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64-472: After locating the prospective new site to build a permanent stadium to replace the old wooden 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 to the east, Sullivan Place to the South, Cedar Street (renamed McKeever Place in 1932) to the west, and Montgomery Street to

128-401: A playoff heartbreak (in 1951) of winning five National League pennants in a row (1949–53), challenging the five time World Champion cross-town Yankees during that stretch. Ebbets Field also hosted the 1949 Major League Baseball All-Star Game . 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

192-465: A 16–12 record and six shutouts while leading the league with 202 strikeouts . On June 6, 1941, in a game against Philadelphia, he allowed only one hit. Vander Meer later recalled that the only hit in the game could have been ruled an error , as shortstop Eddie Joost fielded the ground ball , then dropped it before throwing to first base. He earned his third All-Star selection in the 1942 All-Star Game , and once again threw three scoreless innings in

256-643: A 376 marker was added to the right corner of the seating area wall. Result of a merger between the Brooklyn Horsemen of the American Football League and the Brooklyn Lions of the National Football League for the 1926 NFL season †= Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time 1 = A team used the stadium when their permanent stadium was unable to be used as

320-600: A 3–1 loss to the American League. He finished the 1942 season with a career-high 18 wins against 12 losses and once again led the league in strikeouts. He posted a 15–16 record in 1943 for the second place Reds and led the league in strikeouts for a third consecutive year. On March 3, 1944, Vander Meer joined the United States Navy and was stationed at Sampson Naval Training Station in New York where he would play for

384-412: A brownstone cornerstone of the stadium. The Ebbets Field Apartments were built on the former ballpark site, opening in 1962, and remaining under private ownership. Middle School 320, across McKeever Place, was renamed Jackie Robinson Intermediate School. 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. Ebbets Field

448-539: A delaying action by 400 Maryland troops against approximately 2000 British and Hessian troops that allowed a good portion of the Continental Army to retreat to fortified positions on Brooklyn 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

512-758: A feat that has never been duplicated in Major League Baseball. It was also in 1938 that Hilda Chester , one of the earlier sports " superfans ," 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 . In addition to his well-known breaking of

576-595: 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!" As

640-684: A loss against the Yankees in another exhibition game on April 7 in front of about 1,000 fans on a very cold day, the first regular season game was played on April 9 against the Philadelphia Phillies , with Brooklyn losing, 1–0. 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. 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

704-402: A new ballpark across the street from the site of their first. The second Washington Park was bounded by First and Third Streets, and Third and Fourth Avenues. It was located at 40°40′30″N 73°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

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768-470: 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. Neither of Ebbets' predictions was correct: on August 29, 1912, as the deadline drew near and it

832-472: A result of damage. Washington Park (baseball) Washington Park was the name given to three Major League Baseball parks on two different sites in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn , New York , located at the intersection of Third Street and Fourth Avenue . The two sites were diagonally opposite each other, on the southeast and northwest corners. The land on which the ballparks were built

896-551: 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 season . During their last two years in Brooklyn, the Dodgers played several games each year in Jersey City, New Jersey 's Roosevelt Stadium , which

960-433: 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 , 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." Ebbets Field was the scene of some early successes, as

1024-404: A sign reading 364 + 1 ⁄ 2 feet (111.1 m). Above the street-exit door in the deep center field notch was a sign reading 399 feet (122 m). The last changes came in 1948, when several rows of seats were installed in front of the outfield stands, reducing the left and center dimensions to their final distances. The 399 marker above the deep center field door was painted over, while

1088-613: A wet pitching mound in Pittsburgh. He posted a 5–9 record and an earned run average of 4.67. Early in the 1940 season, he began to experience problems controlling the accuracy of his pitches. In June, the Reds released him back to the minor leagues where he played for the Indianapolis Indians and went 6–4. He returned to the major leagues in September and posted a 3–1 record, including

1152-544: A win for pitching 12 innings against Philadelphia on September 18, a win that clinched the National League pennant for the Reds. Leading off the 13th inning, Vander Meer hit a double , advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt , stayed at third on an infield hit, then scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly . [Note: the Sacrifice Fly was not an official statistic in 1940 , so the At Bat by Ival Goodman counted, as did his RBI]. In

