128-574: Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates , the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers , the city's National Football League (NFL) franchise. From 1909 to 1924, the stadium also served as the home football field for
256-463: A cantilevered upper deck seating area that hung out over the lower seating area. Although it did not use reinforced concrete in its construction, Baker Bowl is considered the first of the jewel box parks. The first to use reinforced concrete was Shibe Park , which opened in 1909, also in Philadelphia. The upper decks were typically held up by steel pillars that obstructed the view from some seats in
384-513: A down payment during his first year in the majors. He made a considerable fortune when oil was discovered on his property. In 1924, he bought a minority stake in the Pirates and was named the team's vice president. He was also allowed to sit in the dugout during games, making him manager Bill McKechnie 's bench coach in all but name. The Pirates won the World Series the following year. During
512-529: A "bustling business district" which led to a lack of parking space. One sportswriter wrote that The House of Thrills had become "as joyless as a prison exercise yard". Following a plan to expand their adjacent campus, the University of Pittsburgh purchased Forbes Field in 1958, with an agreement to lease the stadium to the Pirates until a replacement could be built. A proposal for a new sports stadium in Pittsburgh
640-433: A 32-foot (9.8 m) United States Marine Corps billboard during the 1943 season. The infield developed a "rock-hard" surface throughout the stadium's history. During the final game of the 1960 World Series , Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek was struck in the throat with a ball that bounced at an unexpected angle off the hard dirt surface, breaking up a potentially rally-killing double play and causing Kubek to exit
768-430: A 4–1 victory. The 40,918 spectators in attendance stood and cheered as Dave Giusti retired Willie Smith for the final out (recorded by Bill Mazeroski) at the stadium. Pirates Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente played 15 seasons at Forbes Field. He was emotional during the last game saying, "I spent half my life there." After the game, home plate was dug up and taken by helicopter to Three Rivers Stadium to be installed in
896-523: A Grays game. In 1930, Josh Gibson made his premiere for the Grays at Forbes Field. Also in 1930, the Grays and the Kansas City Monarchs played the first baseball game at night in Pittsburgh on July 18, 1930. A crowd of over 15,000 was expected. Floodlights were installed the day before the game after they were transported from Cleveland , where the Grays and Monarchs had played on July 16. Six members of
1024-546: A Pirate manager. The Chicago Cubs won the first game, 3–2. Dreyfuss declared, "This is indeed the happiest day of my life." The stadium was widely considered the best in the league. Dreyfuss "hated cheap home runs and vowed he'd have none in his park", which led him to design a large playing field for Forbes Field. The original distances to the outfield fences in left, center, and right field were 360 feet (110 m), 462 feet (141 m) and 376 feet (115 m), respectively. The left field foul pole initially intersected
1152-646: A bigger bump when the right field grandstand was extended into the corner and into fair territory , replacing a section of wooden bleachers. Construction of the new stands began in late winter and opened in June 1925. The change reduced the foul line distance from 376 feet (115 m) to 300 feet (91 m) but increasing the near-right center distance to 375 feet (114 m). Dreyfuss made no secret of his mixed feelings regarding this move, and in May 1930, in response to American League President E. S. Barnard 's proposed plan to stem
1280-482: A design that would harmonize with the other structures in the Schenley Park district." The site was initially labeled "Dreyfuss's Folly" due to its long distance—a 10-minute trolley ride—from downtown Pittsburgh , but the land around the park developed and criticisms were dropped. Official Pirates' records show that Forbes Field cost US$ 1 million for site acquisition and construction. However, some estimates place
1408-523: A few which are oriented just slightly west of straight north. (Left-handed pitchers are called "southpaws", and indeed the pitcher's left hand is toward the south in the usual park layout, and this has often been cited as the source of the appellation. But this is most likely a false etymology , or partly so, as "southpaw" for left-handers has been in use since at least the mid 19th century, and applied to boxers.) Today, in Major League Baseball ,
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#17328693732151536-465: A glance, were at a loss for reasonable figures." Records, however, show that the first game was attended by a standing-room only crowd of 30,338. The first batter at Forbes Field was future Hall of Famer Johnny Evers , the Cubs second baseman and leadoff batter. He was hit by a pitch and later in the inning scored the first run. The first hit by a Pirate was by catcher George Gibson , who eventually became
1664-462: A larger capacity replacement for the team's then-current home, Exposition Park . Dreyfuss purchased seven acres of land near the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh , adjacent to Schenley Park , with assistance from his friend, industrialist Andrew Carnegie . The low-priced land was selected so Dreyfuss could spend more on the stadium itself. Dreyfuss signed a contract to "make the ballpark ... of
1792-427: A local humorist and friend of team owner Bill Benswanger . Rowswell is quoted as describing his broadcasting with, "It's not just play-by-play that matters. It's what you say in between the pitches that counts." His style influenced junior partner Bob Prince , who began broadcasting in 1948. Rowswell broadcast games at Forbes Field until his death in 1955. In 1925, the Pirates became the first team to come back from
1920-627: A manager. In 1945 , Clarke was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame . Fred Clarke was born on a farm near Winterset, Iowa . At age two, his family moved as part of a covered wagon caravan from Iowa to Kansas before relocating to Des Moines, Iowa , five years later. As a child in Des Moines, Clarke sold newspapers for the Iowa State Register where his boss was future Baseball Hall of Fame member, Ed Barrow . In 1892,
2048-494: A minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field, and 400 feet (120 m) to center. (Rule 1.04, Note(a)). This rule was passed to avoid situations like the Los Angeles Coliseum , which was 251 ft (77 m). down the left field line. However, with the opening of Baltimore's Camden Yards (1992), the "minimum distance" rule began to be ignored. One factor may be that
2176-559: A modern-era record. In 1912 , Clarke passed Cap Anson and Frank Selee , giving him the Major League record for wins by a manager. Clarke's record, in turn, was broken by John McGraw in 1918 . In addition to the four pennants and one World Series, Clarke managed Pittsburgh to five second-place seasons, three third-place seasons, and two 100-win seasons. After his managing days ended in 1915, Clarke returned to his "Little Pirate Ranch" near Winfield, Kansas , which he had purchased with
