 Entrance to the second incarnation of Washington Park, 1911 | |
  Washington Park Location in New York City Show map of New York City Washington Park Location within the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Address | Brooklyn, New York 11215 |
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| Coordinates | 40°40′26.3″N73°59′08.6″W / 40.673972°N 73.985722°W /40.673972; -73.985722 |
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Washington Park was the name given to fourMajor League Baseballparks on two different sites in thePark Slope neighborhood ofBrooklyn,New York, located at the intersection of Third Street andFourth Avenue. The two sites were diagonally opposite each other, on the southeast and northwest corners.
The land on which the ballparks were built was itself known as "Washington Park" and originally consisted largely of an open green space which was flooded in the wintertime as a skating rink. It featured an old building then called theGowanus House, which stands today, albeit largely reconstructed. Known today as the Old Stone House, it was used in Revolutionary times as an impromptu headquarters by GeneralGeorge Washington during theBattle of Long Island, during a delaying action by 400 Maryland troops against approximately 2000British andHessian troops that allowed a good portion of theContinental Army to retreat to fortified positions onBrooklyn Heights. Those events inspired the park's name, as well as that of the three major league ballparks that were to be built there.
Baseball first came to Washington Park in 1861, in the form of a winter baseball game played on skates. The Brooklyn Atlantics professionals took on the Charter Oak Base Ball Club, another Brooklyn-based team, before 15,000 spectators. TheNew York Times marveled at the skating skills of the players, insisting that the players "seemed to be quite as much at home (on the ice), and played as well on runners (skates) as when onterra firma." The Atlantics took the contest, 36–27.[1]
The first ballpark was built in 1883, bounded by Third and Fifth Streets to the north and south, and Fourth and Fifth Avenues to the west and east. The Old Stone House was incorporated into the ballpark as a "Ladies' House" and storage. The wooden ballpark was the home of theBrooklyn baseball club during 1883–1891, with a slight interruption by a destructive fire in mid-May of the 1889 season. (Some sources, such asRetrosheet,[2] number the pre- and post-fire ballparks as separate entities.) The team's uniforms and equipment had been stored in the Old Stone House at the time and were spared.[3]
The team, originally known as the Brooklyn Grays for the color of their uniforms, started in a minor league in 1883. The following season they joined the then-majorAmerican Association. With the new league came a new name, the Atlantics in reference to the oldAtlantics of Brooklyn, and they were known as the Bridegrooms by the time they switched to theNational League in 1890.[4]Streetcar (trolley) tracks ran near the ballpark, inspiring the team nickname that ultimately stuck:Trolley Dodgers.[5]
The ice baseball fad resurfaced in the mid-1880s, leading writerHenry Chadwick to organize a series of games at Washington Park. Teams of professional ballplayers faced off against amateurs in January of 1884, ten to a side (the tenth player covering the park's short right field).[6][7]
In 1891, the Trolley Dodgers moved into the Players' League one-year-old ballpark,Eastern Park inBrownsville. The first Washington Park was demolished and its wooden grandstand transported to Eastern Park. The move itself proved to be ill-advised, and the Dodgers struggled to draw fans in their new neighborhood. They abandoned Eastern Park after six poorly attended seasons, moving back to Park Slope and building a new ballpark across the street from the site of their first.
The second Washington Park[8] was bounded by First and Third Streets, andThird and Fourth Avenues. It was located at40°40′30″N73°59′10″W / 40.67500°N 73.98611°W /40.67500; -73.98611. The park seated 18,800. It consisted of a covered grandstand behind the infield and uncovered stand down the right field line. The Brooklyn National Leaguers, by then often called the "Superbas" as well as the "Dodgers", moved into this new ballpark in 1898, where they would play for the next 15 seasons. On April 30, 1898, the Dodgers played their first game at new Washington Park and 15,000 fans attended. One of the more unusual features of the Park was the aroma from nearby factories andGowanus Canal, which was a block away and curled around two sides of the ballpark.[9]
Meanwhile, ownerCharlie Ebbets slowly invested in the individual lots on a larger piece of property inFlatbush, which would become the site ofEbbets Field once he had the entire block. So in 1913, the Dodgers abandoned Washington Park. The BrooklynDaily Eagle waxed nostalgic about the old ballpark, and speculated on what might happen to the property. It would turn out to have a brief reincarnation as the home of the Federal League club in 1914 and 1915.
| Years | Capacity |
|---|---|
| 1898–1907 | 12,000 |
| 1908–1911 | 14,000 |
| 1912 | 16,000 |
TheBrooklyn Tip-Tops or "BrookFeds" of theFederal League, the only major league team ever named for a loaf of bread, acquired the ballpark property in 1914, then rebuilt the second Washington Park in steel and concrete. The old park took on a modern appearance; in fact, it was nearly a duplicate of the initial version of another Federal League park in Chicago that would becomeWrigley Field. However, with the Dodgers in a new and somewhat more spacious steel-and-concrete home already,Ebbets Field, there was no long-term need for Washington Park, so it was abandoned for the final time after the Federal League ended its two-year run.
Part of the left center field wall of this final Washington Park still stands on the east side of 3rd Avenue, south of 1st Street, as part of aCon Edison yard.[12][13]
(The Second Washington Park between 1st Street and 3rd Street)
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