1216-463: Is one of only six NL pitchers since 1930 to lead the league in strikeouts in three straight seasons (1941–1943). After retiring as a player at the age of 40, Vander Meer became a minor league manager in the Cincinnati Reds organization for ten seasons before retiring in 1962. After his retirement from baseball, he worked for a brewing company. He was inducted as part of the inaugural class into

1280-459: The 1940 World Series against the Detroit Tigers , Vander Meer made only one appearance when he entered Game 5 in the fifth inning with the Reds trailing 7–0. He pitched three scoreless innings as the Reds lost 8–0. The Reds went on to win the series in seven games. It would be the only post-season appearance of Vander Meer's career. In 1941 , Vander Meer's performance improved somewhat with

1344-524: The All-Ireland champion County Kerry team defeated Kildare by a score of 18–3 with an attendance of 2,500 fans under floodlights in a night game. Ebbets Field also hosted nearly 90 fight cards between 1915 and 1947. A detailed plan of the new ballpark was published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle for January 3, 1912, p. 21. The right field line was to be 298 feet (91 m) from home plate,

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1408-519: The National League in 1890. Streetcar (trolley) tracks ran near the ballpark, inspiring the team nickname that ultimately stuck: Trolley Dodgers . The ice baseball fad resurfaced in the mid-1880s, leading writer Henry 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

1472-699: The New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association moved to Brooklyn in 2012, marking a return of major-league professional sports to the borough after a 55-year absence, they installed the Ebbets Field flagpole in front of their home arena, the Barclays Center . Ebbets Field was frequently used for collegiate football match-ups, and was home base for Manhattan College's team in the 1930s. It also hosted three pro football teams –

1536-630: The New York Brickley Giants for one game in 1921, the Brooklyn Lions/Horsemen in 1926, and the Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers from 1930 to 1944. On 1927, the soccer Club Nacional de Football in its North American tour played two games against Brooklyn Wanderers , winning both. The Nacionals fielded Olympic medal winners such as José Andrade and Héctor Scarone . The stadium also hosted numerous soccer games, including

1600-518: The Syracuse Chiefs for most of the season when the Reds recalled him in September. The following year on June 11, 1938 , Vander Meer pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Bees . Four days later against the Brooklyn Dodgers in what was the first night game ever held at Ebbets Field , he threw another no-hitter, becoming the only player in major league history to throw two straight no-hitters. He

1664-759: The Tulsa Oilers against the Beaumont Roughnecks in the Texas League . A four-time All-Star , Vander Meer compiled a 119–121 record with 1,294 strikeouts and a 3.44 ERA in 2,104 + 2 ⁄ 3 innings over a 13-year Major League career. He had 29 career shutouts , ranking third on the Reds franchise list. His 1,251 strikeouts with the Reds were the team record at the time of his retirement in 1951. Along with Dizzy Dean (1932–1935), Warren Spahn (1949–1952), Randy Johnson (1999–2002), Tim Lincecum (2008–2010), and Max Scherzer (2016–2018), Vander Meer

1728-417: The "circus seats". They built an extension of the main double-deck stands, which stretched across left and center fields, leaving a notch for the big door in deep right center field. Once this work was done, the general layout was fairly well set. The left field corner had a unique arrangement, with the foul line actually running atop the box seat railing to the foul pole. A new door in left center field once had

1792-458: 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 ,

1856-486: The Charter Oak Base Ball Club, another Brooklyn-based team, before 15,000 spectators. The New 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 on terra firma ." The Atlantics took the contest, 36–27. The first ballpark was built in 1883, bounded by Third and Fifth Streets to

1920-617: The Cubs, he was released in March 1951 and was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Indians . He appeared in only one game for the Indians on May 7, 1951, before being released on June 30, 1951, at the age of 36. Vander Meer returned to the minor leagues where he played for five more seasons until the age of 40. In 1952, 14 years after his consecutive no-hitters, Vander Meer pitched a no-hitter for

1984-573: The Dodgers had left Brooklyn, a federal judge in the 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". An auction 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

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2048-422: The Dodgers, also called the "Robins" after long-time manager Wilbert Robinson , won National League championships in 1916 and 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

2112-519: The Empire State Cup, which can be seen in the Heart of Midlothian FC Museum. On June 28, 1959, Napoli of Italy lost to Rapid Vienna of Austria 1–0 in front of 18,512, and game officials were attacked afterwards. At the rematch three days later in front of 13,000 people, Napoli tied Rapid Vienna 1–1, in one of the last events held there. Gaelic football was also played at Ebbets Field. On June 24, 1931,

