Brooklyn's Stadiums
"I've made more money than I have expected to, but I am putting all of it, and more, too, into the new plant for the Brooklyn fans. Of course, it's one thing to have a fine ball club and win a pennant, but to my mind, there is something more important than that about a ball club. I believe the fan should be taken care of. A club should find a suitable home for its patrons. This home should be in a location that is healthy, should be safe, and it should be convenient."(1)
Dodger's owner Charles Ebbets
The Brooklyn Superbas (later to be renamed Dodgers) played out their early history in Washington Park, a small, wooden ballpark near the Gowanus Canal. Washington Park was built in 1883, and its history was riddled with problems. The largest problem, which was a problem common to ballparks of the era, was fire safety. The entire stadium burned to the ground in 1889, and was rebuilt. A new Washington Park was built across the street from the original one in 1897. It was a compact stadium, the box seats just 15 feet from home plate. In 1908, Washington Park was refurbished and expanded to 15,200 seats, about one tenth quarter bleachers.(2)
Washington Park
In the second decade of the century, the Dodgers realized their need for a new stadium. Washington Park was still a dangerous fire hazard. It was located in an industrial location near the docks of the Gowanus Canal. Fumes settled over the breezeless park, and made it extremely uncomfortable. The location was no longer central in Brooklyn. Since 1883, people had been moving to more outlying sections of Brooklyn, making it harder for those people to attend games at Washington Park.(3)
Charles Ebbets, the owner of the Dodgers, formed a dummy corporation, the Pylon Construction Company, with which he secretly purchased land in "Pigtown", an underdeveloped section of Flatbush. He managed to purchase 4.5 acres from 15 different owners for $200,000. He announced plans to build a fireproof ballpark on this site in early 1912. Many people thought the location was poor choice, because in was in the middle of nowhere. However, Ebbets was optimistic about the site. It was four miles from the Brooklyn Bridge, midway between Bedford and Flatbush, both of which were fashionable sections of Brooklyn. It was reachable by transfer from 15 different transit lines, and was a 20 minute subway ride from Wall Street and City Hall. The project was met with support from the city, because the government felt that it was an important project for Brooklyn. The fact that Ebbets and his contractor, Steve McKeever, were both well-connected former politicians also helped. They were assisted by the Buildings Superintendent for digging sewers and by the Parks Commissioner for landscaping. With all the help, and for $750,000, Charles Ebbets built one of the first truly modern ballparks, a example that would be followed for the next two decades, and imitated again in many of the new ballparks of the 1990s. Ebbets Field became one of the most famous parks in Major League History. It was made of steel, and had floors of reinforced concrete. Its walls were made out of brick and terra cotta. The architect, Charles Van Buskirk, added touches of grandeur throughout the ballpark. The main entrance was a rotunda made of Italian marble. It had a 27 foot high domed ceiling, and a tile floor that was a relief of a baseball surrounded by the words "Ebbets Field." The field itself was asymmetrical, because it was built to fit into the property that it was on. The new ballpark opened on March 16, 1913, and a crowd of 12,000 came for the opening ceremonies.
The grand entrance to Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field had a dramatic effect on its neighborhood. Following the construction of the stadium, "Pigtown" rapidly became a popular residential area. The local residents loved the Dodgers. The players lived in the community, and were an important part of it. Ebbets Field also increased the property value of the neighborhood, making it higher than average of the rest of Brooklyn.
Although Ebbets Field created a new baseball haven for fans in Brooklyn, it did nothing to reverse the fortunes of the team. While they made it to the World Series in two of their first eight years at Ebbets Field (1916 and 1920), for most of their history in Brooklyn, there were a bad team. After 1920, they did not win another National League Pennant until 1941. They earned their nickname "da bums," being model losers. However, the fans kept coming to the ballpark to see their beloved Dodgers.(4)
Dodgers Ebbets Field and Brooklyn
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1 Reiss, p. 99.
2 Ibid, p. 124.
3 Ibid, pp. 124-5.
4 Shapiro, p. 8.