| • Former Boston ballparks • Braves Field Known as Boston University Field after 1953, and presently known as Nickerson Field Boston, Massachusetts |
Tenants: Boston Braves (NL 1915-1952); Boston Braves ({Redskins}, NFL, 1932); Boston Patriots (AFL, 1960-62); Boston
University (1954-present)
Groundbeaking: 1914
1st National League game: August 18, 1915
Last National League game: September 21, 1952
1st NFL Game: September, 1932
Last NFL game: December, 1932
1st AFL game: September 9, 1960
Last AFL game: December, 1962
Partially demolished/reconfigured for football: 1955
Architect: Osborn Engineering (1915)
Owner: Boston Braves (1915-53); Boston University (1954-present)
Seating capacity: (1915-52): 40,000 (Capacity varied slightly year-to-year due to multiple, minor seating changes);
15,000 (Present)
Dimensions:
LF foul line: 402 (1915), 375 (1921), 404 (1922), 403 (1926), 320 (1928), 340 (1930), 354 (1931), 359 (1933), 353.67 (1934),
368 (1936), 350 (1940), 337 (1941), 334 (1942), 340 (1943), 337 (1944)
LF alley: 402 (1915), 396 (1916), 402 (1921), 404 (1922), 402 (1926), 330 (1928), 365 (1942), 355 (1943)
Center field: 440 (1915), 417 (1928), 387 (1929), 394 (1930), 387 (1931), 417 (1933), 426 (1936), 407 (1937), 408 (1939),
385 (1940), 401 (1941), 375 (1942), 370 (1943), 390 (1944), 380 (1945), 370 (1946)
Deepest center field corner: 550 (1915), 401 (1942), 390 (1943)
RF alley: 402 (1915), 362 (1942), 355 (1943)
RF foul line: 402 (1915), 375 (1916), 365 (1921), 364 (1928), 298 (1929), 364 (1933), 297 (1936), 376 (1937), 378 (1938),
350 (1940), 320 (1943), 340 (1946), 318 (1947), 320 (1948), 319 (1948)
Fences:
Left field to center: 10 ft. (concrete, 1915), 8 ft. (wood, 1928), 20 ft. (wood, 1946), 25 ft. (wood, 1953)
Right-center gate: 8 ft. (Screen)
Right field: 10 ft. (6 ft. screen above 4 ft. wood)
Hosted World Series: 1915, 1916, 1948
Hosted All-Star Game: 1936
University (1954-present)
Groundbeaking: 1914
1st National League game: August 18, 1915
Last National League game: September 21, 1952
1st NFL Game: September, 1932
Last NFL game: December, 1932
1st AFL game: September 9, 1960
Last AFL game: December, 1962
Partially demolished/reconfigured for football: 1955
Architect: Osborn Engineering (1915)
Owner: Boston Braves (1915-53); Boston University (1954-present)
Seating capacity: (1915-52): 40,000 (Capacity varied slightly year-to-year due to multiple, minor seating changes);
15,000 (Present)
Dimensions:
LF foul line: 402 (1915), 375 (1921), 404 (1922), 403 (1926), 320 (1928), 340 (1930), 354 (1931), 359 (1933), 353.67 (1934),
368 (1936), 350 (1940), 337 (1941), 334 (1942), 340 (1943), 337 (1944)
LF alley: 402 (1915), 396 (1916), 402 (1921), 404 (1922), 402 (1926), 330 (1928), 365 (1942), 355 (1943)
Center field: 440 (1915), 417 (1928), 387 (1929), 394 (1930), 387 (1931), 417 (1933), 426 (1936), 407 (1937), 408 (1939),
385 (1940), 401 (1941), 375 (1942), 370 (1943), 390 (1944), 380 (1945), 370 (1946)
Deepest center field corner: 550 (1915), 401 (1942), 390 (1943)
RF alley: 402 (1915), 362 (1942), 355 (1943)
RF foul line: 402 (1915), 375 (1916), 365 (1921), 364 (1928), 298 (1929), 364 (1933), 297 (1936), 376 (1937), 378 (1938),
350 (1940), 320 (1943), 340 (1946), 318 (1947), 320 (1948), 319 (1948)
Fences:
Left field to center: 10 ft. (concrete, 1915), 8 ft. (wood, 1928), 20 ft. (wood, 1946), 25 ft. (wood, 1953)
Right-center gate: 8 ft. (Screen)
Right field: 10 ft. (6 ft. screen above 4 ft. wood)
Hosted World Series: 1915, 1916, 1948
Hosted All-Star Game: 1936
Recommended Reading List
Click on titles for more info
Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Guide to Baseball Parks Past & Present
by Josh Leventhal, Jessica M. Macmurray
The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip
by Joshua Pahigian, Kevin O'Connell
Fodor's Baseball Vacations: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major
League Ballparks Across America
by Bruce Adams
America's Ballparks
by Kenneth Hogan
Ballparks of North America: A Comprehensive Historical Reference to Baseball Grounds,
Yards and Stadiums, 1845 to Present
by Michael Benson
Storied Stadiums: Baseball's History Through Its Ballparks
by Curt Smith
Click on titles for more info
Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Guide to Baseball Parks Past & Present
by Josh Leventhal, Jessica M. Macmurray
The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip
by Joshua Pahigian, Kevin O'Connell
Fodor's Baseball Vacations: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major
League Ballparks Across America
by Bruce Adams
America's Ballparks
by Kenneth Hogan
Ballparks of North America: A Comprehensive Historical Reference to Baseball Grounds,
Yards and Stadiums, 1845 to Present
by Michael Benson
Storied Stadiums: Baseball's History Through Its Ballparks
by Curt Smith
| Home Page - Table of Contents - Feedback © mmv ballparktour.com |
As Ty Cobb inspected the new ballpark on Commonwealth Avenue for the first time, he announced, "Nobody will
ever hit a ball out of this park." With foul lines of 402 ft. and deep-center 550 ft. away, Cobb's prediction semed
relatively safe. In fact, it would be 10 years before Frank Snyder of the New York Giants hit the first
over-the-wall home run at Braves Field on May 28, 1925. Before moving into the Commowealth Avenue facility, the
team played at the South End Grounds, a park used by the 4-time champion Red Stockings of the National
Association in 1872-75. In 1888, the South End Grounds structure was torn down and rebuilt as a double-decked
grandstand - and grand it was. Dubbed the Grand Pavilion, The structure, which looked like a castle right out of
a medieval fairy-tale, remains to this day as one of the most unique ballparks ever designed. (See photos farther
down the page). Unfortunately, in 1894, a devastating fire destroyed not only the ballpark, but many neighboring
buildings, and ended as the Great Roxbury Fire of 1894 which destroyed much of lower Roxbury. Soon after, a
third, though less ornate, version of the South End Grounds was built on the same site and remained the Braves
home until 1915.
As they moved and changed ownership, the team also changed names. For years they were known as the
Beaneaters. When owned by John Dovey they were the Doves. When William Russell owned the team, they were
the Rustlers. in 1912, the club was aquired by James Gaffney and were renamed Braves, a name that lasted until
1936, when club president John Quinn sought to remove all traces of losing stigma from the team and selected
the new name, "Bees", through a fan contest. In 1941 however, the old name was resored and remains Braves to
this day. From the time he first aquired the club, Gaffney began a search for a new ballpark site. At first he
settled on renovations to the South End Grounds, but in 1914, purchased the Allston golf course on
Commonwealth Avenue as the site for the new home to the Braves. To construct the park, it was reported,
contractors used 750 tons of steel and more than eight million pounds of cement.
