I don't know if this counts as a jewel box stadium, but there is a staircase people used to access the Polo Grounds in New York that still remains, that might have been cool to highlight,
Idk, but had I remembered about Polo Grounds when I went to NYC years ago, I would have visited. I just wish I could see the video where the San Francisco Giants went there with the Commissioner's Trophy to honor the legacy of their former home.
@@AEMoreira81 It's on Edgecombe between 157th and 158h Street. It winds right down to the Harlem River Driveway and a view of the Polo Grounds Houses. I walked those stairs during a Yankees day game and if all is good, you can hear the Stadium crowd from there.
@@RCfromtheNYC Used to run from a subway station there down to the ticket house, if I recall correctly. Also, don't they have the original home plate area somewhere in a courtyard of the housing project that's there now?
Yes, the Polo Grounds is considered a jewel box stadium. Surprised it's not on this list. Yankee Field was also considered a jewel box stadium, and while it's mostly gone, there's an amateur league park that uses the old stadium's outline. Kind of the same with Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The stadium is gone, but the ballfield is still there. It's the Boys and Girls Club's athletic field.There's a little league field with HP where the original was. The outfield is also used for football.
They used to roll the batting cage into deep center field when BP was over and it was in play. Just to the left of the 457' sign. There's a great pic of it online. Those were the good old days.
@Rob-vy6zx I have a friend who refers to SunTrust/Truist as "Lester Maddox Park," because it was blatantly obviously moved from the majority-Black downtown Atlanta neighborhood it was in to a lily-white suburb that doesn't even have any public transit within a half-hour walk.
@Rob-vy6zx Not really fair. Boston just wasn't big enough for two teams, the Braves had been in decline for decades prior to leaving. One oddity of history is that in 1948 the Indians had to beat the Red Sox in the first ever AL playoff game before beating the Boston Braves for the World Series. Had that playoff game gone the other way we would have had a subway series in Boston. Whether such a thing could have sparked local interest in the Braves to keep them in Boston beyond 1952 I guess we'll never know, but I see no way they stayed in Boston long term.
I've now been to all 19 of the 1950s MLB park locations (Kansas City the most recent). It took 25 years to do. Of the lost ballparks, Pittsburgh has done the best job of preservation. An outfield wall and flagpole are still there . . . home plate is under plexiglass in the floor of an engineering building . . . and the spot where Mazeroski's home run cleared the fence is painted on the street. Braves Field in Boston is next best. The most disappointing and depressing location is Ebbets Field . . .
I think league park is the best since it actually has a building which is now a baseball museum and the wall along with the dugout staircase and wall dimensions on the turf field tho the area is pretty ghetto
Similar to what you have there for Commisky, the home plate of Griffith Stadium (Washington, D.C.) is outlined today on the floor of a corridor in Howard University Hospital.
A little technicality to go with Tiger Stadium: Initially "Navin Field," it was built as a replacement for Bennett Park, which had occupied the site from 1896 to 1911. Where you see home plate is where left field had been. I've read a few anecdotes over time that the infield at Bennett could be a challenge at times, as cobblestones occasionally poked up through the dirt, presenting a risk of serious injury, or at the very least, a bad bounce when struck by a ball in play. We are also fortunate to have in Detroit one of the surviving stadiums from the Negro Leagues, Hamtramck Stadium, which was restored and re-opened last fall.
@@davidswift7776 Well said. I grew up with it as "Tiger Stadium", and I used to be amused at how many of my relatives would call it "Briggs", not even aware of the name change.
Great work, love your videos. You should consider Parc Jarry, first home of the Expos de Montréal. Such a cozy place, I am old and I have been many times. ⚾⚾🇨🇦🇺🇲⚾⚾
I wish I could go back in time. Being from the Cleveland area I've been to what League Park is now. I would have loved to see a game there in its heyday. Would also loved to have gone to Ebbets Field and and Forbes Field. I consider myself lucky that I've been to old Comiskly, Detroit and Yankee Stadiums. Been to Wrigley also. Still have to make a roadtrip to Boston some day.
Also Buffalo was nice.D filmed d natural there.Fenway worth d trip citi field is a lot like ol Ebbets.Have a good trip.Also triple AAA red Sox play in.worcester,on d way to Boston.
@@stevensuarez6564 It was designed by the same architects that made Shea. They destroyed a whole neighborhood to create it. I 've been there,still amazingly beautiful with spectacular view at sunset. I once went to 18 of the older parks,with Fenway and Wrigley,equally great. The worst Stadium was Montreal's Olympic. It was like playing in a concrete parking lot. Old Astrodome was nice. Out of the newer old stadiums,the oldest Baltimore"still looks fresh. Pittsburgh,is beautiful. The new Yankee Stadium is like a octagon costs 1.4 Billion,the cement is already cracking,costs almost twice as much as Citi Field, yet Citi field looks like another different great stadium every 100 feet. Its very dark when you enter,but then the green field greets you with great views. Anaheim and Kansas City are ancient, but very nice. Even massive and much maligned Oakland, has a 1970s baseball feel to it,but in a nostalgic gritty good way. My Fav was going to Wrigley in the day and experiencing Old Comiskey at night, with the firework home run pinwheel. ...Ah the bad old good day s. 2 real doubleheader games, 2 dollar admission, 2 dollar beers, 2 dollar hot dogs, and pure 2 hour baseball games, no 7 innings no replays no mercy ghost players at second base no two minutes preening with multicolor neon arms colored hair and walk up music, and 2 seconds admiring your own home run, that hits the wall for only a single.At least it's alive in my mind and You Tube.Have a good summer! 🙏🇺🇸⚾👌
Been to many games at the Wade in the 90s, people called it "Shawshank" because the tall brick facade looked similar to a prison. Nowadays the brick walls have been lowered a tad and some chunks were taken out and replaced with fencing but yes much of it still looks as it did even in the 1940s
The Jewel Box ballparks are the American equivalent to those historic soccer/football stadiums in the UK like Anfield, Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford, and it's a shame that most of them are gone.
As someone who lives in pittsburgh, the home plate for forbes field is actually encased in the ground floor of the white building to the left there on google maps.
@@alfjgist that's awesome. i think i visited years ago. I took in a lot of games at Three Rivers when i was a kid. I unfortunately never got to see Clemente play. My first game was the following summer after he died.
I saw lots of games at Three Rivers too, but never really saw my favorites play in person. I was born after Forbes Field was torn down, so unfortunately, I only get to see what’s left of it
I'll never forget the first time my dad walked me into Detroit Tigers Stadium. I was probably about 9 or 10 years old. The smell of Hot Dogs beer and popcorn and peanuts, the old walkways around the mezzanine with probably 40 coats of paint on the walls. And then each section or two there was this small little walkway tunnel that took you up a slight incline to get to your seats. And we were in the lower deck and I remember distinctly as we neared the opening You could hear the people and the noises and the batting practice getting louder and the blue sky and the white puffy clouds and the stadium was just painted green everywhere. Green seats green handrails green steel Support and everything. I'll just never forget that sun-bleached field of green grass in the middle of June in the great state of Michigan. Mickey lolich, Aurelio Rodriguez, Eddie Brinkman; Stormin Norman Cash, Mickey Stanley, Willie Horton, Al Kaline. Bill Freehan. They were all there!
Interesting to see Comiskey, I went to many games there in the '80s as a kid, I used to imagine Babe Ruth standing at the plate as I looked at it, hitting the HR in the first-ever All-Star game in 1933 that was played there and that I'd seen videos of. I have many memories of players standing at that plate, and now it's just a spot in a parking lot.