2304-429: A multi-tiered seating area, a grandstand , surrounds the infield. How far this seating extends down the baselines or around the foul poles varies from park to park. In minor league parks, the grandstands are notably smaller, proportional to expected sizes of crowds compared with the major leagues. The seating beyond the outfield fence generally differs from the grandstand, though some multi-purpose or jewel box parks have
2432-578: A player and manager, roles he would embrace until his retirement in 1915. 1903 was arguably the best hitting season of Clarke's career as he led the Major Leagues in slugging average and OPS and led the National League in doubles . He finished second only to his teammate, Honus Wagner, for the National League batting title. In the first World Series , Clarke hit .265 but Boston 's Cy Young and Bill Dinneen outpitched Pittsburgh overall and won
2560-462: A player to catch any ball hit in the area. The lowest season of attendance came in 1914, when 139,620 people attended games; the highest at the stadium came in 1960, when 1,705,828 people watched the Pirates play. On September 23, 1956, the stadium's largest crowd, 44,932, gathered to see the home team play the Brooklyn Dodgers . The game was cut short in the top of the ninth inning, after
2688-402: A player, he hit a career-high .390. Only the best average of Willie Keeler 's career stopped Clarke from winning his only batting title. (For many years, Clarke's 1897 average was listed as .406, but further research led most official sources, including MLB.com , to list it at .390. ) Despite Clarke's excellent hitting and the presence of fellow Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Rube Waddell ,
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#17328693732152816-620: A professional team in Hastings, Nebraska sent a railroad ticket to Des Moines semiprofessional player Byron McKibbon, but McKibbon backed out and gave the ticket to Clarke instead. Clarke impressed the Hastings team and he signed his first professional contract. He was in the Southern League at age 21 and played for teams in Montgomery, Alabama , and Savannah, Georgia . Clarke was discovered in
2944-594: A rain delay forced it past the Pennsylvania Sunday curfew. The Dodgers won the game 8–2 the following day. At 200 people, June 10, 1938, was believed to have marked the smallest crowd to ever attend a Pirates game (against the Philadelphia Phillies), however, Baseball Reference has the attendance for that game listed as 1,034. On September 30, 1962, a crowd of 40,916 people saw the Steelers defeated by
3072-510: A regular player, 38-year-old Clarke made 10 putouts in left field in one game on April 25, 1911. Clarke played just 12 more games after 1911, the last three as the oldest active player in the majors. Clarke finished his career with a .312 batting average and is seventh on the all-time triples list with 220. He led his team to four National League pennants (1901, 1902, 1903 and 1909) and one World Series championship (1909). The 1902 Pirates lost only 36 games under Clarke's guidance, tying
3200-455: A reputation as a "pitcher-friendly" ballpark, there was never a no-hitter thrown in the more than 4,700 games at the stadium. The field itself consisted of natural grass grown in Crestline, Ohio . "There wasn't much flubdubber. You just got a ballgame. If you didn't like it, you could stay home." —Art McKennan, PA announcer Until 1942, Forbes Field's batting cage, when not in use,
3328-473: A rugby venue in New Zealand with an ETFE roof allowing grass to be grown indoors, or NFL stadiums like State Farm Stadium and Allegiant Stadium , which allow the grass field to be grown outside and then rolled indoors for games), the first generation of indoor parks predated such abilities. Since there was not enough light to grow grass, artificial turf is installed, and this affected the game. Artificial turf
3456-472: A similar boom. One of the first major league ballparks to be called a "stadium" was actually the Polo Grounds, which was temporarily renamed Brush Stadium from its reconstruction in 1911 until the death of owner John T. Brush in the 1920s. By then, the most famous baseball "stadium" of them all had been constructed: Yankee Stadium . From that point until the retro building boom of the 1990s, the suffix "Stadium"
3584-715: A three-game to one deficit to defeat the Washington Senators and win the World Series . Pittsburgh's third and final World Series championship while they played at Forbes Field came in 1960. Bill Mazeroski hit the first home run to end a World Series, the only walk-off home run in World Series Game 7 history. These two World Series victories mark the only times that the Pirates clinched a championship at home, with Forbes Field hosting both. Two unassisted triple plays were turned at Forbes Field. The first took place on May 7, 1925, when Pittsburgh's Glenn Wright achieved
3712-469: A visiting team clubhouse similar to the Pirates'. The facade of the stadium featured "buff-colored terra cotta" spelling out "PAC" for the Pittsburgh Athletic Company. The light green steelwork contrasted with the red slate of the roof. Some members of the press urged Dreyfuss to name the stadium after himself. Instead, he decided to honor General John Forbes , who captured Fort Duquesne from
3840-410: A wooden replica of an entrance to the stadium, including a ticket window and players entrance, was constructed and placed near the remaining wall in 2006. The home plate used in the stadium's final game remains preserved in the University of Pittsburgh's Posvar Hall . However, its location has been altered; author John McCollister wrote, "Had architects placed home plate in its precise spot about half of
3968-471: Is harder, and thus a ball hit on the ground moves faster and bounces higher. This, coupled with the usually dull white or gray roofs that could camouflage a fly ball, causing what Twins fans called a "dome-field advantage". A park of note is Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The park was designed with a large tower that loomed over top. Cables came down from the top of the tower to connect to the large oval center of
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4096-417: Is little consistency in the choice between "Field" and "Park". For example, Houston's Minute Maid Park was originally named "Enron Field". Seating area design of stadiums is affected by many variables, including required capacity, audience access, and road traffic. Early ballparks like Elysian Fields were a far distance from the city center. Each game was an event, and fans traveled by public transit to watch
4224-423: Is little space between the field and the street beyond. Some in-play scoreboards and high fences reached 50 to 60 feet (18 m), whereas a few outfields were even lined with hedges rather than normal fences or walls. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome , when set up for baseball, had a 23-foot (7.0 m) right field "fence" that was actually a relatively thin blue plastic sheet covering folded up football seats. It