Braves Field was the last of the so-called "Classic era" parks - The first wave of concrete-and-steel ballparks
constructed between 1909 and 1915. It was a wide open ballpark (with an 11 acre playing field!) conducive to
triples and in-the-park home runs. A covered single-deck grandstand seating 18,000 wrapped around the diamond,
ending just past first and third bases. Two uncovered pavilions seating 10,000 apiece occupied the areas just past
the grandstand up to the foul poles. The jury box (So named because one day a sportswriter noticed only a
dozen fans sitting in that section) seated 2,000 and was located in right field. With a total capacity of 40,000
(56,000 jammed the park on opening day, 1915), Braves field was the largest park in baseball, and would remain so
until Yankee Stadium's opening in 1923.
When the dead ball era ended in the 1920's as Babe Ruth was practically re-inventing the home run, many
ballparks reconfigured their dimensions to take advantage of the new homer craze. Braves Field was no
exception. In 1928 the Braves moved in the fences substantially, added bleacher sections in left and center field,
and shifted the diamond a few degrees clockwise. From the late 1920s until the early 1940s the Braves tinkered
with the location of the outfield fence and bleachers several times. In 1936 they moved home plate backward by
about 15 feet, and in 1937 they cut out a triangular section of the right field pavilion to stretch the distance
down the right field line to a respectable 318 feet (From 296 ft.). The bleachers in left and center were
eventually removed, and the outfield fence from left to right-center was raised to 20, and eventually 25 ft. high.
In 1941, Sky-boxes were installed on the roof, and in 1946 as part of a $500,000 facelift, light towers were erected
and a new electric scoreboard was installed in left field.
Only 2 months after it opened, Braves Field hosted a World Series. Due to its large seating capacity, The Red
Sox played their home games at Braves Field instead of Fenway Park for the 1915 and 1916 World Series, in which
they won Back-to-Back World Championships. The Braves would have to wait 34 years between pennants, but in
1948, Braves Field once again hosted a World Series, this time for the Braves, who drew 1.5 million through the
turnstiles during the regular season. They eventually lost the Series to the Indians, 4 games to 2. Unfortunately,
The Braves success was fleeting and by 1952, they drew only 281,000 fans for the season. In 1953, the Braves
became the first East Coast team to pull up stakes and head west, abruptly relocating the team to Milwaukee.
Braves Field had ended its existence as a major league ballpark after a relatively short lifespan of 38 years.
In the mid-50's, Boston University purchased the property, tearing down most of it, converted it for football and
changed its name to Nickerson Field, where the B.U. Terriers played football until 1997. Field hockey and soccer
games as well as commencement ceremonies and other events are still held there. Amazingly, The old right-field
pavilion has been left virtually intact as it was, and incorporated into Nickerson's seating arrangement. The left
field pavilion was replaced by an arena and the grandstand was replaced by three high-rise dormitory buildings.
Also, The much-photographed, familiar first base ticket office was also saved and preserved, as is the concrete
outer wall in right and center field.
ever hit a ball out of this park." With foul lines of 402 ft. and deep-center 550 ft. away, Cobb's prediction semed
relatively safe. In fact, it would be 10 years before Frank Snyder of the New York Giants hit the first
over-the-wall home run at Braves Field on May 28, 1925. Before moving into the Commowealth Avenue facility, the
team played at the South End Grounds, a park used by the 4-time champion Red Stockings of the National
Association in 1872-75. In 1888, the South End Grounds structure was torn down and rebuilt as a double-decked
grandstand - and grand it was. Dubbed the Grand Pavilion, The structure, which looked like a castle right out of
a medieval fairy-tale, remains to this day as one of the most unique ballparks ever designed. (See photos farther
down the page). Unfortunately, in 1894, a devastating fire destroyed not only the ballpark, but many neighboring
buildings, and ended as the Great Roxbury Fire of 1894 which destroyed much of lower Roxbury. Soon after, a
third, though less ornate, version of the South End Grounds was built on the same site and remained the Braves
home until 1915.
As they moved and changed ownership, the team also changed names. For years they were known as the
Beaneaters. When owned by John Dovey they were the Doves. When William Russell owned the team, they were
the Rustlers. in 1912, the club was aquired by James Gaffney and were renamed Braves, a name that lasted until
1936, when club president John Quinn sought to remove all traces of losing stigma from the team and selected
the new name, "Bees", through a fan contest. In 1941 however, the old name was resored and remains Braves to
this day. From the time he first aquired the club, Gaffney began a search for a new ballpark site. At first he
settled on renovations to the South End Grounds, but in 1914, purchased the Allston golf course on
Commonwealth Avenue as the site for the new home to the Braves. To construct the park, it was reported,
contractors used 750 tons of steel and more than eight million pounds of cement.
Braves Field was the last of the so-called "Classic era" parks - The first wave of concrete-and-steel ballparks
constructed between 1909 and 1915. It was a wide open ballpark (with an 11 acre playing field!) conducive to
triples and in-the-park home runs. A covered single-deck grandstand seating 18,000 wrapped around the diamond,
ending just past first and third bases. Two uncovered pavilions seating 10,000 apiece occupied the areas just past
the grandstand up to the foul poles. The jury box (So named because one day a sportswriter noticed only a
dozen fans sitting in that section) seated 2,000 and was located in right field. With a total capacity of 40,000
(56,000 jammed the park on opening day, 1915), Braves field was the largest park in baseball, and would remain so
until Yankee Stadium's opening in 1923.
When the dead ball era ended in the 1920's as Babe Ruth was practically re-inventing the home run, many
ballparks reconfigured their dimensions to take advantage of the new homer craze. Braves Field was no
exception. In 1928 the Braves moved in the fences substantially, added bleacher sections in left and center field,
and shifted the diamond a few degrees clockwise. From the late 1920s until the early 1940s the Braves tinkered
with the location of the outfield fence and bleachers several times. In 1936 they moved home plate backward by
about 15 feet, and in 1937 they cut out a triangular section of the right field pavilion to stretch the distance
down the right field line to a respectable 318 feet (From 296 ft.). The bleachers in left and center were
eventually removed, and the outfield fence from left to right-center was raised to 20, and eventually 25 ft. high.
In 1941, Sky-boxes were installed on the roof, and in 1946 as part of a $500,000 facelift, light towers were erected
and a new electric scoreboard was installed in left field.
Only 2 months after it opened, Braves Field hosted a World Series. Due to its large seating capacity, The Red
Sox played their home games at Braves Field instead of Fenway Park for the 1915 and 1916 World Series, in which
they won Back-to-Back World Championships. The Braves would have to wait 34 years between pennants, but in
1948, Braves Field once again hosted a World Series, this time for the Braves, who drew 1.5 million through the
turnstiles during the regular season. They eventually lost the Series to the Indians, 4 games to 2. Unfortunately,
The Braves success was fleeting and by 1952, they drew only 281,000 fans for the season. In 1953, the Braves
became the first East Coast team to pull up stakes and head west, abruptly relocating the team to Milwaukee.
Braves Field had ended its existence as a major league ballpark after a relatively short lifespan of 38 years.
In the mid-50's, Boston University purchased the property, tearing down most of it, converted it for football and
changed its name to Nickerson Field, where the B.U. Terriers played football until 1997. Field hockey and soccer
games as well as commencement ceremonies and other events are still held there. Amazingly, The old right-field
pavilion has been left virtually intact as it was, and incorporated into Nickerson's seating arrangement. The left
field pavilion was replaced by an arena and the grandstand was replaced by three high-rise dormitory buildings.