My Grandfather took me to my first baseball game at Briggs Stadium, which was later on renamed Tiger Stadium in Detroit. He was an immigrant from Glasgow, Scotland, had never seen a baseball game in his life. A fellow Ford Company worker took him to one, and he never looked back. He listened to every game on the radio, either at home or at work. My Grandmother said the only reason they got a TV is that he could watch the Tigers!
Mine was an immigrant from Slovakia. Became a huge Phillies fan, even as they were always terrible. He died in the late 80s. I was still too young, but a few years later, I went on a bus trip from the Senior Center with my grandmother, his wife. She didn't like baseball, but we both actually had so much fun!
The field where Tigers Stadium used to be, was redone by fans who were trying to have the field declared a landmark. Before the city sold the lot, many old-time baseball games, with a lot of cosplay, took place there.
I had many wonderful times at Tiger Stadium as a kid, and while I no longer live in the Detroit area, any time I visit, a drive past the ol' stadium grounds is the last thing I do before I get on the road home. Doesn't matter to me if it's out of the way, it's simply something I enjoy doing. Plus, there's a White Castle there on Michigan Avenue, so I get my fix because we don't have those where I live. 😊
remember the 440 feet center-field wall? And the huge flagpole about 3 or 4 ft inside the wall. And IN PLAY in case the ball went behind it. We used to love the $2 tickets to get to the bleachers, with 10,000 other fans just bringing our own food and sneaking in drinks well rum and coke and Ice. They actually let you bring your own bag of food and stuff to the bleachers way back in the 80's. I'll never forget the first time my dad walked me into Detroit Tigers Stadium. I was probably about 9 or 10 years old. The smell of Hot Dogs beer and popcorn and peanuts, the old walkways around the mezzanine with probably 40 coats of paint on the walls. And then each section or two there was this small little walkway tunnel that took you up a slight incline to get to your seats. And we were in the lower deck and I remember distinctly as we neared the opening You could hear the people and the noises and the batting practice getting louder and the blue sky and the white puffy clouds and the stadium was just painted green everywhere. Green seats green handrails green steel Support and everything. I'll just never forget that sun-bleached field of green grass in the middle of June in the great state of Michigan. Mickey lolich, Aurelio Rodriguez, Eddie Brinkman; Stormin Norman Cash, Mickey Stanley, Willie Horton, Al Kaline. Bill Freehan. They were all there!
@@codybanks1942 I thought I read that they left the flagpole standing after Tiger Stadium was demolished. Based on Google Street view, it looks like it's still there.
Home plate is in the forbes quadrangle. And there was a line of bricks that used to be the wall where mazeroski hit the infamous home run that won it for the pirates in '60.
@@jwbogacki Yes and No. For years, surveyors supposedly stated that the real location of home plate should have been in the 5th stall of the 1st floor women's bathroom in Posver Hall. Later calculations placed the actual location just outside Posver Hall in one of the walkways near one of the libraries. If you look at Historic Aerials, which isn't always exactly accurate, it should be closer to the bathroom like some believe, but if you look at the bend in the still-standing wall and deduct the footage back to where it shows, then it is outside the Hall close to where the surveyors believed near the library.
My favorite memory from Forbes Field in Pittsburgh was watching Willie Mays hit a 3 run homer to break up a 0-0 game in the ninth inning. Bob Veale was pitching for the Pirates and Juan Marichal threw the shutout for the Giants.
Another note about the field from Tiger Stadium that's still left; The original 125ft flagpole remains in the same spot it has stood in for over 100 years.
I don't think money did, I think it was the steroid Era. Baseball was not made for these behemoths to smash the ball 600 feet, but now it's what people expect. Football overall is a much more fun sport to watch now than baseball or basketball.
@@MrBestinhalo no, he's right. Money has ruined it. Back in the heyday of these parks a family of 4 could go to a game and maybe spend $10-$15 tops including a programs, peanuts, hotdogs, and drinks. Now, in today's dollars as compared to, say, 1955 that's $154. However, today $154 might get you parking and into the stadium and that's it.
@@georgehenan853 inflation has nothing to do with it. Going to baseball games has been hard for blue collar families for about 20 years now. Ever since contracts have taken off and these billion dollar stadiums started popping up. Back in 1980 you could buy a ticket for a child to see a Phillies game for 50 cents. That's $1.91 accounting for inflation today. An adult ticket would be about $15 in today's prices. Today, a seat in the highest level at Citizens Bank Park is $48. That's almost $200 just to get into the ball park and not taking into account the $25 to park and God forbid you want to eat something. They've priced the low income fan right out of the building. I'll give you another for instance. My dad had season tickets to the Phillies in 1982. We sat in the 200 level which was equivalent to the 100 level at CBP. They were good seats. They were $12 per game per seat. That $40 in today's dollars, almost the same price as nose bleeds today. So it's not inflation, it's to help pay for Bryce Harper's $33 million a year contract.
I’ve been inside a building at the University of Pittsburgh which includes a hallway with the original home plate of Forbes Field under a glass cover. An inscription says the plate is in its original spot. Right where Maz won the ‘60 World Series with his homer, and where Roberto Clemente hit his many.
If I'm not mistaken Home Plate from Forbes was transferred to Three Rivers. And there's been discussion as to if Home Plate is the the final position. Home Plate having been moved one or twice during Forbes existence.
Thank you for sharing, I hadn't recognized how magical my youth was especially regarding baseball; I was a north-sider from Chicago North Shore Suburb, and my mother, when I was only ten years of age, as she past away later that year, would put only three of my friends and myself (she'd pick us up afterwards at The Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois (or Chicago Baháʼí Temple) the Chicago El (on the elevated commuter train) to the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field to watch Cubs play for the day, a doubleheader was the best days, sunburned and exhausted from being in the bleachers all day, and of course no evening games as Wrigley Field didn't have lights yet.
I played summer baseball (R.B.I.) at League Park in the mid nineties and it was a while before the preservation of it. It was nothing like it is now. On that whole plot of land there were 2 baseball diamonds, almost sharing each other's outfields and there was also a city pool off in the far corner (not where the ballpark field is) and I always thought it was cool to be playing on the field that greats like Babe Ruth played. The existing wall that remained there was in really bad shape at that time and I think they might have even lost some of it before this preservation took place. It's really cool to see it saved though.
Additionally , the outline of Forbes Field left field wall extends in that direction, with a small plaque where Bill Mazeroski’s 1960 home run cleared the wall. The home plat of Forbes Field is in the University of Pittsburgh building , encased in a floor mounted plexiglass case.
I believe the original Yankee stadium across the street from the new stadium is also a baseball field now Technically the original renovated stadium reopened in 1976 if I remember correctly
Nickerson Stadium was used by the Boston Breakers of the USFL for the 1983 season. They used to sell out but only 16k or so and since there was nowhere else for them to play they moved to New Orleans for the 1984 season then to Portland for the '85 season. The New Orleans Breakers are one of the teams being brought back for the USFL reboot this year.
Almost all of the stadiums were in use when I was a kid loving baseball in the '60's. I always wished that they'd turn a historic park into a museum and maybe a place for old timers games and leave it intact. The Hall of Fame deserves to be in a historic park.