4352-438: The foul lines or base lines , usually differentiated by referring to them as the first base line, or the third base line. If a ball hit by the batter lands outside of the space between these two lines or rolls out of this space before reaching first or third base, the ball is "foul" (meaning it is dead and the play is over). If it lands between or on the lines, it is "fair". At the end of the lines are two foul poles, which help
4480-467: The Belmont and Saratoga racetracks. Based on Dreyfuss' architectural requirements, Leavitt presented a plan for Forbes Field—the only ballpark he designed. Pirates' manager Fred Clarke also had input into the stadium's design, giving groundskeepers advice on the field, in addition to designing and patenting a device to spread and remove a canvas tarpaulin over the infield in case of rain. Initial work on
4608-614: The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis , which instead of a rigid masonry roof was covered by inflatable fiberglass sheeting, held up by air pressure. A drawback to this design, at least in Minnesota's severe winter climate, was revealed when the dome collapsed three times in its first three years of operation due to accumulated snow. The Tokyo Dome has a similar roof; due to Tokyo's considerably milder winter climate, that stadium has not had
4736-555: The Kingdome , whose formal name was "King County Domed Stadium", and the Metrodome, for which the Minneapolis highway signs directed the driver to "Metrodome Stadium". The retro era of the 1990s and early 2000s saw some venues return to using "park" in a stadium's name, even in domed structures such as T-Mobile Park and American Family Field (which opened with the name Miller Park). There
4864-600: The New York Giants , at the Steelers' highest-attended game at the stadium. Though Forbes Field was praised upon its opening, it began to show its age after 60 years of use. The park was the second oldest baseball field in the league at the time – only Shibe Park in Philadelphia was older (it was replaced in 1971 by Veterans Stadium ). The location of the park, which initially was criticized for not being developed, grew into
4992-596: The Oakland Coliseum being the last one in use. The Athletics moved out of Oakland Coliseum in 2024 and have temporairy moves into West Sacramento 's Sutter Health Park for three seasons as a new dedicated facility of their own is built in Las Vegas. Their former co-tenants, the NFL Oakland Raiders , moved to Las Vegas in 2020 & into Allegiant Stadium . Note: To reduce redundancy, this table does not list
5120-511: The University of Pittsburgh "Pitt" Panthers . The stadium sat on Forbes Avenue, named for British general John Forbes , who fought in the French and Indian War and named the city in 1758. The US$ 1 million ($ 33.9 million today) project was launched by Pittsburgh Pirates' owner Barney Dreyfuss to replace his franchise's second home, Exposition Park . The stadium was made of concrete and steel,
5248-456: The artificial turf . A community group attempted to rescue the structure from demolition, proposing such things as a stage, apartments and a farmers market for the site and comparing it to the Eiffel Tower in significance. The abandoned structure suffered two separate fires that damaged the park, on December 24, 1970, and July 17, 1971. Eleven days after the second fire, demolition began, and
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5376-425: The bullpens were moved from foul territory to the base of the scoreboard in left field and were fenced in, cutting 30 feet (9.1 m) from the left field area, from 365 feet (111 m) to 335 feet (102 m) down the line and 406 feet (124 m) to 376 feet (115 m) in left-center field. These were not abnormal major league outfield distances, but the obvious attempt to take advantage of Greenberg's bat led
5504-464: The minor leagues by Louisville part-owner, Barney Dreyfuss , and joined the Colonels in 1894 . In his first game, he collected five hits in five at bats which is still a Major League record. In his second season, he asserted himself with a batting average of .347, 191 hits and 96 runs , which were all best on the team by far. In 1897, Clarke took over managerial duties while only 24 years old. As
5632-452: The second Yankee Stadium , built 2009, used the same dimensions as the original Yankee Stadium . The heights of the fences can also vary greatly, the most famous example being the 37-foot (11 m)-high Green Monster in Fenway Park 's left field. Such tall fences are often used to stop easy home runs in a section of the ballpark where the distances from home are shorter, or where there
5760-514: The 1926 season, several players felt that Clarke was trying to undermine McKechnie and become manager once again. When slumping veteran (and eventual Hall of Famer) Max Carey got word that Clarke tried to pressure McKechnie into benching him, Carey demanded that Clarke be removed from the bench. He was supported by Babe Adams , the only player on the 1909 world champions still on the team, as well as another veteran, Carson Bigbee . McKechnie initially appeared to side with Carey, Adams and Bigbee, but
5888-501: The Boston Doves. Various National League officials and owners attended the pre-game ceremonies, including league president Harry Pulliam , Civil War veteran and manager of Pittsburgh's first professional baseball team Al Pratt , and American League president Ban Johnson . Pittsburgh Mayor William A. Magee threw out the stadium's ceremonial first pitch, tossing it from the second tier to John M. Morin, Director of Public Safety, on
6016-556: The French in 1758 and rebuilt a new " Fort Pitt " at the site. After Dreyfuss died in 1935, there was renewed media interest in renaming the stadium "Dreyfuss Field". His widow, Florence, resisted. However, a monument to Dreyfuss was placed in center field just in front of the wall. "Pittsburg can now boast of the world's finest baseball park. It is a marvel of which people in other cities can have no adequate conception until they come here and see it." — Fred Clarke , 1909 The first game
6144-498: The Grays' 1936 team have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame . Beginning in 1937, the Grays won nine consecutive Negro National League championships. Baseball park A ballpark , or baseball park , is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part based on
6272-481: The Metrodome's snow-related issues. Fred Clarke Fred Clifford Clarke (October 3, 1872 – August 14, 1960) was an American Major League Baseball player from 1894 to 1915 and manager from 1897 to 1915. Clarke played for and managed both the Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates . He was a left fielder and left-handed batter. Of the nine pennants in Pittsburgh franchise history, Clarke
6400-471: The Pirates fans could not view it. The reason: it would have to be on display in the fifth stall of the ladies' restroom." However, the original location of the home plate has been more recently determined by others to be approximately 81 feet (25 m) away from its current display, just inside the GSPIA /Economics Library, and not in a restroom as has been popularly believed. A ceremony is held each October 13 at
