The Many Homes of the Pittsburgh Pirates

If the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox home arenas are known as the game's oldest ballparks, the Pittsburgh Pirates' many homes must rank the team as having the most frequently exchanged ballpark. This is a team that has struggled to win and struggled to fill the seats in recent years. Either this is a sign that trading out nostalgia for fancy seating and a party cove actually repels fans, or it is a sign that the city itself is struggling, and baseball is no longer the escape it once used to be.

The former Pittsburgh parks were home to many firsts:

In 1887 at Recreation Park, Pittsburgh Alleghenies (named after the river that runs through downtown Pittsburgh) won their first game in the National League, defeating the Chicago White Stockings. This park also had the smallest paid crowd of 6 on April 23, 1890 (and so the trend begins for small attendance).

In 1891, the team returned to Exposition Park, very near the same location that PNC Park currently stands. This is the first park that the Pittsburgh Pirates played with that name. This Park was the National League host for the first World Series in 1903. This image of the park is astounding for 2 reasons: the ball park is full and the men actually dressed up to attend.

This person did a great job putting together a tribute to this old ball park:

If the painted bases are still in the parking lot next to the stadium, we will find them.

In 1995, the spot for Home Plate was found by 4 men (in January, burr). A Pennsylvania State Historical marker was placed at the site in September 1998. (Source) This marker was moved to a great stretch of river walk within a couple hundred yards of our hotel and PNC Park. It was most likely moved as a result of the Three Rivers Stadium implosion. The trail system it is on now showcases both PNC and Heinz, a couple of amazing bridges, an amphitheater with some interesting art, and a downtown view.

In 1909, Forbes Field was completed by Barney Dreyfuss. It was criticized for its location. It was originally coined "Dreyfuss' Folly". It moved baseball from the centralized downtown location (where all other ballparks were located in the city) to the then undeveloped area south of downtown in the current Oakland district of Pittsburgh, surrounded by the University of Pittsburgh campus. The home plate occupied the corner of Sennott and Bouquet Streets. A small baseball field, named Mazeroski field, and surrounded by a brick wall memorializing his home run to win the 1960 World Series, currently occupies the space near this intersection. At the time the Field was build, Andrew Carnegie's Technical Institute had already been built in the same area. Several other businessmen of the time soon started building in the area, such as Phipps, Heinz, Frick, and Mellon.

During its inaugural season, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series after losing the first game in the ballpark on June 30, 1909 to the Chicago Cubs. In 1921, the first radio broadcast of an MLB game, the only way to truly enjoy baseball if you can't attend the game in person, took place from Forbes Field. And as a Cubs fan, I can appreciate the "All-Alou" outfield used by the San Francisco Giants at Forbes on September 15, 1963. As the Pirates played their final games in Forbes Field on June 28, 1970, they swept a double header against the Chicago Cubs (figures...). The remnants of the old park can be found at the University of Pittsburgh campus.

If it weren't for the frequent moves of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I could have finished this in one entry, but I'm tired, and am shutting down. I'll pick up the remaining field tomorrow.

Tiger Stadium - Now an Empty Field

We won't be seeing a game at Tiger Stadium, but we may have to make the short journey from Detroit's downtown to see where Tiger Stadium used to stand, "The Corner" of Michigan and Trumbull. There is a large lot just west of downtown that looks like rough gravel surrounding a baseball field. Of course, this is what I assume is there based on what I can see on Google Maps.

Although Comerica Park was completed in 1999, and the Tigers began playing on that new field in 2000, Tiger Stadium sat empty until 2007 while multiple preservation groups tried to save the park. The park was taken apart and demolished over the next 2 years, completing in September 2009.  But the demolition effort took only the building, not the field it surrounded.

Maybe this last step wasn't completed because the recession hit Detroit especially hard, or because a few representatives of the city desired to hold onto this piece of historic Detroit strength in the hard times, or because city planning office hasn't figured out what to do with this piece of land. Whatever has prevented the remainder of this field from being swept into the history books and re-purposed is a small gift to baseball enthusiasts that thrive on learning (and seeing) the history of the game.