Also, The much-photographed, familiar first base ticket office was also saved and preserved, as is the concrete
outer wall in right and center field.
| -- ------------------------------ -- South End Grounds Boston, Massachusetts |
Tenants: Boston Braves (NL 1876-1914), Boston Red Stockings (National Association 1871-75)
Capacity: 6,800 (1888)
1st American Association game: May 16, 1871
Last national League game: August 11, 1914
Dimensions:
LF 250, CF 440, RF 255
Also called the Walpole Street Grounds, the Grand Pavilion, Boston Base-ball Grounds
Located on Columbus Avenue and Walpole Street at the present site of the MBTA’s Ruggles Street Station in
Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, the South End Grounds was the first baseball "temple" and a home for Boston
major league baseball for over four decades. The South End Grounds was also used for college sporting events
including baseball and football. Harvard College football games were sometimes played in the South End Grounds in
the days before Harvard Stadium was built.
First constructed and opened in 1871, South End Grounds was best known as the original home park of the
Boston Braves. In 1888, the original structure was torn down and rebuilt as Boston’s first double-decked
ballpark. Looking like something out of a baseball fairytale, it was known as the Grand Pavilion (Above). This
remarkable structure was designed with covered viewing stands, turrets, and intricate ornamentation.
Unfortunately, the Grand Pavilion burned to the ground in 1894 when a fire in the bleachers got out of control.
The fire destroyed not only the Grand Pavilion but quickly spread to neighboring buildings and ended as the Great
Roxbury Fire of 1894 which destroyed much of lower Roxbury.
A third ballpark was built and was the home of the Boston Braves until August 1914. (The Braves played at the
Congress Street Grounds for the several months that it took to rebuild the ballpark.) The new structure was not
as grand as its predecessor and the growing crowds and popularity of baseball, not to mention competition with
the new Red Sox field, Fenway Park, drove the Braves to build a larger and more modern steel and concrete
stadium – Braves Field - on Commonwealth Avenue in Allston. The South End Grounds is now just a memory in
Boston’s sports history.
Capacity: 6,800 (1888)
1st American Association game: May 16, 1871
Last national League game: August 11, 1914
Dimensions:
LF 250, CF 440, RF 255
Also called the Walpole Street Grounds, the Grand Pavilion, Boston Base-ball Grounds
Located on Columbus Avenue and Walpole Street at the present site of the MBTA’s Ruggles Street Station in
Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, the South End Grounds was the first baseball "temple" and a home for Boston
major league baseball for over four decades. The South End Grounds was also used for college sporting events
including baseball and football. Harvard College football games were sometimes played in the South End Grounds in
the days before Harvard Stadium was built.
First constructed and opened in 1871, South End Grounds was best known as the original home park of the
Boston Braves. In 1888, the original structure was torn down and rebuilt as Boston’s first double-decked
ballpark. Looking like something out of a baseball fairytale, it was known as the Grand Pavilion (Above). This
remarkable structure was designed with covered viewing stands, turrets, and intricate ornamentation.
Unfortunately, the Grand Pavilion burned to the ground in 1894 when a fire in the bleachers got out of control.
The fire destroyed not only the Grand Pavilion but quickly spread to neighboring buildings and ended as the Great
Roxbury Fire of 1894 which destroyed much of lower Roxbury.
A third ballpark was built and was the home of the Boston Braves until August 1914. (The Braves played at the
Congress Street Grounds for the several months that it took to rebuild the ballpark.) The new structure was not
as grand as its predecessor and the growing crowds and popularity of baseball, not to mention competition with
the new Red Sox field, Fenway Park, drove the Braves to build a larger and more modern steel and concrete
stadium – Braves Field - on Commonwealth Avenue in Allston. The South End Grounds is now just a memory in
Boston’s sports history.
| A Braves Field Dual-diagram: The grey foul lines and lighter-green shading show the original placement of home plate, and dimensions from 1915-27. Not a single home run was hit over the wall in Braves Field's first nine seasons! -- ---------------------- -- |
| -- ---------------------- -- Braves Field Notes, Facts & Features Originally, there was a ground-level scoreboard in left field. The scoreboard was moved in 1928 to beyond right field. Fir trees were planted beyond the center field fence to mask smoke from the nearby railroad. Prevailing winds off the river blew straight in from center field, preventing many home runs. Infield grass was transplanted from the South End Grounds. 3,000th hit by Paul Waner on June 19, 1942 Unassisted triple play by Ernest Padgett on October 6, 1923. Babe Ruth played here for the Braves in 1935 The Troubadours, mixing music and Vaudeville, entertained fans at Braves Field in the mid 40's. Babe Ruth pitched 14 innings for a 2-1 win for the Red Sox over the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 2 of the 1916 World Series. |
| Life After the Braves: (Above) Braves Field's Original Right Field Pavilion is today the main grandstand for Boston University's Nickerson Field. (Below) Located behind the Right-Field Pavilion, this building was used by the Braves for its clubhouse and ticket office. The pavilion's edge can be seen in this photo just to the right side of the ticket office building. As you can see, it remains today pretty much as it was in the 1920's. |
| -- -------------------------- -- Huntington Avenue Grounds Boston, Massachusetts |
| South End Grounds represented the best of nineteenth century ballpark architecture. |
Fenway Park has been home to the century-old Red Sox franchise for over 90 years. And while the "lyric little
bandbox" is synonymous with Boston Red Sox baseball, few fans know about the predecessor to the current
stadium, the ballpark that actually gave birth to the franchise.
The American League began operations in 1901 with eight charter franchises, and with an announcement on
January 28 of that year the team that would become known as the Red Sox was officially inducted into the
League and the city. The announcement of the team was preceded by Connie Mack's mission to Boston to locate
a tract of land within the city that would be used for a ballpark. Mack was about to embark on a career that
would gain him notoriety and a place in the Hall of Fame by managing the Philadelphia Athletics for a remarkable
50 years, a time in which he amassed a Major League record 3,731 victories.
But first the Massachusetts born Mack made a significant contribution to the Red Sox when he found suitable
land owned by the Boston Elevated Railroad on the south side of Huntington Avenue. The plot was located at the
intersection of Huntington Avenue and Rogers (present day Forsyth) Street and was in the same neighborhood,
but on the other side of the railroad tracks, as the South End Grounds (1871-1915), home of the Boston National
League team. The location was 1.5 miles from where Fenway Park would eventually be built. The land was
purchased by Charles Somers, a wealthy Cleveland businessman who, at the time of the purchase, was a part
owner in the Cleveland franchise in addition to his title of American League Vice President.
The first home of the Red Sox was built for $35,000 in 1901. Ground was broken for construction on March 9 and
was completed two months later. In between the start and finish of construction, Somers sold his interest in the
Cleveland team and became Boston's first official owner. When it was completed, the ballpark dubbed Huntington
Avenue Grounds seated 9,000 fans, with room for thousands more standing behind ropes in the outfield and the
ample foul territory, where 90 feet separated the stands from the diamond. The initial outfield dimensions were
320 feet down the lines and a daunting 530 feet to center, which was expanded to 635 feet in 1908. The ballyard
had only a single entrance with just one turnstile as the team simply known as the Boston Americans won their
first home opener on May 8 when Cy Young beat Mack's Athletics 12-4.
The wood-framed Huntington Avenue Grounds proved to be a success for the first-year franchise in the new
league, as estimates placed between 289,000 and 322,000 fans through the sole turnstile, twice as many paid
admissions garnered by the previously established Boston National League team. While the "Nationals" (later called
the Braves) charged 50 cents for admission, the "Americans" charged only 25 cents for a grandstand seat.