I hate the new Busch. The criticism of the 60s stadiums were they were all the same which wasnt true. I can say same thing about new stadiums all having same features. I like the Giants park. I would prefer Sportsmans Park with all that history or Busch II with its arches and its history. Sports teams are destroying history by building new stadiums. Baseball used to care about its history but not anymore with PEDS and juiced baseball. Lack of independent commissioner destroying baseball.
The Huntington Avenue Grounds preceded Fenway Park in Boston. The Cy Young statue at Northeastern University commemorates that park and is “on the mound” of that extinct ballpark.
Tiger Stadium is now used by the Detroit Police Department as their athletic field. During football season, the gridiron is layout in the exact same place as it was when the Lions played there until to 1974.
Great video. Before the Red Sox played at Fenway beginning in 1912 they used to play at a place named the Huntington Avenue Grounds. It's currently on the campus of Northeastern University and they have a life size statue of Cy Young exactly where the pitcher's mound was located. They also have a stone home plate on the grass 60'6" away, but it is actually on the wrong location, but they put it where they did as the original location is now inside an administrative building.
Yes, you are correct. The seating still standing is the old grandstand on what was the first base side of Braves Field. Too bad Perini moved the team in 53 due to economic reasons-home attendance had fallen to 282k during the 1952 season. Since the late 1960’s, Boston could have easily supported 2 MLB teams.
@@UMAmherst1 Honestly, had the Braves stayed a few more years the Red Sox may have moved. That's what happened in Philly. The Phillies got hot at the right time and pushed the A's out
@@kjorlaug1 That scenario certainly was a possibility. Tom Yawkey, despite his well chronicled faults, deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Red Sox in Boston during some lean attendance years from 1961-1966 when attendance averaged about 800k per. However, during the 1950-1960 period the Red Sox averaged over 1m in 8 of the 10 yrs.The Red Sox also averaged 1.4m/per the last 4 yrs the Braves were in Boston while the Braves averaged roughly half that number at about 700k per yr. Would have loved to have seen Henry Aaron playing everyday on Commonwealth Ave.Better yet, a “trolley car” or “walk down Comm Ave” World Series or inter-league game between the Braves and Red Sox would have been a great moment in Boston sports history.
@@UMAmherst1 The Sox weren’t going to move...and they never will to this day. But yes, it’s quite possible that Boston/New England could’ve supported 2 baseball teams to this day. All Boston World Series almost happened in 1948 (Cleveland beat the Braves) if the Sox didn’t choke on the last weekend series vs. the Yankees and during the one-game playoff vs. Cleveland at Fenway.
The old Forbes Field location is occupied by the University of Pittsburgh. In one of the corridors of Posvar Hall, they have home plate under plexiglass. The tour guide told me that it was not precisely in the exact original location, but very close. Had they put it exactly where it was, it would have been in the restroom!
In cade it wasnt mentioned: The home plate of Braves Field is currently on display at TD Garden's New England Sports Museum. It was taken out of the ground during demolition in 1952
Tiger stadium in 1992. Baltimore's Memorial Stadium several times in the early to mid 80s. Managed to get out to Comiskey for its final season in 1990, hit up Wrigley and County Stadium that same weekend. Saw quite a few games in old Fulton-County Stadium and Turner Field while visiting my mother in Atlanta. A high school buddy of mine got the call to replace an injured reliever for the Pirates back in 2001. A few friends and myself took a week-long break to follow them through St. Louis (Busch II), Cincinatti (Riverfront), and Pittsburgh to catch his debut. We missed Three Rivers by a year. And since moving to Texas, I've been to the old Ballpark at Arlington a handful of times. All of these stadiums, and only Wrigley and PNC (which was brand new) are still operating.
Excellent, pleasant to listen to insightful commentary.The current existence of Cleveland’s League Park is simply fascinating. That would be a must to visit if in Cleveland 👍…. A fun factoid is that the Indians used both Municipal Stadium and League Park during several years in the 40’s…. Day weekday games at League..and huge weekend and night games at the “Mistake on the Lake”😅 Thank you for your interesting TH-cam stadium posts …🤩
Bush Stadium in used to host the AAA Indianapolis Indians. It was replaced by Victory Field in 1996. It went through a few other increasingly pathetic uses for a while. But now, the grandstand has been replaced by apartments called Stadium Lofts. The original field and dimensions are still intact. I grew up going to baseball games at Bush in its twilight years. One time when I was about 12, we were sitting in the wooden right-field bleachers. I touched the bench and then rubbed my eye, getting a splinter in my eye!
There are still ballparks out there that are magnificent. All though not in the major league, There's a gorgeous relatively new stadium in of all places El Paso, Texas! What an enjoyable facility to watch a baseball game! Home of the "Chihuahuas". You won't be disappointed.
Memorial Stadium, in Baltimore, is completely gone. While not a jewel box there is an all purpose field there similar to League Park. Anyone attending a game should bring a lawn chair. The old Oriole Park which severed the original American League Orioles (1901-1902), the Federal League team and a couple of minor league teams, now has a brewery, Peabody Heights, located in the confines of what uses to be the park. You can have a beer in what used to be left field. The Book Thing is about 100 feet North of the brewery, where you can pick up FREE books to read. NOTE: Peabody Heights and old Memorial Stadium are .8 miles apart. Peabody Heights and Oriole Park at Camden Yards are 3.5 miles apart.
The only problem with your videos are they are too short and that's a complament. You do a good job narrating these videos, I just wish they were longer!
I remember going to Crosley Field in Cincinnati several times, especially Pete Rose's rookie year. Had a great afternoon at Wrigley several years ago, Harry Carey was in fine form!
Reds had a lot of great teams! I left Ohio in 69 for college, but saw a few games at Riverfront. Admission to a game back then at Crosley Field was cheap - all kinds of people, not just people with $. Parents let kids run loose. At a Reds game there always were a few drunks. We kids loved to watch the drunks. Later in life I never wanted to be such a drunk. Maybe a lesson learned from Crosley Field.
Love Fenway but what a brutal experience to sit in those seats. They were fine when I was 10 years old in 67 attending my first games but anyone over 6 foot will beg to leave after a few innings of constricted torture.
Went to Shibe as a kid, the architecture was so grand. These really were baseball palaces, built for baseball games and not advertising and skybox revenue. They're gone and nothing like them will ever come again, because the last thing anyone cares about is the fans.
Fun fact Nickerson Field lost two teams BU ended their football program back in the 90s I believe. Not that the BU football team did anything BU is a hockey school
I know The VET wasn’t a Jewel Box stadium, it was actually a cookie cutter stadium like pitts, cinn, n St. Louis But the parking lot where the VET stood also has the diamond with the bases where they stood Great lil video!!
I had family who lived just a few blocks from Wrigley, so that was usually where we saw a game when we were in town, but I, being a sucker for seeing different parks, and my father, not minding the idea of seeing a game in a different venue, were lucky to see the Sox versus the A's in Comiskey as well. I could probably find out the details if I tried, but I do remember Frank Thomas putting "The Big Hurt" on the Sox, and as Comiskey was in its final year (1990), we got a look at the replacement park across the way (which I think we ultimately dubbed "The Excelsior"). While I wasn't there, the other memory I have of Comiskey is watching Disco Demolition Night happen on TV when I was a kid
My dad and I drove to Chicago from our home in St Louis around 1960. He had lived in Chi for a while in late 30s and met my mother there. He made it a point to take me to a game at Comiskey! He emphasized where Veeck shot off the fireworks. But something was bugging him and he made us leave early in the game. He died in 1981, age only 64.