2176-520: 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. The demolition of Ebbets Field began on February 23, 1960. More than 35 years after

2240-431: The National League went on to win 4–1. He ended the season with a 15–10 record and a 3.12 earned run average for the fourth place Reds. He might have won more games, but spent nearly a month in the hospital being treated for boils late in the season. After his impressive rookie season, Vander Meer had a disappointing 1939 season, when he fell ill during spring training , and then suffered an injury when he slipped on

2304-510: The Navy baseball team. He was discharged from the Navy in December 1945, having lost two years of his major league career to his military service, but Vander Meer claimed that his extensive military play made him less wild as a pitcher, which his record partially supports. The 31-year-old pitcher returned to play for the Reds in 1946 although he was not able to recapture his previous form. Vander Meer

2368-630: The Old Stone House at the time and were spared. 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-major American Association . With the new league came a new name, the Atlantics in reference to the old Atlantics of Brooklyn , and they were known as the Bridegrooms by the time they switched to

2432-617: The U.S. National Challenge Cup soccer tournament, now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup . Bethlehem Steel F.C. from Pennsylvania of the American Soccer League won its sixth and final National Challenge Cup title, on April 11, 1926, scoring a convincing 7–2 victory over Ben Miller F.C. of St. Louis in the final before more than 18,000 fans. On June 7, 1931, over 10,000 fans came out to Ebbets Field to watch Celtic of Scotland defeat Brooklyn Wanderers 5–0. On June 17, 1947,

2496-539: The color line by signing Jackie Robinson in 1948, Rickey's savvy with 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 (under MacPhail), 1947 , 1949 , 1952 , 1953 , 1955 and 1956 . They won the 1955 World Series , their only world title, and were within two games (in 1950) and

2560-549: The east side of 3rd Avenue, south of 1st Street, as part of a Con Edison yard. (The Second Washington Park between 1st Street and 3rd Street) Johnny Vander Meer John Samuel Vander Meer (November 2, 1914 – October 6, 1997) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher , most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds , where he became

2624-834: The first known televised soccer game in the US took place when Hapoel Tel Aviv lost to the American League Stars 2–0. On June 18, 1948, Liverpool of England beat Djurgården of Sweden 3–2 in front of 20,000 fans. On October 17 of that year, the U.S. national team beat the Israel national team in front of 25,000 fans. On May 8, 1955, Sunderland of England beat the American League Stars 7–2. On May 17, Sunderland drew 1-1 with 1. FC Nürnberg of Germany. On May 25, 1958, Manchester City of England lost to Hearts of Scotland 6–5 in front of more than 20,000 patrons. The winners received

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2688-666: The home of some of baseball's greatest dramas. 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: in the end it only lasted 47 years, failing to survive the exit of the Dodgers for Los Angeles in 1957. 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. After

2752-471: The land for a $ 25 million housing project beginning in 1961. 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' long-time crosstown rivals , the New York Giants , to also move west: Stoneham, who was having stadium and financial difficulties of his own, agreed, and moved

2816-418: The left field line 401 feet (122 m), and to the front of the intended triangle-shaped center field bleachers the plan said 407 feet (124 m) "+ or −". When the ballpark opened in 1913, the outfield was bounded by bare concrete walls all around, which would soon be covered with advertising. The triangular center field was used for the flag pole, with just a short fence in front of it, no bleachers. There

2880-487: 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 301 feet (92 m)). When it opened, the field was very large for its time in both left field (419 feet (128 m)) and center (508 feet (155 m)); with additional seating the playing field shrunk to 356 feet (109 m) in left, 406 feet (124 m) in center, and 297 feet (91 m) to right, which gained

2944-536: 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 subway station . Walter O'Malley , who obtained majority ownership of the Dodgers in 1950, announced plans for a privately owned domed stadium at the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn (currently the site of the Atlantic Terminal Mall ), where

3008-528: 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 the Brooklyn baseball club during 1883–1891, with a slight interruption by a destructive fire in mid-May of the 1889 season. (Some sources, such as Retrosheet , number the pre- and post-fire ballparks as separate entities.) The team's uniforms and equipment had been stored in

3072-436: The north. The land included the site of a garbage dump called 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. The cornerstone,