This year, Tiger Stadium would have turned 100. Built in 1912, the same year as Fenway, it had a very modest turnout to celebrate its birthday in April, only around 200 people. They ate grilled hotdogs, played catch, ran the bases, and participated in a commemorative flag raising on the pole that still exists in the old center field. Thanks to the Tiger Stadium Historical Society, the grounds are maintained by volunteers and the flag still flies. I'm uncertain if the grounds are open to the public to visit. I read in one blog that the fence has been opened and in another blog I see the "No Trespassing" sign on a locked fence. I will report on this when I get there.

It is city property and the city has rejected multiple proposals to use the land while still preserving the field. One proposal included a 'living building', charter school, retail, and housing that surrounded the field, which could then be used as a community park. The cost of the proposal was $65.3 million and was rejected because the city could not see a return on their investment.

Another plan rejected was one to make it a "new ballpark for Detroit's youth". So, instead, the lot sits empty and ugly, providing no payback at all to the city. 

It is very sad that a piece of history is in limbo because the city cannot reach consensus on what to do with a simple piece of land with a small patch of grass and gravel that retains the appearance of a baseball field. The Tigers have money to help preserve the land, but the organization does nothing because 'it is the City's land.' Until a decision is made, those of us with interest in history can visit this small patch of grass and imagine we are stepping onto the field in the Stadium where Ruth hit his 700th Home Run, where Lou Gehrig voluntarily benched himself after 2,130 consecutive games, where Prince Fielder's father was a star and Prince, then 12 years old, hit home runs at batting practice, and where Ty Cobb scored the first run in the park by stealing home. I'll play ball, even if the city won't.

Old Comiskey Park

Being a Cubs fan, I am incredibly lucky (if you don't count the whole "not winning a Pennant or World Series in forever" thing). I am able to experience the history of my team every time I go to a game. The old park may have been built onto, "enhanced", modernized. The old field may have been "rebuilt" by the magician grounds man to deal with the rain Chicago experiences. But the old park is still there, and the old park is still named Wrigley Field. And I know that technically, the old old park, the last one to see a World Series winning team is gone, but it ceased to be in 1916.

White Sox fans, any that have been alive and going to games since before 1991 have seen their old park disappear, their old pre-game / post-game bar disappear, and all of that history disappear along with them. As the predecessor to Yankee Stadium, this field was demolished in 1991 and rebuilt right across the street.

The only thing that remains from the destruction is a single tree that used to stand outside the park's right field corner gate, and now shades the corner of the parking lot. Now, the only thing to remind fans of the old location is a patch of stained concrete. 

Even the name has changed for this field. When it was rebuilt, it was still named Comiskey, after the owner, Charles Comiskey. Not long after, in 2003, U.S. Cellular purchased the field and renamed it. While I can't be too upset about commercialization, (after all, Wrigley was named after a chewing gum manufacturer) there is something to be said about keeping the old name, even under new ownership.

McCuddy's was the tavern across the street from the old field, for which the new field stands as a gravestone. This pub was demolished in 1989 and was never rebuilt. It had a rich history itself, including famous patron Babe Ruth, who drank there between games of a doubleheader.

I wondered why it was so difficult to find a pub to visit pre and post game close to the field. Unlike Wrigleyville, which is filled with eating and drinking establishments, this field seems to be set down in the middle of a normal neighborhood that just happens to be next to the Dan Ryan Expressway and just off the Red Line. It is not a destination "area," just a single building, and when the game is done, are the fans done too? This is one thing I want to figure out in August. Do the fans really make the half mile trek to Schaller's Pump or to Shinnick's Pub before or after the game?

While I visit the field, I will keep this history in mind, pay homage to the remnants of the old field, before and after I root for the home team as they play that team I love to hate, the Yankees.

My 2012 Baseball Tour

Before the 2012 MLB season schedules were even released, I started researching a way to see several games in different cities using the MegaBus service. Taking the bus to Chicago, one of the hubs, left me with so many choice. I narrowed it down to a 5 game series for Brad and I.

1. Chicago White Sox
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Chicago Cubs

I'm saving the best for last of course!


As part of this trip, we'll be exploring each city near the field that is accessible on public transportation. I've built a Google Map with all of the details. I have also built a detailed itinerary that we'll be accessing on our Android phones through Google Drive. Suddenly I feel like a spokesperson for Google!


My plan is to detail my entire trip on this blog, which is easier to share than a hard copy travel journal, and is definitely more interactive! And even though the trip doesn't start for nearly 2 months, I'm going to pre-pack this blog over the next few weeks with some history on the parks I'll be visiting.