Editing Union Base-Ball Grounds

{{Short description|Baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.}}
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'''Union Base-Ball Grounds''' was a [[baseball]] park located in [[Chicago]]. The park was "very visibly [[Downtown Chicago|downtown]]", its small block bounded on the west by [[Michigan Avenue (Chicago)|Michigan Avenue]], on the north by Randolph Street, and on the east by railroad tracks and the [[Lake Michigan|lake]] shore, which was then much closer than it is today. The site is now part of [[Millennium Park]].

== Baseball ==
[[File:1871 Chicago view before the Great Conflagration cropped.jpg|thumb|left|Artist's conception from an 1871 map]]
Union Base-Ball Grounds was also called '''White-Stocking Park''', as it was the home field of the [[Chicago White Stockings (1870–89)|Chicago White Stockings]] of the [[National Association of Professional Base Ball Players|National Association]] in 1871, after spending the 1870 season as an independent professional club playing home games variously at [[Dexter Park (Chicago)|Dexter Park]] race course and [[Ogden Park]].<ref name="MPNYT">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/books/chapters/0806-1st-gilf.html|title=Millennium Park|access-date=2008-06-24|date=2006-08-06 |work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Gilfoyle, Timothy J.}}</ref> The [[Great Chicago Fire]] of October 8 destroyed Union Base-Ball Grounds and all of the club's possessions. After fulfilling its 1871 obligations by playing on the road, the club did not field a team for the next two seasons, and the ballpark was not rebuilt.<ref>For the baseball season of 1872, the Chicago club leased another plot and built the [[23rd Street Grounds]] that would be its home through 1877, renting it out chiefly to local clubs for two seasons before the White Stockings returned to the field in 1874. Several National Association games were played at 23rd St in 1872–1873: six in 1872, essentially because teams based in Cleveland and Troy were failing, and one in 1873 (Retrosheet). The Chicago club itself renewed play only in [[1874 in sports|1874]]</ref>

[[File:Lake Shore Park 1883.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Lake-Shore Park 1883; '''Interstate Exposition Building''' visible in left background]]In 1878, the White Stockings returned to the 1871 site and to a new park that is usually called '''Lake-Shore Park''', '''Lake Front Park''', or simply '''Lake Park''', which was actually the name for the entire waterfront area (not just the ballpark) until being renamed [[Grant Park (Chicago)|Grant Park]] in 1901.<ref>In 1883, the second Lakefront Park opened.  The second Lakefront Park is noted for its extremely short dimensions.  A ball hit over the wall was normally considered a [[ground rule double]].  However in 1884, these short dimensions allowed the Cubs to set [[home run]] records that would not be broken until [[Babe Ruth]] over 30 years later.  [[Ned Williamson]], [[Fred Pfeffer]], [[Abner Dalrymple]], and [[Cap Anson]] each hit over 20 homers, with Williamson leading the way with 27.
It is Lake Front Park, often with a numeral I or II, in recent reference works including Retrosheet and the 1986 edition of Lowry.</ref> At the new park, the outfield area was especially close in right field. The right field fence was less than 200 feet away, so anyone hitting the ball over that fence was awarded only a [[ground rule double]]. Batters would aim for the fence, and during their years at the park, the Chicago club regularly led the league in doubles. In what would be their final season on the lakefront, the White Stockings decided to make the entire outfield fence home run territory. Thus, the team slumped in the number of doubles while boosting their home runs from typically a dozen or two to 142, easily outdistancing second place Buffalo, which had 39 for the season. The entire league's home run totals were up, thanks to the change to the Chicago [[ground rules]].

The team played at Lake-Shore Park through the 1884 season. After the season, the city reclaimed the land, and the White Stockings became a road team for the first couple of months of 1885 while awaiting construction of the first [[West Side Park]]. The lumber from the stands was disassembled and reconfigured as the new stands at West Side Park.[Chicago ''Tribune'', March 15, 1885, p.&nbsp;11]

==Football==
The first [[college football]] game in the Midwest was played at the park on May 30, 1879, when the [[University of Michigan]] met [[Racine College]]. Michigan won, 1-0, on a place-kick by David DeTarr.

== Notes ==
<references/>

== References ==
*Jack Bales, "[http://wrigleyivy.com/ballparks/ Ballparks,"] [http://wrigleyivy.com/ WrigleyIvy.com].
*Jack Bales, [https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/Before-They-Were-the-Cubs/ ''Before They Were the Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team''.]  Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2019.
* {{cite book|last=Lowry|first=Philip J.|title=Green Cathedrals|url=https://archive.org/details/greencathedralsu0000lowr|url-access=registration|publisher=Addison-Wesley|year=1992|isbn=9780201567779 }}
* Retrosheet. [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/C/PK_CHI02.htm]
* Retrosheet. [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/C/PK_CHI03.htm]

==External links==
*[https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104c.pm001500/ Library of Congress map of Chicago showing the ballpark, supposed to be 1892]
*[https://www.loc.gov/item/99614111/ Library of Congress black-and-white print from an archery match in August 1879 - from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper]

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{{succession box
 | title = Home of the [[Chicago White Stockings (1870–89)|Chicago White Stockings]]
 | years = 1871<br>1878 &ndash; 1884
 | before = [[Ogden Park]] &amp; [[Dexter Park (Chicago)|Dexter Park]]<br>[[23rd Street Grounds]]
 | after = [[23rd Street Grounds]]<br>[[West Side Park]]
}}
{{end}}
{{Chicago Cubs}}

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[[Category:Defunct baseball venues in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct college football venues]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs stadiums]]
[[Category:Baseball venues in Chicago]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Chicago]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1871]]
[[Category:Defunct sports venues in Illinois]]