3136-639: The only pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw two consecutive no-hitters , and was a member of the 1940 World Series winning team. After the impressive start to his major league career, he experienced problems controlling the accuracy of his pitching, and his later career was marked by inconsistent performances. During his career he was nicknamed "The Dutch Master" and "Double No-Hit". Born in Prospect Park, New Jersey , he moved with his family to Midland Park, New Jersey in 1918. He had an inauspicious start to his professional baseball career. He

3200-619: The park's short right field). In 1891, the Trolley Dodgers moved into the Players' League one-year-old ballpark, Eastern Park in Brownsville . 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

3264-583: The plot of the film Field of Dreams , were featured in an entire episode of Ken Burns ' acclaimed public-television documentary Baseball , as well as a 2007 HBO documentary called Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts of Flatbush . By 2006 the Dodgers had played as many years in Dodger Stadium as they had at Ebbets Field, matched by the New York Mets ' duration in Shea Stadium from 1964 to 2008. When

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3328-513: The property. It would turn out to have a brief reincarnation as the home of the Federal League club in 1914 and 1915. The Brooklyn Tip-Tops or "BrookFeds" of the Federal 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

3392-459: 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 and Gowanus Canal , which

3456-465: Was a block away and curled around two sides of the ballpark. Meanwhile, owner Charlie Ebbets slowly invested in the individual lots on a larger piece of property in Flatbush , which would become the site of Ebbets Field once he had the entire block. So in 1913, the Dodgers abandoned Washington Park. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle waxed nostalgic about the old ballpark, and speculated on what might happen to

3520-413: Was a large door in deep right center field, at the one place where the outfield and the sloping Bedford Avenue were at the same elevation. By 1920, several rows of wooden bleachers had been constructed inside the left field wall, which the newspapers called "circus seats". In the spring of 1931, the Dodgers began expanding Ebbets Field. They demolished the old concrete bleachers beyond third base as well as

3584-454: 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. 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

3648-605: Was an incidental witness when his Cincinnati teammate Ewell Blackwell almost duplicated his consecutive no-hit feat in 1947 , by pitching a no-hitter against the Braves, then in his next appearance held the Dodgers without a hit until the ninth inning when he gave up two hits. He produced one more notable season in 1948 when he went 17–14, before his contract was sold to the Chicago Cubs in February 1950 . After an ineffective year with

3712-593: 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 the Gowanus 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 General George Washington during the Battle of Long Island , during

3776-503: Was nearly a duplicate of the initial version of another Federal League park in Chicago that would become Wrigley 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

3840-477: Was nicknamed "The Dutch Master" due to his Dutch heritage, and after the no-hitters was also nicknamed "Two No-Hit". Vander Meer's performance earned him the role as the starting pitcher for the National League team in the 1938 All-Star game held at Cincinnati's Crosley Field . The American League team – having won four of the previous five All-Star games – was favored to win the game, but Vander Meer pitched three scoreless innings and allowed only one hit, as

3904-414: 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 W. and Edward J. McKeever , who had built their fortune in contracting and were able to speed along the construction. Though the sale led to management troubles years later, by early 1913 Ebbets Field was ready, and would become

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3968-507: Was one of several historic major league ballparks demolished in the 1960s. Of the many teams that uprooted in the 1950s and 1960s, the Dodgers' legacy perhaps has lingered the longest. Roger Kahn 's acclaimed book The Boys of Summer and Frank Sinatra 's song " There Used to Be a Ballpark " mourned the loss of places like Ebbets Field and their time. The story of Ebbets Field and the Brooklyn Dodgers' move to Los Angeles were further chronicled by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin , figured into

4032-502: Was sent to the Durham Bulls , where the Bulls manager and catcher, Johnny Gooch , was credited with helping control the wildness of Vander Meer's pitching. In 1936, he posted a record of 19 wins against six losses for Durham. Vander Meer made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds on April 22, 1937 , at the age of 22. He went 3–4 before being sent back to the minor leagues with

4096-721: Was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1933 and assigned to the Dayton Ducks . Dayton then sold his contract to a Boston Bees minor league affiliate, the Scranton Miners of the New York–Pennsylvania League . The Miners found his playing ability to be lacking and sent him to the Cincinnati Reds affiliate, the Nashville Volunteers , in a trade for Tiny Chaplin . From Nashville, he

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