Ballparks Then And Now

The ballpark experience has changed dramatically from baseball’s early days on grassy lots with wooden grandstands and free admission. Union Grounds in Brooklyn, New York, is considered by many historians to be the first ballpark ever built, originating when William Cammeyer decided to use the Union Skating Pond as grounds for baseball games in 1862. The following decade the first professional leagues were formed in 1871, when enterprising owners began to invest in the creation of luxurious wooden palaces such as the Grand Pavilion in Boston and Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis.

Discover the first steel-and-concrete ballpark of Shibe Park in Philadelphia, built in 1909, which housed a record figure of 20,000 paying customers and set the standard in ballpark design for the next fifty years. Learn more about the cookie-cutter ballparks of the 1960s and 1970s, which today have largely been replaced by newer retro designs that give each park a unique feel and have re-established ballparks as a vital part of urban America.