As the Boston Americans began to carve out their niche in the sport recognized as the National Pastime, the
feats accomplished by the Red Sox franchise in the brief era they played at Huntington Avenue Grounds were
responsible for two of the game's most noteworthy firsts. The 1903 team would make history as not only Boston's
first champions, but baseball's as well. But before the team left for spring training in Macon, Georgia it was sold to
Milwaukee lawyer Henry Killilea. Although he owned the club for only a year, it was one that history recalls fondly
for the Red Sox fan.
In a year of firsts, May 7, 1903 marked the beginning of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. The first game took place at
the Huntington Avenue Grounds as 5,000 fans watched Boston beat the Highlanders (or Invaders) 6-2. The team
that would eventually change its nickname to the Yankees spent the first two years of their existence as the
Baltimore Orioles. Prior to the move to New York they were Boston's main nemesis and the relocation only
strengthened the resolve of what remains the most storied and intense rivalry in all of sports.
A crowd overflows the playing grounds prior to Game 3 of the 1903 World Series. The street behind the left field
wall is Huntington Avenue. But the most memorable event of 1903 in the annals of baseball history was the
beginning of what the press at the time called the "world's series." The first game of the now renowned Fall
Classic was played in Boston on October 1 between the Red Sox franchise and the National League's Pittsburgh
Pirates. At the time, many did not recognize the American League as an equal to the National League, which
began in 1876. As a result it was no surprise to many that the heavily favored Pirates beat Cy Young in Game 1 by a
7-3 score.
The Series can be summed up from the inscription on a home plate shaped plaque that was dedicated on May
16, 1956 and still stands as a memento today on the grounds where the first game took place:
"On October 1, 1903 the first modern World Series between the American League champion Boston Pilgrims (later
known as the Red Sox) and the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates was played on this site. General
admission tickets were fifty cents. The Pilgrims, led by twenty eight game winner Cy Young, trailed the series
three games to one but then swept four consecutive victories to win the championship five game to three."
Boston finished off the best-of-nine series in Game 8 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds on Tuesday, October 13
as 7,455 fans turned out to watch Boston claim the championship with a 3-0 victory behind Bill Dinneen. The
famed Honus Wagner struck out to end the series.
The next game for the Americans at Huntington Avenue was on April 18, 1904, as 10,000 fans watched two 30-foot
pennants raised skyward proclaiming Boston as American League Champions and World Champions.
The very next day the team was officially sold to the publisher of the Boston Globe, General Charles Taylor, for
$145,000. Taylor turned the team over to his son, John I. Taylor, and a string of meddlesome ownership that
ended with Harry Freeze's ouster of Babe Ruth began.
Before John I. dismantled the team, Boston won another American League pennant in 1904, but the National
League champion New York Giants refused to participate in any post-season activity. As it turned out, the World
Series would not be an official, annual event until 1905. By default, the Red Sox repeated as World Champions.
Although there was no post-season play to speak of, Boston fans were treated to another afternoon of historical
significance on May 5, 1904 when Cy Young threw the first perfect game in baseball's modern history, a 3-0
masterpiece over the Philadelphia A's.
After ending their two-year title run by finishing in fourth place in 1905, Boston slumped to a league worst 49-105
in 1906, the first of three consecutive losing seasons, which were the result of bad baseball judgment from the
front office, specifically John I. Taylor.
Following another dismal campaign in 1907, Taylor decided the team would start wearing white uniforms with
bright red stockings for home games, and as a result, on December 18 Taylor announced the team would be
officially known as the Red Sox, the nickname that has identified the team ever since.
After giving the team its identity, Taylor decided to give them a new home. With the lease for the Huntington
Avenue Grounds set to expire following the 1911 season, Taylor decided to build a new ballpark in the Fenway.
The move was purely a business decision, as Taylor had already decided to sell the team to James McAleer.
Although he would no longer own the team, Taylor would own the new ballpark, which he would rent out to the
team's new owner, thus ensuring a financial windfall from the team's sale and continuing profits from rent for
years to come.
The final game ever played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds was on October 7, 1911 as the Red Sox defeated
Washington 8-1.
After the Red Sox left, the park was torn down and eventually replaced by the Huntington YMCA, which stood
from 1916-53. After Northeastern University acquired the land they built the Cabot Physical Education Center. To
this day the site remains a bustling hub of athletic activity for the University.
The plaque above was dedicated in 1956 and is located on the front wall of Northeastern University's Cabot
Center. Evidence of the Red Sox' humble origins are etched upon a plaque that dates to May 16, 1956. Visible on
the outside wall of Cabot Center from the sidewalk that runs parallel to Huntington Avenue, the marker notes
that the Northeastern University Physical Education Center occupies "The site of the former Huntington Avenue
American League Baseball Grounds, on which in 1903 four games of the first World Series were played; The Boston
Americans defeated the Pittsburgh Nationals five games to three." --By Graham Knight
bandbox" is synonymous with Boston Red Sox baseball, few fans know about the predecessor to the current
stadium, the ballpark that actually gave birth to the franchise.
The American League began operations in 1901 with eight charter franchises, and with an announcement on
January 28 of that year the team that would become known as the Red Sox was officially inducted into the
League and the city. The announcement of the team was preceded by Connie Mack's mission to Boston to locate
a tract of land within the city that would be used for a ballpark. Mack was about to embark on a career that
would gain him notoriety and a place in the Hall of Fame by managing the Philadelphia Athletics for a remarkable
50 years, a time in which he amassed a Major League record 3,731 victories.
But first the Massachusetts born Mack made a significant contribution to the Red Sox when he found suitable
land owned by the Boston Elevated Railroad on the south side of Huntington Avenue. The plot was located at the
intersection of Huntington Avenue and Rogers (present day Forsyth) Street and was in the same neighborhood,
but on the other side of the railroad tracks, as the South End Grounds (1871-1915), home of the Boston National
League team. The location was 1.5 miles from where Fenway Park would eventually be built. The land was
purchased by Charles Somers, a wealthy Cleveland businessman who, at the time of the purchase, was a part
owner in the Cleveland franchise in addition to his title of American League Vice President.
The first home of the Red Sox was built for $35,000 in 1901. Ground was broken for construction on March 9 and
was completed two months later. In between the start and finish of construction, Somers sold his interest in the
Cleveland team and became Boston's first official owner. When it was completed, the ballpark dubbed Huntington
Avenue Grounds seated 9,000 fans, with room for thousands more standing behind ropes in the outfield and the
ample foul territory, where 90 feet separated the stands from the diamond. The initial outfield dimensions were
320 feet down the lines and a daunting 530 feet to center, which was expanded to 635 feet in 1908. The ballyard
had only a single entrance with just one turnstile as the team simply known as the Boston Americans won their
first home opener on May 8 when Cy Young beat Mack's Athletics 12-4.
The wood-framed Huntington Avenue Grounds proved to be a success for the first-year franchise in the new
league, as estimates placed between 289,000 and 322,000 fans through the sole turnstile, twice as many paid
admissions garnered by the previously established Boston National League team. While the "Nationals" (later called
the Braves) charged 50 cents for admission, the "Americans" charged only 25 cents for a grandstand seat.
As the Boston Americans began to carve out their niche in the sport recognized as the National Pastime, the
feats accomplished by the Red Sox franchise in the brief era they played at Huntington Avenue Grounds were
responsible for two of the game's most noteworthy firsts. The 1903 team would make history as not only Boston's
first champions, but baseball's as well. But before the team left for spring training in Macon, Georgia it was sold to
Milwaukee lawyer Henry Killilea. Although he owned the club for only a year, it was one that history recalls fondly
for the Red Sox fan.
