1940s, a big scoreboard had been installed in right field, as well as a screen atop the high wall which made home runs to right field a tougher accomplishment. Additional rows of seating across left field reduced that area by about 15 feet, aiding right-handed hitters. The park's first night game was played on June 15, 1938, drawing a crowd of 38,748. [[Johnny Vander Meer]] of the visiting [[Cincinnati Reds]] pitched his second consecutive [[no-hitter]], a feat that has never been duplicated in Major League Baseball. It was also in [[1938 in baseball|1938]] that [[Hilda Chester]], one of the earlier sports "[[Fan (person)#Sports|superfan]]s," became a regular attendee when promotional wizard [[Larry MacPhail]] brought Ladies' Days to Ebbets Field, welcoming women for only ten-cents. After the Dodgers early successes the team slid into hard times. It remained there for two decades, until new ownership first brought in MacPhail in 1938, and then, after MacPhail's wartime resignation, player development specialist [[Branch Rickey]] in [[1943 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1943]]. In addition to his well-known breaking of the color line by signing [[Jackie Robinson]] in 1948, Rickey's savvy with [[Farm team|farm systems]] (which he had honed with the rival [[St. Louis Cardinals]]) produced results that made the Brooklyn Dodger "Bums" a perennial contender through their exit to California after the 1957 season. The Dodgers won pennants in [[1941 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1941]] (under MacPhail), [[1947 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1947]], [[1949 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1949]], [[1952 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1952]], [[1953 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1953]], [[1955 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1955]] and [[1956 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1956]]. They won the [[1955 World Series]], their only world title, and were within two games (in 1950) and a [[Shot Heard 'Round the World (baseball)|playoff heartbreak]] (in 1951) of winning five National League pennants in a row (1949β53), challenging the five time World Champion cross-town Yankees during that stretch. Ebbets Field also hosted the [[1949 Major League Baseball All-Star Game]]. ===Demise=== [[File:Crowd at Ebbets Field.jpg|thumb|250px|Ebbets left field corner in the 1920 World Series, with temporary bleachers]] The Dodgers found themselves victims of their own success soon thereafter, as Ebbets Field never seated more than 35,000 people, and the constraints of the neighborhood made its expansion impossible. It also had almost no automobile [[parking]] for Dodger fans who had moved east to suburban [[Long Island]], though it was near a [[Prospect Park (BMT Brighton Line)|subway station]]. [[Walter O'Malley]], who obtained majority ownership of the Dodgers in 1950, announced plans for a privately owned [[Brooklyn Dodgers proposed domed stadium|domed stadium]] at the [[Atlantic Yards]] in Brooklyn (currently the site of the [[Atlantic Terminal Mall]]), where a large market was being torn down. New York City Building Commissioner [[Robert Moses]] refused to help O'Malley secure the land, instead wanting the Dodgers to move to a city-owned stadium in [[Flushing Meadows]] in the borough of [[Queens]] (the future site of [[Shea Stadium]] and [[Citi Field]]). O'Malley refused to consider Moses' proposal, famously telling him "We are the Brooklyn Dodgers, not the Queens Dodgers!"{{citation needed|date=October 2024|reason=cannot find a source for this quote}} As a result, O'Malley began to flirt publicly with [[Los Angeles]], using a relocation threat as political leverage to win favor for a Brooklyn stadium. Ultimately, O'Malley and Moses could not come to agreement on a new location for the stadium, and the club moved west to Los Angeles after the [[1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1957 season]]. During their last two years in Brooklyn, the Dodgers played several games each year in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]]'s [[Roosevelt Stadium]], which was a tactic by O'Malley to force Moses to acquiesce and allow a new stadium to be built. Ebbets Field was sold by O'Malley to real estate developer [[Marvin Kratter]] for about $2,000,000 on October 31, 1956.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qdxGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PvgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1395%2C7301502 "Real Estate Tycoon Buys Ebbets Field," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Wednesday, October 31, 1956.] Retrieved March 3, 2023.