South End Grounds
Walpole Street Grounds Grand Pavilion Boston Base-Ball Grounds | |
Boston Braves (MLB ) (1871–1914) |
South End Grounds refers to any one of three
At least in its third edition, the formal name of the park—as indicated by the sign over its entrance gate—was Boston National League Base Ball Park. It was located on the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Walpole Street (now Saint Cyprian's Place), just southwest of Carter Playground. Accordingly, it was also known over the years as Walpole Street Grounds; two other names were Union Base-ball Grounds and Boston Baseball Grounds.
The ballpark was across the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad tracks, to the south, from the eventual site of the Huntington Avenue Grounds, home field of Boston's American League team prior to the building of Fenway Park.
The Boston club was initially known as the "Red Stockings," because four of its key players had come from the famous 1869–1870
With its tight foul lines and expansive center field, like a scaled-down version of the Polo Grounds, it was sometimes said that the South End had no right or left field, only a center field.
South End Grounds was rebuilt twice during its lifetime, the first time by choice and the second time by necessity.
First park
The first game at the South End Grounds was played on May 16, 1871. The original stands were small and rectangular, not unlike the seating area at a county fair grounds. Behind the right field area were residences and other buildings, and a narrow road called Berlin Street. Columbus Avenue had not yet been extended as far as the ball park.
The Red Stockings dominated the
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Washburn & Moen trade card depicting the Boston Base Ball Grounds in 1876
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Original layout of the ballpark
Second park
The second South End Grounds was opened on May 25, 1888. Sometimes referred to as the "Grand Pavilion," it consisted of a large double-decker grandstand behind home plate and uncovered stands stretching down the right and left field lines, as well as bleachers in right-center field. The medieval-style "witch's cap" turrets were a very popular decoration on public seating structures of the 1880s and 1890s. The ballpark seated 6,800 by one estimate.[1] It was the only double-decked baseball stadium ever built in Boston, apart from the rooftop seating which has turned the single-decked Fenway Park into a de facto double-deck ballpark. The stadium was destroyed in the Great Roxbury Fire of May 16, 1894, which began when children started a small fire beneath the right field bleachers, and which spread and destroyed the stadium and 117 other buildings. During the rebuilding process, the Bostons played their home games at Congress Street Grounds.
Third park
The third South End Grounds was built in 10 weeks on the site of the old stand and opened on July 20, 1894.[2] Because the previous structure had not been sufficiently insured, there wasn't enough money to rebuild the stands according to its old plans, and a smaller structure was built. One result of the fire was a reconfiguration of the buildings and streets in the area. Berlin Street disappeared, and Columbus Avenue was constructed, running just outside the right field area, replacing wooden buildings that had once stood there.
Few photographs of this ballpark seem to be in circulation. In one sense, the best known photo might be the one showing the opening game of the
Duration
The Red Stockings / Beaneaters / Braves played their home games in various ballparks and cities, and the South End Grounds remains their longest-used home field in their history:
- South End Grounds 1871–1914 (43 1/2 seasons)
- Fenway Park 1914–1915 (parts of 2 seasons)
- Braves Field 1915–1952 (37 1/2 seasons)
- Milwaukee County Stadium 1953–1965 (13 seasons)
- Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 1966–1996 (31 seasons)
- Turner Field 1997–2016 (20 seasons)
- Truist Park 2017–present
Current use
The stadium was demolished after the Braves left. The former site of the grandstand and the infield is located where
References
- ^ "South End Grounds (Boston) | Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
- ^ "South End Grounds". Ballparks.
- ^ Retrosheet.org, box score of New York Giants at Boston Rustlers, 12 September 1911 (retrieved 18 November 2012)
- ^ "Remembering the South End Grounds". Patch. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
Sources
- Green Cathedrals, by Phil Lowry
- Ballparks of North America, by Michael Benson
- Baseball Memories 1900–1909, by Marc Okkonen
- Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century, by Marc Okkonen
External links
- Media related to South End Grounds at Wikimedia Commons
- South End Grounds at Ballparks.com
- Boston Sports Temples, exhibition, Boston Public Library, November 17, 2012 – May 31, 2013
- South End Grounds at Project Ballpark
- Boston birdseye map, 1879 - South End Grounds near left edge
- Map dated 1883-1885, showing the ballpark and its original tiny grandstand
- Sanborn map showing the ballpark, 1887 - and streets prior to the 1894 fire
- Boston birdseye map, 1888 - South End Grounds toward lower right
- Sanborn map showing the ballpark, 1897
- A map from about 1900, showing the ballpark
- Map showing part of the ballpark, 1908
- Sanborn map showing the ballpark, 1914