In a year of firsts, May 7, 1903 marked the beginning of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. The first game took place at
the Huntington Avenue Grounds as 5,000 fans watched Boston beat the Highlanders (or Invaders) 6-2. The team
that would eventually change its nickname to the Yankees spent the first two years of their existence as the
Baltimore Orioles. Prior to the move to New York they were Boston's main nemesis and the relocation only
strengthened the resolve of what remains the most storied and intense rivalry in all of sports.
A crowd overflows the playing grounds prior to Game 3 of the 1903 World Series. The street behind the left field
wall is Huntington Avenue. But the most memorable event of 1903 in the annals of baseball history was the
beginning of what the press at the time called the "world's series." The first game of the now renowned Fall
Classic was played in Boston on October 1 between the Red Sox franchise and the National League's Pittsburgh
Pirates. At the time, many did not recognize the American League as an equal to the National League, which
began in 1876. As a result it was no surprise to many that the heavily favored Pirates beat Cy Young in Game 1 by a
7-3 score.
The Series can be summed up from the inscription on a home plate shaped plaque that was dedicated on May
16, 1956 and still stands as a memento today on the grounds where the first game took place:
"On October 1, 1903 the first modern World Series between the American League champion Boston Pilgrims (later
known as the Red Sox) and the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates was played on this site. General
admission tickets were fifty cents. The Pilgrims, led by twenty eight game winner Cy Young, trailed the series
three games to one but then swept four consecutive victories to win the championship five game to three."
Boston finished off the best-of-nine series in Game 8 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds on Tuesday, October 13
as 7,455 fans turned out to watch Boston claim the championship with a 3-0 victory behind Bill Dinneen. The
famed Honus Wagner struck out to end the series.
The next game for the Americans at Huntington Avenue was on April 18, 1904, as 10,000 fans watched two 30-foot
pennants raised skyward proclaiming Boston as American League Champions and World Champions.
The very next day the team was officially sold to the publisher of the Boston Globe, General Charles Taylor, for
$145,000. Taylor turned the team over to his son, John I. Taylor, and a string of meddlesome ownership that
ended with Harry Freeze's ouster of Babe Ruth began.
Before John I. dismantled the team, Boston won another American League pennant in 1904, but the National
League champion New York Giants refused to participate in any post-season activity. As it turned out, the World
Series would not be an official, annual event until 1905. By default, the Red Sox repeated as World Champions.
Although there was no post-season play to speak of, Boston fans were treated to another afternoon of historical
significance on May 5, 1904 when Cy Young threw the first perfect game in baseball's modern history, a 3-0
masterpiece over the Philadelphia A's.
After ending their two-year title run by finishing in fourth place in 1905, Boston slumped to a league worst 49-105
in 1906, the first of three consecutive losing seasons, which were the result of bad baseball judgment from the
front office, specifically John I. Taylor.
Following another dismal campaign in 1907, Taylor decided the team would start wearing white uniforms with
bright red stockings for home games, and as a result, on December 18 Taylor announced the team would be
officially known as the Red Sox, the nickname that has identified the team ever since.
After giving the team its identity, Taylor decided to give them a new home. With the lease for the Huntington
Avenue Grounds set to expire following the 1911 season, Taylor decided to build a new ballpark in the Fenway.
The move was purely a business decision, as Taylor had already decided to sell the team to James McAleer.
Although he would no longer own the team, Taylor would own the new ballpark, which he would rent out to the
team's new owner, thus ensuring a financial windfall from the team's sale and continuing profits from rent for
years to come.
The final game ever played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds was on October 7, 1911 as the Red Sox defeated
Washington 8-1.
After the Red Sox left, the park was torn down and eventually replaced by the Huntington YMCA, which stood
from 1916-53. After Northeastern University acquired the land they built the Cabot Physical Education Center. To
this day the site remains a bustling hub of athletic activity for the University.
The plaque above was dedicated in 1956 and is located on the front wall of Northeastern University's Cabot
Center. Evidence of the Red Sox' humble origins are etched upon a plaque that dates to May 16, 1956. Visible on
the outside wall of Cabot Center from the sidewalk that runs parallel to Huntington Avenue, the marker notes
that the Northeastern University Physical Education Center occupies "The site of the former Huntington Avenue
American League Baseball Grounds, on which in 1903 four games of the first World Series were played; The Boston
Americans defeated the Pittsburgh Nationals five games to three." --By Graham Knight
Left-- Braves pitcher Johnny Sain and Red Sox hurler Tex Hughson meet at Braves Field before a preseason Boston City Series in the late 1940s.
Photograph from the collection of George Sullivan. Right-- In 1935, Babe Ruth ended his major league career in the city where it began: Boston
-- this time with the Braves. The Bambino, conducting a hitting class at Braves Field with manager Bill McKechnie, was forty years old and out of
shape, and hit just .181 in twenty-eight games before retiring in June. Photograph by Leslie Jones, Boston Traveler. Courtesy of the Sports
Museum.
Photograph from the collection of George Sullivan. Right-- In 1935, Babe Ruth ended his major league career in the city where it began: Boston
-- this time with the Braves. The Bambino, conducting a hitting class at Braves Field with manager Bill McKechnie, was forty years old and out of
shape, and hit just .181 in twenty-eight games before retiring in June. Photograph by Leslie Jones, Boston Traveler. Courtesy of the Sports
Museum.
| -- ------------------------------- -- Fifty years ago, Boston’s National League baseball team went to Milwaukee, leaving Boston University to move into Braves Field by George Sullivan - Courtesy of bu.edu |
If you’ve ever attended an event at BU’s Nickerson Field, you’ve been in the house that Ruth quit.
Back in 1935, when it was Braves Field, Babe Ruth signed with the Boston Braves, lured by the hope of becoming
manager. Lame and hurting and out of shape at age forty, he started the season playing like the Bambino of his
Yankees heyday. On opening day at Braves Field, he singled and homered off the great Carl Hubbell to drive in
three runs in a 4-2 Boston victory over the New York Giants.
But Ruth soon realized that he was in no condition to keep playing, and that the Braves had no intention of
naming him manager. On June 2, in the clubhouse at Braves Field, a bitter Babe announced his retirement.
It’s hard now to picture Nickerson as a baseball park. But fifty years ago this summer, for $430,000, BU bought a
stadium steeped in sports memories -- and promise -- from the Braves, who had just moved to Milwaukee. Although
the team’s hasty departure broke the hearts of local Braves fans, the University’s acquisition of Braves Field
was a godsend for a school that desperately needed a large athletic facility on campus.
A COM undergraduate at the time, I had mixed feelings about the fate of that field of dreams off Commonwealth
Avenue. I had been going to Braves games since I was seven years old, and I was devastated when they left the â
€œWigwamâ€� for a city a thousand miles to the west. But four months later I rejoiced when the University
bought the field. It changed the geography of BU, establishing a new western outpost and a new home for Terrier
teams.
“Unlimited opportunity and a centralized athletic setup best describe the potential and purpose of the
University’s newly acquired property,� wrote the Boston University News that September. “To construct a
park of this type,� athletic director and football coach Buff Donelli said, “would cost the University four to
five times more than we actually paid for Braves Field.�
Still, the beloved Braves were gone for good.