</ref> The deal included a five-year [[lease]] that allowed the Dodgers to move out as soon as a proposed [[Downtown Brooklyn]] stadium was ready for business and Kratter to raze the ballpark and redevelop the land for a $25 million housing project beginning in 1961.<ref>[https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,824598,00.html "Time Clock, November 12, 1956," ''TIME'' (magazine), Monday, Nov. 12, 1956.] Retrieved March 3, 2023.</ref> When stadium plans fell through the team left for Los Angeles after the 1957 season. To avoid being the only team west of St. Louis, O'Malley urged [[Horace Stoneham]], owner of the Dodgers' [[DodgersβGiants rivalry|long-time crosstown rivals]], the [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Giants]], to also move west: Stoneham, who was having stadium and financial difficulties of his own, agreed, and moved the Giants to [[San Francisco]] after the 1957 season. The departure of the Dodgers was followed by a "twilight" phase in which the park sporadically hosted [[soccer]], as well as high school, college, and a handful of [[Negro league]] baseball games featuring a team formed by ex-Dodger star [[Roy Campanella]]. In one of those games pitcher [[Satchel Paige]] made a special guest appearance.<ref>{{cite web|first=Rory |last=Costello |title=Twilight at Ebbets Field |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/twilight-ebbets-field}}</ref> The demolition of Ebbets Field began on February 23, 1960. More than 35 years after the Dodgers had left Brooklyn, a federal judge in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]] presiding over a case deciding the use of the Brooklyn Dodgers' trademark called O'Malley's relocation of the franchise from its historic home to Los Angeles "one of the most notorious abandonments in the history of sports".<ref>[https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13746555571004926847&q=817+F.+Supp.+1103&hl=en&as_sdt=40006#p1111 Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. v. Sed Non Olet Denarius, Ltd.], 817 F. Supp. 1103, 1111 (S.D.N.Y. 1993).</ref> [[File:Ebbets Field Apartments jeh.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Ebbets Field Apartments in 2008]] An auction of Ebbets Field's structure and contents was held on April 20, 1960. An estimated 500 people bid on locker room stools, benches, team banners, seats, bricks, bats, caps, team photos, balls, and a brownstone cornerstone of the stadium.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McGee|first1=Bob|title=The Greatest Ballpark Ever{{spnd}}Ebbets Field and the Story of the Brooklyn Dodgers|date=2005|publisher=Rutgers University Press|location=New Brunswick (N.J.) and London (Eng.)|isbn=0-8135-3600-6|pages=15β18|edition=hardcover|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BOZyd7v1cDAC|access-date=29 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Lenny |last=DiFranza |title=Chip off the Block |url=http://baseballhall.org/discover/short-stops/chip-off-the-old-block |publisher=[[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum]] |access-date=October 28, 2018}}</ref> ===In subsequent years=== The Ebbets Field Apartments were built on the former ballpark site, opening in 1962,<ref>{{cite news |title=New Chapter for Ebbets Field: Apartments Open This Month |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/09/02/archives/new-chapter-for-ebbets-field-apartments-open-this-month.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 2, 1962 |page=159 |access-date=2010-04-18}}</ref> and remaining under private ownership.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ebbets Field Apartment Complex |url= https://ebbetsfieldapartments.com/ |access-date=2022-02-07}}</ref> Middle School 320, across McKeever Place, was renamed Jackie Robinson Intermediate School.<ref>{{cite web | title=Robinson Quick Facts |url= https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/Robinson-Profile.pdf |access-date=2022-02-07}}</ref> In January 2014, the street sign that once stood at the corner of McKeever Place and Montgomery Street was sold at auction for $58,852.08.<ref>{{cite web |title="Ebbets Field" Street Signed Sold for $60,000 |url=http://www.upcomingautographsignings.com/2014/01/ebbets-field-street-signed-sold-for.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302015616/http://www.upcomingautographsignings.com/2014/01/ebbets-field-street-signed-sold-for.html |archive-date=March 2, 2014 |work=Upcoming Autograph Signings |date=January 28, 2014 |access-date=October 28, 2018}}</ref>
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