6528-646: The Three Rivers demolition, the section of the wall was salvaged, and in 2009 it was restored and placed on the Riverwalk outside of PNC Park . Meanwhile, the original location of that wall is outlined by bricks extending from the left-center field wall across Roberto Clemente Drive and into the sidewalk. A plaque embedded in the sidewalk marks the spot where Mazeroski's home run cleared the wall. The left-center and center field brick wall with "457 FT" and "436 FT" painted on it still stands at its original location, along with
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#17328693732156656-453: The average of 60 feet (18 m) in most stadiums of the time. Additional seating eventually cut down the plate-to-screen distance to a still larger-than-average 75 feet (23 m). With such a large outfield space, triples and inside-the-park home runs were common. The Pirates hit a record eight triples in a single game, on May 30, 1925. Conversely, the stadium was one of the most difficult to hit over-the-fence home runs. The closeness of
6784-415: The ballpark still stand, surrounded by the campus of the University of Pittsburgh . Fans gather on the site annually on the anniversary of Bill Mazeroski 's World Series winning home run , in what author Jim O'Brien writes is "one of the most unique expressions of a love of the game to be found in a major league city". In 1903, Pittsburgh Pirates ' owner Barney Dreyfuss began to look for ground to build
6912-459: The bases and home is normally a grass surface, save for the dirt mound in the center. Some ballparks have grass or artificial turf between the bases, and dirt only around the bases and pitcher's mound. Others, such as Koshien Stadium in Hyōgo Prefecture , Japan, have an infield of entirely dirt. Two white lines extend from the home plate area, aligned with the first and third bases. These are
7040-429: The bases: an urban location, with plenty of parking and public transportation available. The first professional baseball venues were large wooden ballparks with seats mounted on wood platforms. Although known for being constructed out of wood, they featured iron columns for better support. Some included one tier of inclined seating, topped with either a flat roof or, in some instances, a small upper tier. The outfield
7168-416: The batter. In many parks, the field is surrounded by an area roughly 10 feet (3.0 m) wide made of dirt or rubberized track surface called a " warning track ". In the 1937 refurbishment of the original Yankee Stadium , a running track that ran the perimeter of the field was incorporated into the field of play as the first warning track. MLB formalized the warning track as a requirement in 1949. Beyond
7296-408: The bleacher section about two-thirds of the way toward where the bleacher corner touched the fence, at a distance of 301 feet (92 m),[Pittsburgh Daily Post , June 27, 1909, p. 30], leaving a narrow slice which could benefit a strict pull hitter, but which soon proved bothersome to left fielders. In the early spring of 1912, the diamond was shifted so that the left field foul line intersected
7424-513: The broadcast, including Mazeroski himself. For the 50th anniversary, on October 13, 2010, a plaque honoring Mazeroski was dedicated and more than 1,000 attended the broadcast, including Mazeroski and several other former Pirates. In 1909, Forbes Field's opening season, the Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series . It was the only meeting of eventual Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb . On October 2, 1920, Forbes Field hosted
7552-810: The constraints of actual city blocks, often resulting in significantly asymmetrical outfield dimensions and large outfield walls to prevent easy home runs. Notable examples included League Park in Cleveland, which had a 40-foot (12 m)-tall wall in right field, and the Green Monster , the 37-foot (11 m)-tall left field wall at Fenway Park in Boston. Notable exceptions include Shibe Park and Comiskey Park , which were built on rectangular city blocks that were large enough to accommodate symmetrical left and right fields. Other sports, such as soccer and football , were often played at these sites (Yankee Stadium, for example,
7680-549: The cost at twice that amount. Dreyfuss announced that unlike established wooden ballparks such as the Polo Grounds , he would build a three-tiered stadium out of steel and concrete to increase longevity—the first of its kind in the nation. Charles Wellford Leavitt Jr. was contracted to design the stadium's grandstand. A civil engineer , Leavitt had founded an engineering and landscape architecture firm in 1897. He had gained experience in steel and concrete constructs while designing
7808-399: The dugouts, where the teams and coaches sit when they're not on the field. They are named such because, at the professional levels, this seating is below the level of the playing field to not block the view from prime spectator seating locations. In amateur parks, the dugouts may be above-ground wooden or CMU structures with seating inside, or simply benches behind a chain-link fence. Beyond
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#17328693732157936-509: The earliest baseball stadiums that incorporated this type of design was Cleveland Stadium (built 1932), which featured an oval grandstand that was more friendly to goal-centered sports like football. A park built to suit all sports well, which was co-owned by the teams or the city, seemed advantageous to all, especially because it was less expensive to maintain one stadium rather than two. Some parks that were originally built for one sport were renovated to accommodate multiple sports. The shape of
8064-511: The early ballparks. With the beginnings of professional baseball, the ballfield became part of a complex including fixed spectator seating areas, and an enclosure to restrict access to paying customers, as with a fairgrounds. The name "Grounds" began to be attached to ballparks, starting with the Union Grounds in 1862. The suffixes "Field" and "Park" were still used, but many professional ballparks were "Grounds". The last major league "Grounds"
8192-410: The elements. Besides the drawbacks of the cantilever design, there were other issues with these parks. With few exceptions, seating was angled to face the center of the field of play, rather than home plate. The furthest seats in these parks were 500 feet (150 m) or more from the plate. The capacities of these stadiums were larger than previous baseball stadiums. Typical game attendance did not fill
8320-530: The end of the left field fence rather than the bleacher section.[Pittsburgh Press , March 3, 1912, p. 20] By 1914, the left field distance was stated as 365 feet (111 m),[Pittsburgh Press , August 25, 1914, p. 20] which eventually became the distance marked on the fence. In 1921, the seating capacity was increased by the addition of several rows of new box seats.[Pittsburgh Press , February 13, 1921, pp. 15][Pittsburgh Daily Post , February 13, 1921, p. 18] In 1925, seating capacity received