An old sportswriter -- and fan -- tends to wax too poetic and heavyhearted about a long-lost local professional
team. Goes the sad Frank Sinatra song: “Yes, there used to be a ballpark right here.� Nonetheless, as
thousands of graduates, relatives, and friends gathered at Nickerson Field for this year’s BU Commencement
ceremony, I wondered how many of them gave even a moment’s thought to the major league baseball played at
the site for thirty-eight seasons. Right here, in the old home of the Braves.
Back in 1935, when it was Braves Field, Babe Ruth signed with the Boston Braves, lured by the hope of becoming
manager. Lame and hurting and out of shape at age forty, he started the season playing like the Bambino of his
Yankees heyday. On opening day at Braves Field, he singled and homered off the great Carl Hubbell to drive in
three runs in a 4-2 Boston victory over the New York Giants.
But Ruth soon realized that he was in no condition to keep playing, and that the Braves had no intention of
naming him manager. On June 2, in the clubhouse at Braves Field, a bitter Babe announced his retirement.
It’s hard now to picture Nickerson as a baseball park. But fifty years ago this summer, for $430,000, BU bought a
stadium steeped in sports memories -- and promise -- from the Braves, who had just moved to Milwaukee. Although
the team’s hasty departure broke the hearts of local Braves fans, the University’s acquisition of Braves Field
was a godsend for a school that desperately needed a large athletic facility on campus.
A COM undergraduate at the time, I had mixed feelings about the fate of that field of dreams off Commonwealth
Avenue. I had been going to Braves games since I was seven years old, and I was devastated when they left the â
€œWigwamâ€� for a city a thousand miles to the west. But four months later I rejoiced when the University
bought the field. It changed the geography of BU, establishing a new western outpost and a new home for Terrier
teams.
“Unlimited opportunity and a centralized athletic setup best describe the potential and purpose of the
University’s newly acquired property,� wrote the Boston University News that September. “To construct a
park of this type,� athletic director and football coach Buff Donelli said, “would cost the University four to
five times more than we actually paid for Braves Field.�
Still, the beloved Braves were gone for good.
An old sportswriter -- and fan -- tends to wax too poetic and heavyhearted about a long-lost local professional
team. Goes the sad Frank Sinatra song: “Yes, there used to be a ballpark right here.� Nonetheless, as
thousands of graduates, relatives, and friends gathered at Nickerson Field for this year’s BU Commencement
ceremony, I wondered how many of them gave even a moment’s thought to the major league baseball played at
the site for thirty-eight seasons. Right here, in the old home of the Braves.
Cast of Characters from Stengel to Satchel
Boston’s National League Braves played on the field from 1915 to 1952, fighting what proved to be a losing battle
with the Red Sox, their American League counterpart, for the affection of New England baseball fans. On a warm
May day, as the Commencement crowd files past the stucco building on Agganis Way that housed the Braves front
office, some might notice a plaque reading, “The fans of New England will never forget the exploits of their
Braves and the fond memories associated with Braves Field,� including “major league baseball’s longest
game, May 1, 1920, Braves vs. Brooklyn Dodgers, 26 innings, 1-1 tie.� The building now houses the BU Police
Department.
But I suspect that few of today’s visitors to Nickerson Field, sitting in the only remaining Braves Field stands --
the eighty-eight-year-old one-time right field pavilion -- have a notion of the rich baseball history of the place.
Three World Series took place here, including two, in 1915 and 1916, played by that team down the street.
At times, there was Fenway-style magic, electric moments still fresh in the minds of some Bostonians: the beginning
of the careers of Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn, Jim Tobin hitting three consecutive home runs
while pitching the Braves to a win in 1942 -- along with his two no-hitters in 1944 -- the stands filled to their 40,000
capacity during the 1948 Braves-Indians World Series. The smell of beer, cigars, and hot dogs. The crunch of
peanuts and Crackerjacks. The echoing crack of a wooden bat, the thump of ball in glove, and the music of the
Three Troubadours, who strolled through the stands entertaining fans. Right here, off Commonwealth Avenue --
Fenway Park’s architectural cousin, Braves Field.
The old single-decked covered grandstand, the open left field pavilion, and the intimate “jury box� bleachers
all are gone, but the ghosts remain: Wally Berger’s thirty-eight homers as a rookie in 1930, Casey Stengel’s
colorful 1938 to 1943 stint as manager, impish shortstop Rabbit Maranville cavorting all the way to Cooperstown,
and the legendary postwar pitching combo of Spahn and Johnny Sain. (“Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.�)
In the 1948 World Series opener, at a cost of $1, I sat in the right field jury box -- so named because a sportswriter
once counted only twelve fans in this small bleacher section -- and watched Sain and the Braves prevail, 1-0, in a
pitching duel with Bob Feller. For some reason, one of the images I remember most clearly from that day was
fabled Cleveland pitcher Satchel Paige sneaking a cigarette behind the fence next to the bullpen during the game,
an eye-popping sight for an impressionable fourteen-year-old who saw major leaguers as role models.
Braves Field was a place of thrills and chills. My biggest thrills: playing baseball there once in 1951 for Cambridge
High and Latin, and in 1947, with my leg in a cast, the Braves Field ushers allowing me to hobble on crutches to the
front row during batting practice, where Danny Litwhiler gave me his bat. The outfielder wore the number four on
his Braves jersey, but after that he was number one in my heart. My coldest chill: catching pneumonia watching a
1949 nighttime football game (Oklahoma 46, Boston College 0) in the rain from the roof of the adjacent
Commonwealth Armory.
Boston’s National League Braves played on the field from 1915 to 1952, fighting what proved to be a losing battle
with the Red Sox, their American League counterpart, for the affection of New England baseball fans. On a warm
May day, as the Commencement crowd files past the stucco building on Agganis Way that housed the Braves front
office, some might notice a plaque reading, “The fans of New England will never forget the exploits of their
Braves and the fond memories associated with Braves Field,� including “major league baseball’s longest
game, May 1, 1920, Braves vs. Brooklyn Dodgers, 26 innings, 1-1 tie.� The building now houses the BU Police
Department.
But I suspect that few of today’s visitors to Nickerson Field, sitting in the only remaining Braves Field stands --
the eighty-eight-year-old one-time right field pavilion -- have a notion of the rich baseball history of the place.
Three World Series took place here, including two, in 1915 and 1916, played by that team down the street.
At times, there was Fenway-style magic, electric moments still fresh in the minds of some Bostonians: the beginning
of the careers of Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn, Jim Tobin hitting three consecutive home runs
while pitching the Braves to a win in 1942 -- along with his two no-hitters in 1944 -- the stands filled to their 40,000
capacity during the 1948 Braves-Indians World Series. The smell of beer, cigars, and hot dogs. The crunch of
peanuts and Crackerjacks. The echoing crack of a wooden bat, the thump of ball in glove, and the music of the
Three Troubadours, who strolled through the stands entertaining fans. Right here, off Commonwealth Avenue --
Fenway Park’s architectural cousin, Braves Field.
The old single-decked covered grandstand, the open left field pavilion, and the intimate “jury box� bleachers
all are gone, but the ghosts remain: Wally Berger’s thirty-eight homers as a rookie in 1930, Casey Stengel’s
colorful 1938 to 1943 stint as manager, impish shortstop Rabbit Maranville cavorting all the way to Cooperstown,
and the legendary postwar pitching combo of Spahn and Johnny Sain. (“Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.�)
In the 1948 World Series opener, at a cost of $1, I sat in the right field jury box -- so named because a sportswriter
once counted only twelve fans in this small bleacher section -- and watched Sain and the Braves prevail, 1-0, in a
pitching duel with Bob Feller. For some reason, one of the images I remember most clearly from that day was
fabled Cleveland pitcher Satchel Paige sneaking a cigarette behind the fence next to the bullpen during the game,
an eye-popping sight for an impressionable fourteen-year-old who saw major leaguers as role models.