@@phineasbluster2872 Sorry for your loss, we didnt get to see fireworks Sox did t hit a HR. But the group i was with got a foul ball off a grounder. Down 1st line short wall.
Damned if I know what the hell he's talking about. I thought I he was referring to a ballparks that were named after a Midwest grocery store franchise...🤨
My friend lives/works near League Park in CLE. I think they did the best job of all of these of course in maintaining a ballpark presence. My buddy goes to youth games there quite a bit. SO cool baseball is still played there. Here's a jewel-box park list - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_jewel_box_baseball_parks
I like the video I live here in Baltimore the old ballpark here was called Memorial Stadium if you didn't know where it was you could drive right past it nothing is left there is a YMCA and a senior center where it stood me and my father spent many a summer nights at the Ballpark that's why I miss it the most
*the old Tiger stadium flag pole, *that was actually in the field of play*, still stands at its original site and has been incorporated into the new field
Originally the Cleveland park was in a area named Hough...which had a race riot in I think "66". A lot of these parks went way side cause the area did as well. Except Braves field which was surrounded by B.U., or Jew U as was known. Hence why the owners moved or sold.
A definition of a Jewel Box Ballpark at the beginning of the video would have helped. I had an idea of what it was but paused to go back and get a good definition.
Okay, I grew up in Atlanta....As a kid we really didn't know that Atlanta Stadium was a poorly made dump....But we could go there and sit in General Admission for 50 cents...It was called the Knothole club....also no one complained when we went down to the dugout to get autographs
Tiger Stadium had its charms (right field overhang), but as far as comfort and viewing angles it was pretty bad. There were tons of obstructed view seats. The corridors were dark and dirty and smelled bad. It didn't have enough restrooms and the ones it did have were awful. Comerica Park is a huge improvement. It's clean, attractive, comfortable and has a great view of the skyline. It has fun things for kids to do. It has plenty of character. It's a huge improvement. Stop with the nostalgia narratives already.
And Rickwood hosted MLB teams when? There are dozens of minor league jewel box parks still in operation. Also, he specifically stated that these are stadiums that still have portions of them in existence. Griffith Stadium does not. Howard University now owns the land, and their medical school and hospital features a plaque and an outline of where home plate used to be.
I live in MN and the old Met Stadium (1956-1981) where the Twins and Vikings played was where the Mall of America is now. Home plate has a marker in Nickelodeon Universe (I’ll always remember it as Camp Snoopy) and the chair where Harmon Killebrew hit his 520 ft home run is propped up by the flume ride where it would’ve been. Not a jewel box stadium, but still pretty cool history that I grew up with. I am still very upset that nothing from The Metrodome (where I grew up watching baseball) was saved. Just like everything else in MN, all existence of it was wiped away.
It's sad because the Metrodome produced several unforgettable memories and hosted a lot of big events, too. But at the end, it ended up being remembered as a liability to the politicians and a stain to urban development
@@djtrankilo231 Football and Baseball should never be played indoors. That's why the Metronome is not remembered fondly. It was a boring, nondescript, artificial space that could be anywhere. It had zero personality. Why not just hold sporting events in a soundstage somewhere? There was nothing about it that said Minnesota.
It's a damn shame what happened to Shibe, left to rot and decay and then torn down for warehouses. I rode a train past it in one of its final years, and you could still tell how beautiful it must have looked in its prime.
@@JamesDavidWalley there is a church on the lot now with large gates surrounding it. Also right across the street is a McDonald's just like it was in 1910 😄
Correction: This was Apple Maps not Google maps.
It’s sad to see them all gone. I wish I lived in a time where baseball was truly America’s Sport and each ballpark was extremely unique.
And when men wore suits and hats to the games.
Almost all parks today has some uniqueness to it.
Especially Ebbets Field. That woulda been really interesting to watch games at because of those weird dimensions.
@@JerseyJeff84 and extreme racism was present.
@@DelGTAGrndrs None of these ballparks was in the South. There was no "extreme racism" in any MLB city in the 1950s . . .
I don't know if this counts as a jewel box stadium, but there is a staircase people used to access the Polo Grounds in New York that still remains, that might have been cool to highlight,
Idk, but had I remembered about Polo Grounds when I went to NYC years ago, I would have visited. I just wish I could see the video where the San Francisco Giants went there with the Commissioner's Trophy to honor the legacy of their former home.
Probably off Edgecombe, but I haven’t noticed it.
@@AEMoreira81 It's on Edgecombe between 157th and 158h Street. It winds right down to the Harlem River Driveway and a view of the Polo Grounds Houses. I walked those stairs during a Yankees day game and if all is good, you can hear the Stadium crowd from there.
@@RCfromtheNYC Used to run from a subway station there down to the ticket house, if I recall correctly. Also, don't they have the original home plate area somewhere in a courtyard of the housing project that's there now?
Yes, the Polo Grounds is considered a jewel box stadium. Surprised it's not on this list. Yankee Field was also considered a jewel box stadium, and while it's mostly gone, there's an amateur league park that uses the old stadium's outline. Kind of the same with Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The stadium is gone, but the ballfield is still there. It's the Boys and Girls Club's athletic field.There's a little league field with HP where the original was. The outfield is also used for football.
It's kind of cool how driving into Boston on I-90 you get a great view of Nickerson Field
Just waiting for the Braves to come back. 😁
66edoug the funny thing is that that's a youth baseball club team in the Boston area
@@clawexplosion5763 That is cool.
I got to walk and sit on Nickerson Field during my nephew's graduation ceremony from Boston University...
We've got Polar Park now.
Driving past League Park its hard not to lose your breath thinking about all the legends that played there. A jewel of Cleveland.
Comiskey being bulldozed is still an absolute TRAVESTY
Especially considering what replaced it
No, as a Cubs fan it gave me something to make fun of Sox fans for.
If they built the proposed Armour Square field it would have been a softer blow
I feel the same way about the Philadelphia Spectrum.
Reinsdorf
That flagpole at Forbes Field was deep in right center field and in play.
They also have home plate in its original position under a glass panel in one of the University of Pittsburgh's administration buildings.
They used to roll the batting cage into deep center field when BP was over and it was in play. Just to the left of the 457' sign. There's a great pic of it online. Those were the good old days.
@@JamesDavidWalley
It's in the forbes quadrangle. Across the street from the big "o".
Remember when Minute Maid had the hill and flag pole in play in center field? Reminded me of the old times of baseball.
@@KWally Some people complained, but I was glad to see someone not ripping off Camden Yards.
Interesting that two former Braves stadiums are still in use by colleges for other sports.
Yep.
Boston Braves Field is now BU’s Nickerson Field.
@Rob-vy6zx I have a friend who refers to SunTrust/Truist as "Lester Maddox Park," because it was blatantly obviously moved from the majority-Black downtown Atlanta neighborhood it was in to a lily-white suburb that doesn't even have any public transit within a half-hour walk.
@@katherineberger6329 true and no parking no security where you park a mile away so I have never been and never will
@Rob-vy6zx Not really fair. Boston just wasn't big enough for two teams, the Braves had been in decline for decades prior to leaving.
One oddity of history is that in 1948 the Indians had to beat the Red Sox in the first ever AL playoff game before beating the Boston Braves for the World Series. Had that playoff game gone the other way we would have had a subway series in Boston. Whether such a thing could have sparked local interest in the Braves to keep them in Boston beyond 1952 I guess we'll never know, but I see no way they stayed in Boston long term.