8448-491: The fans had difficulty seeing over the football benches. This was evident in the movable seating sections in RFK Stadium. The first ten rows of the football configuration were practically at field level, and fans in those sections often stood up on their seats to get a better view. Other stadiums overcame this simply by covering those seats, not bothering to sell them. Despite being cost-effective, these problems eventually caused
8576-548: The feat. Two seasons later, in 1927, Jimmy Cooney —who had been a victim of the first triple play—also acquired three outs by himself. On May 25, 1935, at Forbes Field, Babe Ruth hit the last three home runs of his career as his Boston Braves lost to the Pirates, 11–7. His last home run cleared the right field stands roofline, making him the first player to ever do so. On October 8, 1946, six months before his major league debut, Jackie Robinson played with his African American all-stars against Honus Wagner 's all-stars. Most of
8704-510: The field below. Morin then went to the mound and threw the first pitch to the Pirate catcher. The Pittsburgh Press wrote, "the ceremonies were witnessed by the largest throng that ever attended an event of this kind in this or any other city in the country...Forbes Field is so immense—so far beyond anything else in America in the way of a baseball park—that old experts, accustomed to judging crowds at
8832-453: The field. Like its English relative, cricket , there is significant flexibility in the shape and size of the rest of the playing area. Baseball leagues may specify a minimum distance from home plate to the outfield fences. Generally, the higher the skill level, the deeper the minimum dimensions must be, to prevent an excess of home runs. In the major leagues, a rule was passed in 1958 that compelled any new fields built after that point to have
8960-596: The first indoor sports stadium ever built, was built to escape the hot and very humid climate of Houston and the Kingdome was built to escape Seattle's constant fall and winter rains. In Japan, domed stadiums were built to escape frequently rainy climates, as well as extreme snowfall in Sapporo. There is little to no natural light in these parks, necessitating the use of one of the most distinguishing aspects of an indoor park: artificial turf. While technology now allows for grass to be used in indoor venues (see Forsyth Barr Stadium ,
9088-588: The first such stadium in the National League and third in Major League Baseball, in a bid to be more durable than wooden ballparks. The Pirates opened Forbes Field on June 30, 1909, against the Chicago Cubs , and played the final game against the Cubs on June 28, 1970. The field itself featured a large playing surface, with the batting cage placed in the deepest part of center field during games. Seating
9216-399: The foul poles and did not completely enclose the field. Plans were made to enclose the grandstand and build a dome, but engineers discovered that the structure could not handle the load of the proposed dome. Thus, the area behind the outfield fence remained open. One major innovation of the multi-purpose parks was the cantilevered upper deck. In earlier ballparks, the columns used to support
9344-600: The game-action scenes from the 1951 film Angels in the Outfield were filmed at the stadium. On May 28, 1956, Dale Long of the Pirates took what one author has stated was the first-ever curtain call in baseball history, after hitting home runs in eight consecutive games caused fans to cheer for five minutes. The Homestead Grays of the Negro leagues played all home games at Forbes Field from 1922 to 1939. Grays owner Cumberland Posey became friends with Dreyfuss, who rarely missed
9472-426: The game. With the growth of professional leagues, and consequent growth in the quantity of games, each game became less of an event, and fan convenience became more important. Many professional ballparks were built either near the city center, or in working-class neighborhoods, based on the expected economic level of the average fan. Consequently, the classic ballparks typically had little space for automobiles, as it
9600-538: The game. Pittsburgh went on to win the game and the championship. Groundskeepers burned gasoline on the mound to dry it off. Forbes Field had an original capacity of 25,000, the largest in the league at the time. Seating at the stadium was remodeled numerous times, peaking at a capacity of 41,000 in 1925 and closing in 1970 at 35,000 seats. On opening day, ticket prices ranged from $ 1.25 (equal to $ 42.39 today) for box seats and $ 1 (equal to $ 33.91 today) for reserved grand stand sections; temporary bleachers were set up for
9728-415: The grandstand surround the entire field. This area could contain inexpensive bleacher seats, smaller grandstands, or simply inclined seating. In local ballparks, there are often simply a set or two of aluminum bleachers on the first-base and third-base sides. Distinctive from "goal games" such as football and basketball , which have fixed-size playing areas, the infield is the only rigidly laid-out part of
9856-424: The home plate umpire stand. Next to the first and third base are two coaches' boxes, where the first and third base coaches guide the baserunners, generally with gestures or shouts. As the baserunner faces away from the outfield when running from second base to third, they cannot see where the ball is and must look to the third base coach on whether to run, stop, or slide. Farther from the infield on either side are
9984-440: The indoor stadiums of the multi-purpose era in this section. *A baseball-only ballpark converted to a multi-purpose stadium. **A football-only stadium converted to a multi-purpose stadium. ‡ denotes stadium is also a retractable-roof ballpark An important type of ballpark is the indoor park . These parks are covered with a fixed roof, usually a hard concrete dome. The reasons to build indoor parks are varied. The Astrodome ,
10112-453: The infield and between the foul lines is a large grass outfield, generally twice the depth of the infield. The playing field is bordered by fences of varying heights. The infield fences are in foul territory, and a ball hit over them is not a home run; consequently, they are often lower than the outfield fences to provide a better view for spectators. Sometimes, the outfield fence is made higher in certain areas to compensate for close proximity to
10240-406: The land began on January 1, 1909, but ground was not officially broken until March 1. Nicola Building Company built the stadium in 122 days and play began less than four months after ground was broken, on June 30. Though the scoreboard was operated by hand, the ballpark featured multiple innovations such as ramps and elevators to assist fan movement throughout the park, a room for the umpires, and
10368-674: The last triple-header in MLB history. On August 5, 1921, Forbes Field was the site of the first live radio broadcast of a Major League Baseball game in the United States. Harold Arlin announced the play-by-play action between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies over KDKA from a box seat next to the first-base dugout. Regular broadcasts of Pirates games began over KDKA in 1936, announced by A. K. "Rosey" Rowswell ,