Braves Field was a place of thrills and chills. My biggest thrills: playing baseball there once in 1951 for Cambridge
High and Latin, and in 1947, with my leg in a cast, the Braves Field ushers allowing me to hobble on crutches to the
front row during batting practice, where Danny Litwhiler gave me his bat. The outfielder wore the number four on
his Braves jersey, but after that he was number one in my heart. My coldest chill: catching pneumonia watching a
1949 nighttime football game (Oklahoma 46, Boston College 0) in the rain from the roof of the adjacent
Commonwealth Armory.
A Perfectly Imperfect Park
When Braves owner James Gaffney abandoned Boston’s South End Grounds on Walpole Street and for $600,000
built Braves Field on the old Allston Golf Club in 1915, he called it the “perfect ballpark.�
That was an exaggeration.
Although the seating capacity was baseball’s greatest for eight years, the cavernous stadium was flawed and
largely unattractive, particularly in contrast to Fenway Park. The fences were too far from the plate (originally
550 feet in dead center and 402 down each line), although a succession of owners altered the boundaries often
to suit the team’s power hitter of the moment -- tailoring that backfired when enemy hitters swatted more
cheap homers. But the concrete stands couldn’t be moved and were too far from the action, unlike chummy
Fenway. And stiff winds off the Charles blew in from left field, often carrying a film of soot and cinders from a
multitude of coal-burning locomotives in the railroad yards behind the ballpark.
And for more than thirty years, the on-the-field product wasn’t attractive either. The Braves teams were
mostly feeble until after World War ii, when new ownership, a trio of contractors dubbed the Three Little
Steamshovels, brought in manager Billy Southworth to rehabilitate the team. This he did, briefly, and from 1946 to
1948 the franchise enjoyed its best years.
Until then Braves Field was rarely filled. Even attendance at the 1936 All-Star Game was something of a disaster.
Through a mix-up, the media had informed Bostonians that the game was sold out. Only 25,556 showed up, leaving
some 15,000 seats empty as baseball’s best performed.
The most memorable regular-season series during the drab years was a Braves-Giants set on Labor Day weekend
1933. Surprisingly, manager Bill McKechnie had brought the Braves to second place, six games behind the New
Yorkers. The Braves won the opener to draw within five games, heightening rare pennant fever.
The next day more than 50,000 fans squeezed their way into the park for a doubleheader. Gates had to be barred
more than an hour before game time, and Gaffney Street, now Harry Agganis Way, was a sea of screaming
customers. Some 10,000 -- many holding tickets -- were turned away, but the park was stuffed beyond capacity.
With ten rows of fans standing in front of the outfield fences and parts of the grandstand, Carl Hubbell and Fat
Freddie Fitzsimmons cooled off the Braves as the Giants swept both games.
But until the team’s postwar renaissance, Braves Field was generally considered the National League Devil’s
Island, the end of the line. As crusty Giants manager John McGraw told two players when he sold them to the
hapless Braves in 1924: “You’re going down the river -- you’re headed for Boston.�
When Braves owner James Gaffney abandoned Boston’s South End Grounds on Walpole Street and for $600,000
built Braves Field on the old Allston Golf Club in 1915, he called it the “perfect ballpark.�
That was an exaggeration.
Although the seating capacity was baseball’s greatest for eight years, the cavernous stadium was flawed and
largely unattractive, particularly in contrast to Fenway Park. The fences were too far from the plate (originally
550 feet in dead center and 402 down each line), although a succession of owners altered the boundaries often
to suit the team’s power hitter of the moment -- tailoring that backfired when enemy hitters swatted more
cheap homers. But the concrete stands couldn’t be moved and were too far from the action, unlike chummy
Fenway. And stiff winds off the Charles blew in from left field, often carrying a film of soot and cinders from a
multitude of coal-burning locomotives in the railroad yards behind the ballpark.
And for more than thirty years, the on-the-field product wasn’t attractive either. The Braves teams were
mostly feeble until after World War ii, when new ownership, a trio of contractors dubbed the Three Little
Steamshovels, brought in manager Billy Southworth to rehabilitate the team. This he did, briefly, and from 1946 to
1948 the franchise enjoyed its best years.
Until then Braves Field was rarely filled. Even attendance at the 1936 All-Star Game was something of a disaster.
Through a mix-up, the media had informed Bostonians that the game was sold out. Only 25,556 showed up, leaving
some 15,000 seats empty as baseball’s best performed.
The most memorable regular-season series during the drab years was a Braves-Giants set on Labor Day weekend
1933. Surprisingly, manager Bill McKechnie had brought the Braves to second place, six games behind the New
Yorkers. The Braves won the opener to draw within five games, heightening rare pennant fever.
The next day more than 50,000 fans squeezed their way into the park for a doubleheader. Gates had to be barred
more than an hour before game time, and Gaffney Street, now Harry Agganis Way, was a sea of screaming
customers. Some 10,000 -- many holding tickets -- were turned away, but the park was stuffed beyond capacity.
With ten rows of fans standing in front of the outfield fences and parts of the grandstand, Carl Hubbell and Fat
Freddie Fitzsimmons cooled off the Braves as the Giants swept both games.
But until the team’s postwar renaissance, Braves Field was generally considered the National League Devil’s
Island, the end of the line. As crusty Giants manager John McGraw told two players when he sold them to the
hapless Braves in 1924: “You’re going down the river -- you’re headed for Boston.�
View from the Knot Hole
Still, for members of the Knot Hole Gang, a promotion to draw youngsters to the ballpark’s left field pavilion for
free, Braves Field was heaven. It didn’t cost much for locals like me to be introduced to baseball in the early
1940s. All we needed was a dime: five cents for the trolley ride to Braves Field, and five cents for the return trip.
Anticipation built for days. And reality kicked in when the trolley rolled into Park Street station. The destination
board atop the front car, braves field, left no doubt that “take me out to the ball game� was about to
happen. The excitement escalated as the trolley passed the Cottage Farm Bridge (now BU Bridge) for the last
quarter-mile to the Wigwam. Most of the trolley emptied when it reached the corner of Gaffney Street. But those
in the Knot Hole Gang stayed aboard for another block, where this “ballpark special� would turn right onto
Babcock Street, and quickly right again down the alley to a stop open only for Braves Field events.
The Braves, always struggling at number two in Boston baseball attendance, hustled more for fans. They reasoned
that letting children in for nothing was better than having no kids at all. Not only would the youngsters spend at
the concession stands, they would also grow up to become paying customers. We would debark from the trolley
and race down Babcock to a special gate near the street’s end, where the entrance to the Case Athletic
Center is now, pass through a turnstile, charge up the runway, and look out at the greener-than-green turf
Still, for members of the Knot Hole Gang, a promotion to draw youngsters to the ballpark’s left field pavilion for
free, Braves Field was heaven. It didn’t cost much for locals like me to be introduced to baseball in the early
1940s. All we needed was a dime: five cents for the trolley ride to Braves Field, and five cents for the return trip.
Anticipation built for days. And reality kicked in when the trolley rolled into Park Street station. The destination
board atop the front car, braves field, left no doubt that “take me out to the ball game� was about to
happen. The excitement escalated as the trolley passed the Cottage Farm Bridge (now BU Bridge) for the last
quarter-mile to the Wigwam. Most of the trolley emptied when it reached the corner of Gaffney Street. But those
in the Knot Hole Gang stayed aboard for another block, where this “ballpark special� would turn right onto
Babcock Street, and quickly right again down the alley to a stop open only for Braves Field events.