I've now been to all 19 of the 1950s MLB park locations (Kansas City the most recent). It took 25 years to do. Of the lost ballparks, Pittsburgh has done the best job of preservation. An outfield wall and flagpole are still there . . . home plate is under plexiglass in the floor of an engineering building . . . and the spot where Mazeroski's home run cleared the fence is painted on the street. Braves Field in Boston is next best. The most disappointing and depressing location is Ebbets Field . . .
I think league park is the best since it actually has a building which is now a baseball museum and the wall along with the dugout staircase and wall dimensions on the turf field tho the area is pretty ghetto
@@forgottenplaces9780 I'd agree, League Park is the best preserved. Forbes is kinda a joke in terms of being preserved.
Shibe Park's location is in a seedy part of Philly. Of course according to my dad even in its heyday it was in a seedy part of Philly.
Similar to what you have there for Commisky, the home plate of Griffith Stadium (Washington, D.C.) is outlined today on the floor of a corridor in Howard University Hospital.
A little technicality to go with Tiger Stadium: Initially "Navin Field," it was built as a replacement for Bennett Park, which had occupied the site from 1896 to 1911. Where you see home plate is where left field had been. I've read a few anecdotes over time that the infield at Bennett could be a challenge at times, as cobblestones occasionally poked up through the dirt, presenting a risk of serious injury, or at the very least, a bad bounce when struck by a ball in play.
We are also fortunate to have in Detroit one of the surviving stadiums from the Negro Leagues, Hamtramck Stadium, which was restored and re-opened last fall.
Briggs name for a long time too prior to being named”Tiger Stadium” 👍
@@davidswift7776 Well said. I grew up with it as "Tiger Stadium", and I used to be amused at how many of my relatives would call it "Briggs", not even aware of the name change.
Great work, love your videos. You should consider Parc Jarry, first home of the Expos de Montréal. Such a cozy place, I am old and I have been many times. ⚾⚾🇨🇦🇺🇲⚾⚾
I wish I could go back in time. Being from the Cleveland area I've been to what League Park is now. I would have loved to see a game there in its heyday. Would also loved to have gone to Ebbets Field and and Forbes Field. I consider myself lucky that I've been to old Comiskly, Detroit and Yankee Stadiums. Been to Wrigley also. Still have to make a roadtrip to Boston some day.
Also Buffalo was nice.D filmed d natural there.Fenway worth d trip
citi field is a lot like ol Ebbets.Have a good trip.Also triple AAA red Sox play in.worcester,on d way to Boston.
@@user-bx9dd7bd2t Fenway is definitely on the bucket list. That and Dodger Stadium. Been to all the others I really wanted to see.
Thankfully someone was thoughtful enough to remember the past. This is our history.
It’s sad to see what old baseball stadiums have become. But at least we have Fenway and Wrigley!
At least this new era ball parks are way better than the multipurpose stadiums of the 60s 70s and 80s.
Jason Williams, you are so correct!
And dodgers stadium.
@@stevensuarez6564 It was designed by the same architects that made Shea.
They destroyed a whole neighborhood to create it.
I 've been there,still amazingly beautiful
with spectacular view at sunset.
I once went to 18 of the older parks,with Fenway and Wrigley,equally great.
The worst Stadium was Montreal's Olympic.
It was like playing in a concrete parking lot.
Old Astrodome was nice.
Out of the newer old stadiums,the oldest Baltimore"still looks fresh.
Pittsburgh,is beautiful.
The new Yankee Stadium is like a octagon costs
1.4 Billion,the cement is already cracking,costs almost twice as much as Citi Field,
yet Citi field
looks like another different great stadium every 100 feet.
Its very dark when you enter,but then the green field greets you with great views.
Anaheim and Kansas City are ancient,
but very nice.
Even massive and much maligned Oakland,
has a 1970s baseball feel to it,but in a nostalgic gritty good way.
My Fav was going to Wrigley in the day
and experiencing Old Comiskey at night,
with the firework home run pinwheel.
...Ah the bad old good day s.
2 real doubleheader games,
2 dollar admission,
2 dollar beers,
2 dollar hot dogs,
and pure 2 hour baseball games,
no 7 innings
no replays
no mercy ghost players at second base
no two minutes preening with multicolor neon arms colored hair
and walk up music,
and 2 seconds admiring your own home run,
that hits the wall for only a single.At least it's alive in my mind and You Tube.Have a good summer!
🙏🇺🇸⚾👌
@@stevensuarez6564 Dodger Stadium is great, but not a jewel box park
Wade Stadium in Duluth, MN was built in 1941 and was used as a AAA park forever. Still there and looks like something straight out of the movies.
Duluth was Class C, not AAA
Been to many games at the Wade in the 90s, people called it "Shawshank" because the tall brick facade looked similar to a prison. Nowadays the brick walls have been lowered a tad and some chunks were taken out and replaced with fencing but yes much of it still looks as it did even in the 1940s
Nice segment. Good perspective on history and what's left today. Thanks for sharing from a new subscriber.
The Jewel Box ballparks are the American equivalent to those historic soccer/football stadiums in the UK like Anfield, Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford, and it's a shame that most of them are gone.
Love the old postcards of baseball stadiums! There are some great ones out there.
Imagine being a kid and playing baseball in the exact spot where the all time greats played
As someone who lives in pittsburgh, the home plate for forbes field is actually encased in the ground floor of the white building to the left there on google maps.
I think one of the gates is still in the original spot too
@@alfjgist that's awesome. i think i visited years ago. I took in a lot of games at Three Rivers when i was a kid. I unfortunately never got to see Clemente play. My first game was the following summer after he died.
I saw lots of games at Three Rivers too, but never really saw my favorites play in person. I was born after Forbes Field was torn down, so unfortunately, I only get to see what’s left of it
I'll never forget the first time my dad walked me into Detroit Tigers Stadium. I was probably about 9 or 10 years old.
The smell of Hot Dogs beer and popcorn and peanuts, the old walkways around the mezzanine with probably 40 coats of paint on the walls. And then each section or two there was this small little walkway tunnel that took you up a slight incline to get to your seats.
And we were in the lower deck and I remember distinctly as we neared the opening You could hear the people and the noises and the batting practice getting louder and the blue sky and the white puffy clouds and the stadium was just painted green everywhere.
Green seats green handrails green steel Support and everything.
I'll just never forget that sun-bleached field of green grass in the middle of June in the great state of Michigan.
Mickey lolich, Aurelio Rodriguez, Eddie Brinkman; Stormin Norman Cash, Mickey Stanley, Willie Horton, Al Kaline. Bill Freehan.
They were all there!
Cody, you forgot 30 game winner, bad boy, Denny McCain and Jim Northrop a couple of other memorable Tigers.
Here’s to Tiger Staduim - my childhood field of dreams
Interesting to see Comiskey, I went to many games there in the '80s as a kid, I used to imagine Babe Ruth standing at the plate as I looked at it, hitting the HR in the first-ever All-Star game in 1933 that was played there and that I'd seen videos of. I have many memories of players standing at that plate, and now it's just a spot in a parking lot.
A shame
My Grandfather took me to my first baseball game at Briggs Stadium, which was later on renamed Tiger Stadium in Detroit. He was an immigrant from Glasgow, Scotland, had never seen a baseball game in his life. A fellow Ford Company worker took him to one, and he never looked back. He listened to every game on the radio, either at home or at work. My Grandmother said the only reason they got a TV is that he could watch the Tigers!