10496-414: The last one, Oriole Park V, burning down in 1944. The earliest ballparks built or rebuilt of reinforced concrete , brick, and steel are now known as the jewel box ballparks or classic parks . Two-tiered grandstands became much more prevalent in this era, as well. The Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, which opened in 1895, was the first to use steel and brick as the primary construction materials and included
10624-425: The left (as well as those surrounding the left field and right-center field towers). Unlike the batting cage and the flagpole just to its right, the light towers themselves—as opposed to the aforementioned fences—were not in play; a batted ball striking any one of them, or landing inside the surrounding fence, was a home run. In 1947, well after Dreyfuss' death, and upon the arrival of veteran slugger Hank Greenberg ,
10752-510: The lower level. However, because of the supports used, the upper decks could come very close to the field. The two-tiered design was the standard for decades, until the New York Yankees built Yankee Stadium . To accommodate the large crowds Babe Ruth drew, Yankee Stadium was built with three tiers. This became the new standard until some recently built parks reverted to two, including PNC Park in 2001. Most jewel box parks were built to fit
10880-677: The media to dub the area "Greenberg Gardens". Greenberg retired after the season, but by then Ralph Kiner was an established slugger with the Pirates, and the bullpen was redubbed "Kiner's Korner". Kiner was traded after the 1953 season, and the field was restored to its previous configuration in time for the 1954 season. The final posted dimensions of the ballpark were left field line 365 feet (111 m), left-center field 406 feet (124 m), deepest left-center 457 feet (139 m), deep right-center 436 feet (133 m), right-center field 375 feet (114 m), and right field line 300 feet (91 m). The only marker in exact straightaway center field
11008-664: The most famous examples is the original Yankee Stadium, whose odd-shaped plot of land caused right field to be over 100 feet (30 m) shorter than left, although this difference lessened over time. The rectangular Polo Grounds had extremely short distance down the lines, 258 ft (79 m). to right and 280 ft (85 m). to left. In contrast, the deepest part of center field was nearly 500 ft (150 m). from home plate. Older ballparks, such as Fenway Park , were grandfathered in and allowed to keep their original dimensions. Also, new parks have sometimes received special dispensation to deviate from these rules. For instance,
11136-402: The north or east or some direction between. Major League Baseball Rule 1.04 states that it is "desirable" (but not required) that the central axis run east-northeast (about 22 degrees north of east). This is to prevent the setting sun from being in the batter's eyes. In practice, major league parks vary up to about 90 degrees from east-northeast in either direction, but none face west, except for
11264-411: The occasion and cost $ 0.50. Ticket prices were considered high for the day and steel pillars supporting the roof occasionally blocked fans' views of the field. Two thousand bleacher seats were situated along the left field side; tickets were sold for a maximum of $ 1. When winning streaks attracted high attendance to games, fans were permitted to sit on the grass in right field, provided they agreed to allow
11392-481: The old Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., part of center field had to be built around a cluster of apartment houses and the result was a rather large angular indentation in the left-center field fence. Now, these variations are mostly influenced by the specifications and whims of the designers. New "retro" parks, which try to recapture the feel of the jewel box parks, are often designed to have these quirks. Baseball
11520-413: The outfield fence in professional parks is an area called the batter's eye . To ensure the batter can see the white ball, the batter's eye contains no seating and is darker in color. The batter's eye area can be anything from a dark wall to a grassy slope. Most major league ballparks are oriented with the central axis (home plate through second base through center field) of the playing field running toward
11648-640: The outfield wall in Oakland to listen to a taped broadcast of the final game of the 1960 World Series. The tradition was started by Squirrel Hill resident Saul Finkelstein, who at 1:05 pm on October 13, 1985, sat alone at the base of the flagpole and listened to the NBC radio broadcast of Chuck Thompson and Jack Quinlan . Finkelstein continued the tradition for eight more years, until word spread and other people began attending in 1993. On October 13, 2000—the game's 40th anniversary—over 600 people attended to listen to
11776-552: The parks generally depended on the original use. Ballparks that were renovated to accommodate football, like Candlestick Park and Anaheim Stadium , were usually asymmetrically shaped. Football stadiums that were renovated to accommodate baseball, like Sun Life Stadium and Mile High Stadium , were usually of a rectangular shape, though Mile High actually started its life in 1948 as a Minor League Baseball park known as Bears Stadium. Parks that were built to serve both were usually circular and completely enclosed on all sides. These were
11904-490: The parks that gained multi-purpose parks the reputation as bland cookie-cutter structures. The first of these parks was DC Stadium (renamed RFK Stadium in 1969) in the District of Columbia . RFK is unique in that it hosted two different baseball teams , and that it was the first to originally be intended for multiple sports. A notable variant among the cookie-cutter stadia was Shea Stadium . Its grandstand extended just beyond
12032-451: The parks to become unfashionable. The multi-purpose architecture reached a climax when Toronto's SkyDome (now Rogers Centre ) opened in 1989. It had state-of-the-art amenities including a retractable roof, hotel, and a restaurant behind the outfield from where patrons could view the games. Rogers Centre was renovated into a baseball only stadium from 2022 to 2024. There are no more purely open-air multi-purpose parks still in use today, with
12160-417: The placement of bases, and the outfield is where dimensions can vary widely from ballpark to ballpark. A larger ballpark may also be called a baseball stadium because it shares characteristics of other stadiums . A baseball field can be referred to as a diamond. The infield is a rigidly structured diamond of dirt and grass containing the three bases, home plate, and the pitcher's mound. The space between
12288-412: The quaint, "retro" look of Camden Yards, with its irregular measurements, proved to be very popular, along with a traditionalist backlash against the symmetrical, multi-purpose, "cookie-cutter" stadiums. Since the opening of Camden Yards, many other "retro" stadiums have been built, each with asymmetrical fences. These distances vary from park to park, and can even change drastically in the same park. One of