The Braves, always struggling at number two in Boston baseball attendance, hustled more for fans. They reasoned
that letting children in for nothing was better than having no kids at all. Not only would the youngsters spend at
the concession stands, they would also grow up to become paying customers. We would debark from the trolley
and race down Babcock to a special gate near the street’s end, where the entrance to the Case Athletic
Center is now, pass through a turnstile, charge up the runway, and look out at the greener-than-green turf
The Braves’ Last Stand
In 1946, the field was indeed a greener pasture after three decades of Braves mediocrity. In the most
unforgettable home opener since their first, the Braves converted a potential public-relations disaster into a
public-relations grand slam. Many of the 18,261 customers found themselves decorated with green when the
freshly painted grandstand seats had failed to dry. The Braves ran large ads in Boston’s newspapers, apologizing
and offering to pay the cleaning bills. Some 13,000 claims poured in from as far away as California and Florida, and
the Braves paid about 5,000 of them, to the tune of between $6,500 and $7,000. But it was worth a million dollars
in publicity and goodwill, launching the team’s postwar “new look� era, a fitting start to the franchise’s
three happiest years in Boston. Attendance in 1946 more than doubled from the previous season: the Braves just
missed the million mark, and finished fourth in the league, one game out of third.
By 1948, the Braves’ long drive to the top culminated in their first pennant in thirty-four years, and attendance
reached almost 1.5 million. But the team faded after that, and so did the magic, even for most of the diehard fans.
By 1952 the Braves had plunged to seventh place. A rebuilding was under way featuring slugging rookie Eddie
Mathews, and a youngster named Henry Aaron was two years away in the minors. Aaron and Mathews would break
the Babe Ruth–Lou Gehrig record for homers by teammates, but that would be in Milwaukee, not in Boston.
(The team moved to Atlanta in 1966.)
Nobody knew it at the time, but the Braves played their final game at the Wigwam on September 21, 1952, an 8-2
loss to Brooklyn before 8,822, their largest day crowd of the season. After the team drew only 281,278 that year --
what a Red Sox home stand attracts today -- owner Lou Perini had had enough and announced his team’s
transfer to Wisconsin.
Although there had been rumors of the move, I couldn’t believe it. And I wasn’t alone. Some Bostonians
claimed they weren’t surprised, but most were shocked -- no major league franchise had jumped to another
city since 1903. But there it was on the television news: film of the 1953 tickets being dumped out the Braves
office windows into a truck on Gaffney Street. They were taken to a spot behind a wire fence near the outfield
flagpole and burned by the groundskeeper.
The grass grew waist-high at the abandoned Braves Field before BU bought it on July 30. International Harvester
volunteered to make quick work of that, literally making hay -- and carving a huge “BU� in the outfield before
cutting all the grass down to size.
The purchase was a bonanza for BU’s football players and other outdoor athletes. No more traveling thirteen
miles to the old Nickerson Field in Weston, a daily round trip that required bumming a ride or taking a train from
Back Bay Station. And even that trek had been due to end as the state readied to take Nickerson’s twenty-five
acres for what is now the interchange of the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 128.
The renamed Nickerson Field has also had its share of magic moments. It is the birthplace of the New England
Patriots, who played football there from 1960 to 1962, and was the gridiron for BU football until the University
dropped the sport in 1997. It’s also the home of BU’s soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse teams, and the
women’s professional soccer team the Boston Breakers. Most important, it’s the site of the city’s biggest
Commencement celebration, where one can sit and ponder past and future glory for the graduates -- and for the
athletes who play where Babe Ruth gave his great career one last shot.
Brian Fitzgerald contributed to this article.
George Sullivan (CGS’53, COM’55,’76) saw his first major league baseball game at Braves Field as a Knot
Hole Gang member in 1941. He has gone on to a long career as a Boston sportswriter turned author -- teaching at
COM along the way
Courtesy Boston University (bu.edu)
In 1946, the field was indeed a greener pasture after three decades of Braves mediocrity. In the most
unforgettable home opener since their first, the Braves converted a potential public-relations disaster into a
public-relations grand slam. Many of the 18,261 customers found themselves decorated with green when the
freshly painted grandstand seats had failed to dry. The Braves ran large ads in Boston’s newspapers, apologizing
and offering to pay the cleaning bills. Some 13,000 claims poured in from as far away as California and Florida, and
the Braves paid about 5,000 of them, to the tune of between $6,500 and $7,000. But it was worth a million dollars
in publicity and goodwill, launching the team’s postwar “new look� era, a fitting start to the franchise’s
three happiest years in Boston. Attendance in 1946 more than doubled from the previous season: the Braves just
missed the million mark, and finished fourth in the league, one game out of third.
By 1948, the Braves’ long drive to the top culminated in their first pennant in thirty-four years, and attendance
reached almost 1.5 million. But the team faded after that, and so did the magic, even for most of the diehard fans.
By 1952 the Braves had plunged to seventh place. A rebuilding was under way featuring slugging rookie Eddie
Mathews, and a youngster named Henry Aaron was two years away in the minors. Aaron and Mathews would break
the Babe Ruth–Lou Gehrig record for homers by teammates, but that would be in Milwaukee, not in Boston.
(The team moved to Atlanta in 1966.)
Nobody knew it at the time, but the Braves played their final game at the Wigwam on September 21, 1952, an 8-2
loss to Brooklyn before 8,822, their largest day crowd of the season. After the team drew only 281,278 that year --
what a Red Sox home stand attracts today -- owner Lou Perini had had enough and announced his team’s
transfer to Wisconsin.
Although there had been rumors of the move, I couldn’t believe it. And I wasn’t alone. Some Bostonians
claimed they weren’t surprised, but most were shocked -- no major league franchise had jumped to another
city since 1903. But there it was on the television news: film of the 1953 tickets being dumped out the Braves
office windows into a truck on Gaffney Street. They were taken to a spot behind a wire fence near the outfield
flagpole and burned by the groundskeeper.
The grass grew waist-high at the abandoned Braves Field before BU bought it on July 30. International Harvester
volunteered to make quick work of that, literally making hay -- and carving a huge “BU� in the outfield before
cutting all the grass down to size.
The purchase was a bonanza for BU’s football players and other outdoor athletes. No more traveling thirteen
miles to the old Nickerson Field in Weston, a daily round trip that required bumming a ride or taking a train from
Back Bay Station. And even that trek had been due to end as the state readied to take Nickerson’s twenty-five
acres for what is now the interchange of the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 128.
The renamed Nickerson Field has also had its share of magic moments. It is the birthplace of the New England
Patriots, who played football there from 1960 to 1962, and was the gridiron for BU football until the University
dropped the sport in 1997. It’s also the home of BU’s soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse teams, and the
women’s professional soccer team the Boston Breakers. Most important, it’s the site of the city’s biggest
Commencement celebration, where one can sit and ponder past and future glory for the graduates -- and for the
athletes who play where Babe Ruth gave his great career one last shot.
Brian Fitzgerald contributed to this article.
George Sullivan (CGS’53, COM’55,’76) saw his first major league baseball game at Braves Field as a Knot
Hole Gang member in 1941. He has gone on to a long career as a Boston sportswriter turned author -- teaching at
COM along the way
Courtesy Boston University (bu.edu)
| The Babe (cheating in the batters' box no less!), looking for a fastball at Braves Field in 1935. |