Mine was an immigrant from Slovakia. Became a huge Phillies fan, even as they were always terrible. He died in the late 80s. I was still too young, but a few years later, I went on a bus trip from the Senior Center with my grandmother, his wife. She didn't like baseball, but we both actually had so much fun!
Forbes Field’s home plate is still intact if you go inside the Univ of Pittsburgh education building. It’s preserved under glass on the bottom floor.
The field where Tigers Stadium used to be, was redone by fans who were trying to have the field declared a landmark. Before the city sold the lot, many old-time baseball games, with a lot of cosplay, took place there.
I had many wonderful times at Tiger Stadium as a kid, and while I no longer live in the Detroit area, any time I visit, a drive past the ol' stadium grounds is the last thing I do before I get on the road home. Doesn't matter to me if it's out of the way, it's simply something I enjoy doing. Plus, there's a White Castle there on Michigan Avenue, so I get my fix because we don't have those where I live. 😊
remember the 440 feet center-field wall? And the huge flagpole about 3 or 4 ft inside the wall. And IN PLAY in case the ball went behind it. We used to love the $2 tickets to get to the bleachers, with 10,000 other fans just bringing our own food and sneaking in drinks well rum and coke and Ice. They actually let you bring your own bag of food and stuff to the bleachers way back in the 80's.
I'll never forget the first time my dad walked me into Detroit Tigers Stadium. I was probably about 9 or 10 years old.
The smell of Hot Dogs beer and popcorn and peanuts, the old walkways around the mezzanine with probably 40 coats of paint on the walls. And then each section or two there was this small little walkway tunnel that took you up a slight incline to get to your seats.
And we were in the lower deck and I remember distinctly as we neared the opening You could hear the people and the noises and the batting practice getting louder and the blue sky and the white puffy clouds and the stadium was just painted green everywhere.
Green seats green handrails green steel Support and everything.
I'll just never forget that sun-bleached field of green grass in the middle of June in the great state of Michigan.
Mickey lolich, Aurelio Rodriguez, Eddie Brinkman; Stormin Norman Cash, Mickey Stanley, Willie Horton, Al Kaline. Bill Freehan.
They were all there!
@@codybanks1942 I thought I read that they left the flagpole standing after Tiger Stadium was demolished. Based on Google Street view, it looks like it's still there.
This is beautiful, compact yet expansive. It stirs so many memories of a more innocent and confident era. Bravo!
There is a baseline in brick in Pittsburgh. It leads into Posver Hall on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Home plate is inside the building.
Home plate is not in the exact spot it should be. It really should be in the ladies' bathroom.
Home plate is in the forbes quadrangle. And there was a line of bricks that used to be the wall where mazeroski hit the infamous home run that won it for the pirates in '60.
@@wi54725 that was a joke, wasn't it?
@@jwbogacki Yes and No. For years, surveyors supposedly stated that the real location of home plate should have been in the 5th stall of the 1st floor women's bathroom in Posver Hall.
Later calculations placed the actual location just outside Posver Hall in one of the walkways near one of the libraries.
If you look at Historic Aerials, which isn't always exactly accurate, it should be closer to the bathroom like some believe, but if you look at the bend in the still-standing wall and deduct the footage back to where it shows, then it is outside the Hall close to where the surveyors believed near the library.
My favorite memory from Forbes Field in Pittsburgh was watching Willie Mays hit a 3 run homer to break up a 0-0 game in the ninth inning. Bob Veale was pitching for the Pirates and Juan Marichal threw the shutout for the Giants.
Another note about the field from Tiger Stadium that's still left; The original 125ft flagpole remains in the same spot it has stood in for over 100 years.
Really good video, out of the box & very informative! Great job!👍✅ I like that they tried to save parts of them in different ways!
Absolutely loved this video. History is so awesome!
My first ballgame was at old Comiskey. I wish some of it would have been kept, just like in Cleveland and Boston. I remember Tiger Stadium as well.
When these stadiums existed. Baseball was life in America. Nearly everyone, loved baseball. Money has ruined the love for baseball.
I don't think money did, I think it was the steroid Era. Baseball was not made for these behemoths to smash the ball 600 feet, but now it's what people expect. Football overall is a much more fun sport to watch now than baseball or basketball.
@@MrBestinhalo no, he's right. Money has ruined it. Back in the heyday of these parks a family of 4 could go to a game and maybe spend $10-$15 tops including a programs, peanuts, hotdogs, and drinks. Now, in today's dollars as compared to, say, 1955 that's $154. However, today $154 might get you parking and into the stadium and that's it.
Amen!
@@Rockhound6165that’s inflation, and it’s not unique to baseball
@@georgehenan853 inflation has nothing to do with it. Going to baseball games has been hard for blue collar families for about 20 years now. Ever since contracts have taken off and these billion dollar stadiums started popping up. Back in 1980 you could buy a ticket for a child to see a Phillies game for 50 cents. That's $1.91 accounting for inflation today. An adult ticket would be about $15 in today's prices. Today, a seat in the highest level at Citizens Bank Park is $48. That's almost $200 just to get into the ball park and not taking into account the $25 to park and God forbid you want to eat something. They've priced the low income fan right out of the building. I'll give you another for instance. My dad had season tickets to the Phillies in 1982. We sat in the 200 level which was equivalent to the 100 level at CBP. They were good seats. They were $12 per game per seat. That $40 in today's dollars, almost the same price as nose bleeds today. So it's not inflation, it's to help pay for Bryce Harper's $33 million a year contract.
I’ve been inside a building at the University of Pittsburgh which includes a hallway with the original home plate of Forbes Field under a glass cover. An inscription says the plate is in its original spot. Right where Maz won the ‘60 World Series with his homer, and where Roberto Clemente hit his many.
If I'm not mistaken Home Plate from Forbes was transferred to Three Rivers.
And there's been discussion as to if Home Plate is the the final position.
Home Plate having been moved one or twice during Forbes existence.
Thank you for sharing, I hadn't recognized how magical my youth was especially regarding baseball; I was a north-sider from Chicago North Shore Suburb, and my mother, when I was only ten years of age, as she past away later that year, would put only three of my friends and myself (she'd pick us up afterwards at The Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois (or Chicago Baháʼí Temple) the Chicago El (on the elevated commuter train) to the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field to watch Cubs play for the day, a doubleheader was the best days, sunburned and exhausted from being in the bleachers all day, and of course no evening games as Wrigley Field didn't have lights yet.
I played summer baseball (R.B.I.) at League Park in the mid nineties and it was a while before the preservation of it. It was nothing like it is now. On that whole plot of land there were 2 baseball diamonds, almost sharing each other's outfields and there was also a city pool off in the far corner (not where the ballpark field is) and I always thought it was cool to be playing on the field that greats like Babe Ruth played. The existing wall that remained there was in really bad shape at that time and I think they might have even lost some of it before this preservation took place. It's really cool to see it saved though.
Additionally , the outline of Forbes Field left field wall extends in that direction, with a small plaque where Bill Mazeroski’s 1960 home run cleared the wall. The home plat of Forbes Field is in the University of Pittsburgh building , encased in a floor mounted plexiglass case.
I think Camden yards is the true gem of ballparks today besides Fenway and Wrigley
I believe the original Yankee stadium across the street from the new stadium is also a baseball field now Technically the original renovated stadium reopened in 1976 if I remember correctly
Nickerson Stadium was used by the Boston Breakers of the USFL for the 1983 season. They used to sell out but only 16k or so and since there was nowhere else for them to play they moved to New Orleans for the 1984 season then to Portland for the '85 season. The New Orleans Breakers are one of the teams being brought back for the USFL reboot this year.
