BrooklynBallParks.com

Nowhere has the now National game of Base Ball, taken firmer hold
than in Brooklyn, and nowhere are there better players.

-- Brooklyn Eagle, May 10, 1860

Largely as a result of Chadwick's influence, Brooklyn became one of the cradles of organized baseball. The borough saw teams in five different major leagues and in the Negro Leagues, with nicknames ranging from the Gladiators to the Royal Giants to the Hartfords to the Bridegrooms to the Mutuals. So we went in search of Brooklyn's professional baseball history, past and (amazingly) present. This is what we have found.

What's New?

• A brand new t-shirt in light or dark versions for 19th century fans
• Stump your friends: what year was the last Dodger game at Washington Park?
• The Crescent Athletic Club Grounds, stunning playground of the wealthy sporting fraternity, now has a separate page
• Many more other parks
• A ton of new photos, with extra special ones of Brooklyn Athletic Field and Wallace's Ridgewood Grounds
• Want the Dodgers back? Buy the t-shirt!
• Check out our geeky sports blog...

The Parks

• Union Grounds
• Capitoline Grounds
• The Parade Ground
• Washington Park and the Washington Park wall
• The Parks of Ridgewood
• The Parks of Maspeth
• Eastern Park
• Ebbets Field
• Dexter Park
• Erasmus Field
• Crescent Athletic Club Grounds
• Keyspan Park
• Other parks worth mentioning
• Parks that never were

The Teams

• Prehistoric clubs
• Negro League clubs
• The Dodgers
• The orphan teams of 1890
• The Bandits
• The semipro teams
• The Tip Tops
• The Cyclones

Our Travels

• The Big Day Out
• Team-Up Special
• The Spalding Collection

Our Favorite Games

• A lack of base balls at the Long Island Grounds
• Chadwick chooses the better skaters at Washington Park
• A phenomenal inning at Ebbets Field
• A ridiculous inning at the Atlantic Ground
• The Eckford's finest hour at the Union Grounds
• A giant upset at Wallace's Ridgewood Grounds
• Base ball's greatest game at the Capitoline Grounds
• A home run bunt at Keyspan Park
• The first and last pro ball game at the Parade Ground
• Baseball by candlelight at Washington Park
• The Superbas play sand lot ball at Washington Park
• And more to come...

And...

• Leaving Brooklyn

If you'd like to read our minds a little, and see credit where it's due, please check our research notes and guest essays.

To come: a reading list, and a truckload of photos.

BrooklynBallParks.com is brought to you by
Andrew Ross (wonders@brooklynballparks.com)
and David Dyte (tiptops@brooklynballparks.com).
Please contact us with any corrections, additions, or requests.