12416-440: The recent flood of sub-350-foot home runs, Dreyfuss readily complied by erecting a 28-foot (8.5 m) high screen. Even at this long distance from home plate, the fence stood 12 feet (3.7 m) in height in left and center fields, with the new right field wall reduced to 9.5 feet (2.9 m) following the 1925 construction (later topped by the screen). The backstop was set at 110 feet (34 m) behind home plate, larger than
12544-417: The relocated cage continuing to impact balls in play, the Pirates finally settled on what would become its permanent and, by far, best-remembered home: in fair territory, just to the left of the 457-foot (139 m) marker in deepest left-center. The open part of the cage faced the wall, its rear effectively serving as a convex fence, somewhat akin to that surrounding the base of the light tower standing just to
12672-454: The right field line from 1925 onward was the only area that compromised Dreyfuss' original design concept. Even at that, the right field wall angled sharply out to 375 feet (114 m), a typical distance for a major league power alley. Babe Ruth hit the final three home runs of his career in Forbes Field on May 25, 1935; the third of these cleared the 89-foot (27 m) right field roof and
12800-401: The roof. This oval center was supposed to be lifted by the cables, opening the park up if the weather was pleasant. However, the mechanism never worked correctly, and what was supposed to be a retractable roof was initially not used, then used for only a short period of time, and later replaced with a permanently fixed roof, making the stadium a strictly indoor facility. Another notable park was
12928-476: The series in eight games. In the 1909 World Series , Clarke batted only .211 but hit both of Pittsburgh's home runs and had more home runs and RBI than any player on either team. Clarke also set a record for most walks for one player in a World Series game with four in Game 7. On August 23, 1910, Clarke recorded four assists from the outfield in one game, tying a Major League record. The following season, his last as
13056-503: The site was cleared for use by the University of Pittsburgh. In 1955, a statue of Honus Wagner was dedicated in Schenley Plaza adjacent to Forbes Field. Several thousand fans attended the dedication as well as Wagner himself. His failing health caused him to never leave his open convertible in which he arrived (Wagner died near the end of that year). The 1,800-pound (820 kg) statue was moved to Three Rivers Stadium in 1970. Today,
13184-471: The stadium's flagpole, adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh 's Mervis and Posvar Halls . Despite not technically being the correct section of wall where Mazeroski's famous home run cleared, it is often locally referred to as "Mazeroski's Wall." This portion of the wall remained after Forbes Field was torn down, and was refurbished in 2006 in time for the All-Star Game hosted in Pittsburgh. In addition,
13312-401: The stadiums. Due to the rectangular shape needed for football or soccer, outfield dimensions were generally symmetrical, and even seats at field level down the lines could be far from the action. Multi-purpose stadiums also posed issues for their non-baseball tenants. The "cookie-cutters" with swiveling, field-level sections proved problematic. Because the front rows were too close to the field,
13440-463: The stands. In Citi Field and Oracle Park , part of the right field fence juts unevenly into the outfield as if the builders were trying to create an unpredictable ricochet effect for balls hit against it. Some "retro" parks, such as Globe Life Park in Arlington , throw in a sudden and small inward turn (often referred to as a jog) just to give a little quirkiness to the design. Milwaukee's Miller Park
13568-465: The statue stands at the home plate entrance of PNC Park . The portion of the left field wall over which Bill Mazeroski hit his walk-off home run to end the 1960 World Series, between the scoreboard and the "406 FT" sign, no longer stands at its original location. A portion of that wall, including the distance marker, had been sliced off and moved to the Allegheny Club at Three Rivers Stadium. Before
13696-417: The suburbs and bought cars, the lack of parking became an important issue. Some ballparks remedied this problem through the construction of parking garages in the vicinity, or building new ballparks with ample parking. Others built ballparks in the suburbs, typically with large parking areas. The ballpark/stadium thus became an "island" in an "ocean" of parking space. The modern "retro" trend seeks to cover all
13824-459: The team struggled for several years. While in Louisville, Clarke was teamed up with pitcher Chick Fraser . Clarke and Fraser became brothers-in-law when they married sisters. When the Colonels folded, Barney Dreyfuss became the owner of the Pittsburgh franchise and tapped Clarke, Wagner, Waddell, Deacon Phillippe , and others to accompany him. In 1900, Clarke joined the Pittsburgh Pirates as
13952-400: The umpires judge whether a ball is fair or foul. These "foul poles" are actually in fair territory, so a ball that hits them on the fly is a home run (if hit on the bounce, it is instead an automatic double). On either side of home plate are the two batter's boxes (left-handed and right-handed.) This is where the batter stands when at bat. Behind home is the catcher's box, where the catcher and
14080-427: The upper decks obstructed the view from some seats in the lower deck. In the new design, the upper decks were extended upwards and the columns were removed. However, even though the extension counterbalanced some of the weight, the upper decks could no longer extend as close to the field and had to be moved back. Also, the roofs could no longer be as large, and often only covered the top 15 or so rows. This exposed fans to
14208-904: The wooden stands aged and dried. Many parks caught fire, and some were leveled completely. This problem, along with the popularization of baseball and expectations for long-term use of the parks were major factors that drove the transition to the new standard materials for ballparks: steel and concrete. Some famous wooden parks, such as the Polo Grounds III in New York and National League Park in Philadelphia, burned and were rebuilt with fire-resistant materials (Polo Grounds IV and Baker Bowl). Others were simply abandoned in favor of new structures built elsewhere. These new fire-resistant parks often lasted for many decades, and (retrospectively) came to be known as "jewel boxes". There are no more professional ballparks in existence left with this architectural trend, with
14336-532: Was altered multiple times throughout the stadium's life; at times fans were permitted to sit on the grass in the outfield during overflow crowds . The Pirates won three World Series while at Forbes Field; the Pittsburgh Panthers football team had five undefeated seasons before moving in 1924. In 1958, broadcaster Bob Prince dubbed Forbes Field "The House of Thrills" for the then-resurgent Pirates and several games that saw late-inning heroics. Some remnants of