Almost all of the stadiums were in use when I was a kid loving baseball in the '60's. I always wished that they'd turn a historic park into a museum and maybe a place for old timers games and leave it intact. The Hall of Fame deserves to be in a historic park.
As a St. Louis native I wish they never tore down old Sportsman park, but rather have repurposed it
I hate the new Busch. The criticism of the 60s stadiums were they were all the same which wasnt true. I can say same thing about new stadiums all having same features. I like the Giants park. I would prefer Sportsmans Park with all that history or Busch II with its arches and its history. Sports teams are destroying history by building new stadiums. Baseball used to care about its history but not anymore with PEDS and juiced baseball. Lack of independent commissioner destroying baseball.
The Huntington Avenue Grounds preceded Fenway Park in Boston. The Cy Young statue at Northeastern University commemorates that park and is “on the mound” of that extinct ballpark.
Cue Frank Sinatra's "There Used To Be A Ball Park".
Thank you for all the great videos. I love it.
I always wished that they would preserve old stadiums and open them up for tours
Tiger Stadium is now used by the Detroit Police Department as their athletic field. During football season, the gridiron is layout in the exact same place as it was when the Lions played there until to 1974.
Great video. Before the Red Sox played at Fenway beginning in 1912 they used to play at a place named the Huntington Avenue Grounds. It's currently on the campus of Northeastern University and they have a life size statue of Cy Young exactly where the pitcher's mound was located. They also have a stone home plate on the grass 60'6" away, but it is actually on the wrong location, but they put it where they did as the original location is now inside an administrative building.
BU has plaques all around the park for Braves field. The outer wall near I95 is also original. One other note: it's the first base grandstand.
Yes, you are correct. The seating still standing is the old grandstand on what was the first base side of Braves Field. Too bad Perini moved the team in 53 due to economic reasons-home attendance had fallen to 282k during the 1952 season. Since the late 1960’s, Boston could have easily supported 2 MLB teams.
@@UMAmherst1 Honestly, had the Braves stayed a few more years the Red Sox may have moved. That's what happened in Philly. The Phillies got hot at the right time and pushed the A's out
@@kjorlaug1 That scenario certainly was a possibility. Tom Yawkey, despite his well chronicled faults, deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Red Sox in Boston during some lean attendance years from 1961-1966 when attendance averaged about 800k per. However, during the 1950-1960 period the Red Sox averaged over 1m in 8 of the 10 yrs.The Red Sox also averaged 1.4m/per the last 4 yrs the Braves were in Boston while the Braves averaged roughly half that number at about 700k per yr. Would have loved to have seen Henry Aaron playing everyday on Commonwealth Ave.Better yet, a “trolley car” or “walk down Comm Ave” World Series or inter-league game between the Braves and Red Sox would have been a great moment in Boston sports history.
@@UMAmherst1 The Sox weren’t going to move...and they never will to this day. But yes, it’s quite possible that Boston/New England could’ve supported 2 baseball teams to this day. All Boston World Series almost happened in 1948 (Cleveland beat the Braves) if the Sox didn’t choke on the last weekend series vs. the Yankees and during the one-game playoff vs. Cleveland at Fenway.
The old Forbes Field location is occupied by the University of Pittsburgh. In one of the corridors of Posvar Hall, they have home plate under plexiglass. The tour guide told me that it was not precisely in the exact original location, but very close. Had they put it exactly where it was, it would have been in the restroom!
A ladies rest room
In cade it wasnt mentioned: The home plate of Braves Field is currently on display at TD Garden's New England Sports Museum. It was taken out of the ground during demolition in 1952
I have been to old comisky and tigers stadium. Sadly several ball parks I went to as a kid were torn down.
Tiger stadium in 1992. Baltimore's Memorial Stadium several times in the early to mid 80s. Managed to get out to Comiskey for its final season in 1990, hit up Wrigley and County Stadium that same weekend. Saw quite a few games in old Fulton-County Stadium and Turner Field while visiting my mother in Atlanta. A high school buddy of mine got the call to replace an injured reliever for the Pirates back in 2001. A few friends and myself took a week-long break to follow them through St. Louis (Busch II), Cincinatti (Riverfront), and Pittsburgh to catch his debut. We missed Three Rivers by a year. And since moving to Texas, I've been to the old Ballpark at Arlington a handful of times.
All of these stadiums, and only Wrigley and PNC (which was brand new) are still operating.
The worst thing they'd did with the Tiger Stadium Site was make it Astroturf, because is criminal that it had to come to Grass vs. Artifical Turf.
There is a home plate in the lobby of a University of Pittsburgh building where the home plate was at Forbes Field.
Excellent, pleasant to listen to insightful commentary.The current existence of Cleveland’s League Park is simply fascinating. That would be a must to visit if in Cleveland 👍…. A fun factoid is that the Indians used both Municipal Stadium and League Park during several years in the 40’s…. Day weekday games at League..and huge weekend and night games at the “Mistake on the Lake”😅
Thank you for your interesting TH-cam stadium posts …🤩
Thanks, I have a video of me at the league park site, you can find on my channel vids.
@@forgottenplaces9780
I think Joe D got #56 at League Park and was stopped at Municipal the next day👍
Bush Stadium in used to host the AAA Indianapolis Indians. It was replaced by Victory Field in 1996. It went through a few other increasingly pathetic uses for a while.
But now, the grandstand has been replaced by apartments called Stadium Lofts. The original field and dimensions are still intact.
I grew up going to baseball games at Bush in its twilight years. One time when I was about 12, we were sitting in the wooden right-field bleachers. I touched the bench and then rubbed my eye, getting a splinter in my eye!
There are still ballparks out there that are magnificent. All though not in the major league, There's a gorgeous relatively new stadium in of all places El Paso, Texas! What an enjoyable facility to watch a baseball game! Home of the "Chihuahuas". You won't be disappointed.
Just a couple of years ago, I got to walk and sit on Nickerson Field during my nephew's graduation ceremony from Boston University...
Crosley field in Cincinnati was rebuild with the original field. They have the hill in the outfield and everything. I played in a tournament there.
Even though I've never been to any of the places you've posted expect Atlantic City, this channel makes me so sad in a good way.
Memorial Stadium, in Baltimore, is completely gone. While not a jewel box there is an all purpose field there similar to League Park. Anyone attending a game should bring a lawn chair. The old Oriole Park which severed the original American League Orioles (1901-1902), the Federal League team and a couple of minor league teams, now has a brewery, Peabody Heights, located in the confines of what uses to be the park. You can have a beer in what used to be left field. The Book Thing is about 100 feet North of the brewery, where you can pick up FREE books to read. NOTE: Peabody Heights and old Memorial Stadium are .8 miles apart. Peabody Heights and Oriole Park at Camden Yards are 3.5 miles apart.
The only problem with your videos are they are too short and that's a complament. You do a good job narrating these videos, I just wish they were longer!
The home plate for Forbes Field is preserved inside the University of Pittsburgh’s Posvar Hall just outside he College of General Studies offices.
Leauge Park did have a section of grandstand that survived a few years but had to be removed do to extreme age
I remember going to Crosley Field in Cincinnati several times, especially Pete Rose's rookie year.
Had a great afternoon at Wrigley several years ago, Harry Carey was in fine form!
I moved to Milford Ohio in 70 just after Crowley field was gone.been to most all of the old stadiums.good memories that big red machine!
Reds had a lot of great teams! I left Ohio in 69 for college, but saw a few games at Riverfront.
Admission to a game back then at Crosley Field was cheap - all kinds of people, not just people with $. Parents let kids run loose. At a Reds game there always were a few drunks. We kids loved to watch the drunks. Later in life I never wanted to be such a drunk. Maybe a lesson learned from Crosley Field.
The University of Pittsburgh also preserved where home plate originally was at Forbes Field. It is inside one of the campus buildings.
They have a nice display in that building and they note that the actual location of home plate is now in a ladies room there
Love Fenway but what a brutal experience to sit in those seats. They were fine when I was 10 years old in 67 attending my first games but anyone over 6 foot will beg to leave after a few innings of constricted torture.
Every time I see these vids of old ballparks I think of that madonna song, " there used to be a playground here"
i think of the frank sinatra song "there used to be a ballpark here"
@@elijah3893 frank who?
@@michaelcanney7218 frank sinatra
Went to Shibe as a kid, the architecture was so grand. These really were baseball palaces, built for baseball games and not advertising and skybox revenue. They're gone and nothing like them will ever come again, because the last thing anyone cares about is the fans.
Fun fact Nickerson Field lost two teams BU ended their football program back in the 90s I believe. Not that the BU football team did anything BU is a hockey school
I play college ball at old tiger stadium. It’s really nice niw
I know The VET wasn’t a Jewel Box stadium, it was actually a cookie cutter stadium like pitts, cinn, n St. Louis
But the parking lot where the VET stood also has the diamond with the bases where they stood
Great lil video!!
I went to a Soxs v A’s game at original Comiskey park in early 80’s. History. Wow
I had family who lived just a few blocks from Wrigley, so that was usually where we saw a game when we were in town, but I, being a sucker for seeing different parks, and my father, not minding the idea of seeing a game in a different venue, were lucky to see the Sox versus the A's in Comiskey as well. I could probably find out the details if I tried, but I do remember Frank Thomas putting "The Big Hurt" on the Sox, and as Comiskey was in its final year (1990), we got a look at the replacement park across the way (which I think we ultimately dubbed "The Excelsior").
While I wasn't there, the other memory I have of Comiskey is watching Disco Demolition Night happen on TV when I was a kid
My dad and I drove to Chicago from our home in St Louis around 1960. He had lived in Chi for a while in late 30s and met my mother there. He made it a point to take me to a game at Comiskey! He emphasized where Veeck shot off the fireworks. But something was bugging him and he made us leave early in the game. He died in 1981, age only 64.
@@phineasbluster2872 Sorry for your loss, we didnt get to see fireworks Sox did t hit a HR. But the group i was with got a foul ball off a grounder. Down 1st line short wall.
The flagpole of tiger stadium is still standing
Very cool. Thanks for posting!
As a fellow gander, I can appreciate this video
I hate how we tear things down instead of doing renovations or repairs.
Its cool that Cleveland field is still being used.
High school and youth leagues use it all spring and summer. Makes for a fun spot to watch/play the game. There’s also a small museum on site
Very cool! Thanks
Bravo! Outstanding narration and content!
what exactly is a 'jewel box' park? does that refer to the design? how are modern stadiums different?
Damned if I know what the hell he's talking about. I thought I he was referring to a ballparks that were named after a Midwest grocery store franchise...🤨
My friend lives/works near League Park in CLE. I think they did the best job of all of these of course in maintaining a ballpark presence. My buddy goes to youth games there quite a bit. SO cool baseball is still played there. Here's a jewel-box park list - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_jewel_box_baseball_parks
Could you do videos on all former mlb fields
I like the video I live here in Baltimore the old ballpark here was called Memorial Stadium if you didn't know where it was you could drive right past it nothing is left there is a YMCA and a senior center where it stood me and my father spent many a summer nights at the Ballpark that's why I miss it the most
For Forbes Field in the Pitt University building looking towards the wall is the original home plate notated inside the building.
Yea i read that but they also have said it has been moved from its actual original location
But being from the Burgh it was great to see Forbes in there. I’m old enough to have seen the Pirates play there back in 65.
Thank you for making this Vid. You rock!
*the old Tiger stadium flag pole, *that was actually in the field of play*, still stands at its original site and has been incorporated into the new field
Pretty cool piece!
It would be great for you to zoom out to give a perspective of where the park was located within the city.
Really great ball parks🇺🇸
Originally the Cleveland park was in a area named Hough...which had a race riot in I think "66". A lot of these parks went way side cause the area did as well. Except Braves field which was surrounded by B.U., or Jew U as was known. Hence why the owners moved or sold.
A definition of a Jewel Box Ballpark at the beginning of the video would have helped. I had an idea of what it was but paused to go back and get a good definition.
Okay, I grew up in Atlanta....As a kid we really didn't know that Atlanta Stadium was a poorly made dump....But we could go there and sit in General Admission for 50 cents...It was called the Knothole club....also no one complained when we went down to the dugout to get autographs
God it was a sad day when they tore down tigers stadium
Tiger Stadium had its charms (right field overhang), but as far as comfort and viewing angles it was pretty bad. There were tons of obstructed view seats. The corridors were dark and dirty and smelled bad. It didn't have enough restrooms and the ones it did have were awful. Comerica Park is a huge improvement. It's clean, attractive, comfortable and has a great view of the skyline. It has fun things for kids to do. It has plenty of character. It's a huge improvement. Stop with the nostalgia narratives already.
The only thing left from Comiskey Park is a tree on W. 35th St. with a sign dating back to at least the 1950s stating resale of tickets is prohibited.
Reinsdorf didn't cut it down.?
Left out Griffith Stadium. Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL is still in operation
And Rickwood hosted MLB teams when? There are dozens of minor league jewel box parks still in operation. Also, he specifically stated that these are stadiums that still have portions of them in existence. Griffith Stadium does not. Howard University now owns the land, and their medical school and hospital features a plaque and an outline of where home plate used to be.
I live in MN and the old Met Stadium (1956-1981) where the Twins and Vikings played was where the Mall of America is now. Home plate has a marker in Nickelodeon Universe (I’ll always remember it as Camp Snoopy) and the chair where Harmon Killebrew hit his 520 ft home run is propped up by the flume ride where it would’ve been. Not a jewel box stadium, but still pretty cool history that I grew up with. I am still very upset that nothing from The Metrodome (where I grew up watching baseball) was saved. Just like everything else in MN, all existence of it was wiped away.
It's sad because the Metrodome produced several unforgettable memories and hosted a lot of big events, too. But at the end, it ended up being remembered as a liability to the politicians and a stain to urban development
@@djtrankilo231 Football and Baseball should never be played indoors. That's why the Metronome is not remembered fondly. It was a boring, nondescript, artificial space that could be anywhere. It had zero personality. Why not just hold sporting events in a soundstage somewhere? There was nothing about it that said Minnesota.
Since the new Vikings stadium is in the same location as the Metrodome, does that mean the football field is in the same spot?
What about Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Griffith Stadium in Washington or Ebbets Field in Brooklyn?
I said at the end there are some that are so built over that there really wasnt anything to show, so thats why they werent included
It's a damn shame what happened to Shibe, left to rot and decay and then torn down for warehouses. I rode a train past it in one of its final years, and you could still tell how beautiful it must have looked in its prime.
@@JamesDavidWalley there is a church on the lot now with large gates surrounding it.
Also right across the street is a McDonald's just like it was in 1910 😄