14464-399: Was bordered by tall walls or fences covered in advertisements, much like today's minor league parks. These advertisements were sometimes fronted with bleacher seats, or "bleaching boards". Wood, while prone to decomposition, was a relatively inexpensive material. However, the use of wood as the primary material presented a major problem, especially as baseball continued to thrive. Over time,
14592-488: Was considered the longest home run in the park's history. The last major change to the outfield came in 1946, when the fence in left and center was replaced by a brick wall.[Pittsburgh Press , December 2, 1945, p. 36] The fence had been painted green, while the bricks were of a reddish color. Ivy was planted at the base of the new wall, restoring the green background enjoyed by batters.[Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph , April 21, 1946, p. 21] Although Forbes Field developed
14720-782: Was designed to accommodate football). In contrast to the later multi-purpose parks, the seats were generally angled in a configuration suitable for baseball. The "retro" ballparks built in the 1990s and beyond are an attempt to capture the feel of the jewel box parks. The only jewel box parks still used by Major League Baseball are Fenway Park and Wrigley Field . From the 1960s until the arrival of retro parks in 1992, baseball built many multi-purpose ballparks . Also derisively known as "concrete donuts", "cookie-cutters", or "giant ashtrays", they were usually tall and circular or square structures made entirely of, usually bare, reinforced concrete. The parks were built to hold baseball, but also were able to host other sports, such as football and soccer. One of
14848-450: Was designed, with the help of former player Robin Yount , to promote extra base hits . Originally (mostly in the old jewel box parks) these variations resulted from the shape of the property where the park was constructed. If there was a street beyond left field, the distance to the left field fence would be shorter, and if the distance was too short, the fence would be higher. For example, in
14976-441: Was expected that most fans would take mass transit to the games, a situation that still prevails at Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field , for example. Some early ballparks, such as Brooklyn's Eastern Park , were abandoned because the trolley lines did not go out far enough and the team was not performing well enough for people to tolerate the inconvenience. As fans became more affluent, and especially as they moved to
15104-476: Was first made in 1948, but plans did not attract much attention until the late 1950s. Construction began on Three Rivers Stadium on April 25, 1968. The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs played a double-header on June 28, 1970. Pittsburgh won the first game 3–2. In the later game Al Oliver hit the last home run in the park, and Matty Alou drove in two runs as the Pirates closed the 62-year-old stadium with
15232-535: Was forced to recant rather than risk appearing to criticize the front office. A resolution calling for Clarke's removal from the bench only garnered the support of three other players. Ownership struck fast and hard; on August 13, the Pirates released Adams and Bigbee, and waived Carey. They finished 84–69, third in the league behind the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds , and McKechnie lost his job. Fred Clarke
15360-408: Was often called a "baggie" or "Hefty bag". Some ballparks have irregularly shaped fences. Ballparks may have round swooping fences or rigidly angled fences, or possibly a significant change in direction or irregular angle. For example, the center field stands and the left field stands at Fenway Park meet at an uneven angle, creating an indentation (called "the triangle") that angles sharply back into
15488-450: Was originally played in open fields or public parks. The genesis of modern baseball is conventionally connected with Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey , a large public park where the businessmen of New York City gathered from time to time to play organized baseball games and cricket matches, starting around the mid-1840s. The name "Field" or "Park" was typically attached to the names of
15616-419: Was played at Forbes Field on June 30, 1909, one day after the Pittsburgh Pirates had defeated the Chicago Cubs , 8–1, at Exposition Park. Fans began to arrive at the stadium six and one-half hours early for the 3:30 p.m. game. Weather conditions were reported as clear skies with a temperature around 80 degrees. Flags flew at half staff to honor the recently deceased presidents of the Philadelphia Phillies and
15744-540: Was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945 as one of the first to be elected by the Old-Timers Committee. He was one of 24 original inductees into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1951. Clarke remained active and seemingly indestructible into his 70s. In 1947, while fishing in northern Minnesota , he and his wife were thrown into icy northern Minnesota waters by a storm, but he was back out fishing
15872-407: Was stored on the field, in front of the stands directly behind home plate, a bare-bones but viable solution rendered obsolete by the introduction that season of a new, considerably larger cage. During that season and part of 1943, the new cage resided in foul territory, down the right field line, near the Pirates' bullpen. At some point prior to July 26, 1943, evidently prompted by numerous instances of
16000-491: Was the Polo Grounds in New York City, which was razed in 1964. The term " stadium " has been used since ancient times, typically for a running track and its seating area. As college football gained in popularity, the smaller college playing fields and running tracks (which also frequently had the suffix "Field") gave way to large stadiums, many of them built during the sport's "boom" of the 1920s. Major league baseball enjoyed
16128-468: Was the player-manager for four of them. He and fellow Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Vic Willis led Pittsburgh to a victory over Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers in the 1909 World Series . Clarke batted over .300 in 11 different seasons. His 35-game hitting streak in 1895 was the second-longest in Major League history at the time. For six years, Clarke held the Major League record for wins by
16256-476: Was the Barney Dreyfuss monument, which sat on the playing field just in front of the wall. Some sources stated 442 feet (135 m) as the distance to straightaway center. Some sources also stated 408 feet (124 m) as a right-center distance, to the unmarked point where the center field wall intersected the end of the double-deck stands. Forbes Field's outfield fences / walls featured no advertising, except
16384-483: Was used for almost every new major league venue, and was sometimes applied to the old ones, such as Shibe Park , which was renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1954. The suffix "Dome" was also used for the indoor stadiums constructed from the 1960s onward. The official names of those arenas also often included the word "Stadium", such as the Houston Astrodome , whose formal name was "Harris County Domed Stadium" in 1965;
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