After the new Brooklyn Base Ball Club was formed in 1883, it needed both players and a field
before it could play. The search for a field took place in the South Brooklyn area, and soon
settled on a site once briefly used by the old Excelsior Club in the 1850s. By 1883 it was in use
as a skating park, bounded by Fourth and Fifth Avenues, and Third and Fifth Streets.
This site contained the Vechte-Cortelyou House of 1699, now known as the Old Stone House, which had played a
large part in the Battle of Brooklyn during the Revolutionary War. The new Washington Base
Ball Park was built around the house, using it as a "ladies' house" and for storage.
The park
also included a field measuring 500 by 900 feet, and a grandstand to seat 1,200 people. Along with
facility for carriages, and a thirteen foot high fence around the whole block, the venue
cost the club some $13,000. Construction began in February and the park was ready in time for
the Brooklyns' second home game on May 12, the first having been played at the Prospect Park Parade Ground.
A gala opening ceremony was held, and Brooklyn celebrated by defeating Trenton 13 to 6.
A packed crowd for Decoration Day, 1887 Picture courtesy Mark Rucker
(Transcendental Graphics)
Skating was not forgotten in the rush to summer sports at Washington Park, though. In January 1884,
ice baseball saw its debut there. With its own special rules for skating the bases, ice baseball left one
lasting legacy to the regular game- the rule allowing a batter to run through first base and remain
safe.
Ice baseball, 1886 map showing Washington "Base Ball Grounds" Ice picture courtesy Mark Rucker (Transcendental Graphics)
On May 17, 1889, while the Bridegrooms were on an extended western road trip, an amateur game was
played at Washington Park between the Crescent and Staten Island
Athletic Clubs. It is thought that perhaps one of the players left behind a lit cigar after the game.
By the early hours of the next morning, the grandstand and a substantial portion of the Fifth Street
fence had burned to the ground. Much
equipment belonging to other local sports clubs was lost, but the uniforms and equipment of
the Bridegrooms were saved by being in the Old Stone House at the time.
Secretary Charles Ebbets
took charge of reconstruction. Braving stormy weather, workers toiled day and night and a new, larger
stand was in place for a double header with defending champion St. Louis
on May 30. No home games were missed. The Eagle reported that the grandstand was "built in the strangest manner, and bolted
so that it can be easily moved or carried away if necessary." St. Louis took the first game at the
second incarnation of Washington Park, 8 to 4, but Brooklyn took revenge in the afternoon, 9 to 7. Well
over 20,000 jammed all corners of the park for the second game. It was thought to be the largest crowd
yet seen for a ball game anywhere on Long Island.
This new version of Washington Park saw two pennants for the Grooms, in the American
Association that year, then the National League in 1890. There would be no more major league
games after that season, as the Bridegrooms merged with the Wonders and moved to Eastern Park.
The final home game at the original Washington Park site, on October 3, was a 10-4 thumping of
Pittsburgh by the championship winning Brooklyn club.
Old Stone House, Wiffle Ball in J.J. Byrne Park
Grading work to even out the slope of the area soon buried much of the site,
including the Old Stone House, in 16 feet of dirt. The remaining visible portion of the house was destroyed in a
military weapons demonstration in 1897, before being dug up and rebuilt with the original stones in
the 1930s. Today the site is occupied by J.J. Byrne Park, which contains the Old Stone House, between
Third and Fourth Streets, and a school and new apartments between Fourth and Fifth. Fourth Street
is a walkway between the two sections.
After president Charlie Byrne died early in 1898, Ebbets took over the running of the Brooklyn Base
Ball Club. High on his list of priorities was moving the team from far away Eastern Park, where
attendance had never been great, back to South Brooklyn. After being offered several sites, he accepted
a ten year lease on a property owned by the Litchfield estate, bordered by First and Third Streets,
and Third and Fourth Avenues. The Brooklyn fans, with the exception of a few from East New York who
signed a petition to no avail, were delirious. This was just across an intersection from the old
Washington Park, where the team had won three pennants, and would be given the same name.
The
Brooklyn Eagle covered the move to new Washington Park in great detail
Building
costs of $20,000 were shared by the Nassau and Brooklyn L railroad companies, both of which ran lines
nearby and stood to gain a great deal of business. The club paid another $80,000 in expenses to
move the team, but Ebbets said he felt "thoroughly satisfied with the prospect in view." This Washington
Park featured a grandstand to seat 5,000, with 7,000 cheaper seats, and "unlimited" standing room. There
was also room for 60 carriages to be parked.
Grandstand entrance: 75c, Field seats: 25c Grandstand picture courtesy brooklynpix.com
On April 30, Brooklyn lost their long awaited home opener, 6-4 to Philadelphia. They won the remaining
five games of the homestand, however, playing to packed houses. The crowds continued to jam the stadium,
seeing National League pennants brought back to Washington Park in 1899 and 1900. Even as the team
became less competitive in years to come, attendance remained high. Substantial renovations prior
to the 1908 season saw capacity increased to 20,000.
Eventually, however, by the end of the 1912 season
the wooden stands were starting to look creaky, outdated, and small. The Brooklyn Robins
farewelled Washington Park with a 1-0 loss to the hated Giants, the end of a dismal 58-95 season,
and made their way to one final home park, Ebbets Field in Flatbush.
Washington Park in 1909
Washington Park in 1912 Picture courtesy Mark Rucker (Transcendental Graphics)
But the story of Washington Park was not quite finished.
When the Brooklyn Tip Tops of the rebel
Federal League needed a place to play in 1914, here was an obvious site. Monte Ward, instigator
of the 1890 Players League, was business manager for the Tip Tops and signed a ten year lease on
February 13. The Ward brothers, owners of the team and no relation to Monte, had the existing
wooden stands razed and built yet another new Washington Park. This one was designed by C.B. Comstock,
and built using steel, brick, and concrete,
with a grandstand seating 18,000 people. The contractors boasted that the entire structure would
take just six weeks to build, and while they did not quite achieve this, the ground was quite ready
for play by May 11, after the Tip Tops had opened the season with a 13 game road trip. 15,000 fans
arrived to see the club lose to Pittsburgh, 2-0.
Architect's impression of the final Washington Park- notably
missing the scoreboard, which finished up in play in center field.
The final incarnation of Washington Park had several unusual features. The scoreboard in center
field, including the ground beneath it, was in play, which could lead to awkward times for outfielders.
The flag flew from a mast that was at one time part of the yacht Reliance, successful defender of the
America's Cup in 1903. $20,000 was spent on a lighting system which failed at the first attempt
to use it, and never worked. A sign on the right field wall read: Base Ball Players are all human,
and therefore love applause. If you want a
winning team, root for them, speak well of them to your friends, and while
we are here let us all be clean of speech -- so that the ladies may find it
pleasant to come often.
Opening day, 1915- a patriotic display from the Brooklyn and Buffalo clubs
The Federal League lasted just two seasons, and the final major league game at any Washington Park
saw the Tip Tops lose 3-2 to Buffalo on September 30, 1915. The site continued as a venue for high
school football, professional boxing, and cycling through the end of 1917.
The final site of Washington Park, as it stands today
Control of Washington Park passed through several hands until the Con Edison electric company took possession in 1922.
Today, the site is a storage facility for that same company. The left field wall still
stands along Third Avenue, and was recently saved from demolition by a group of concerned baseball
fans and historians. It is one of the few relics of major league baseball remaining in Brooklyn.
Many thanks are due to Neil deMause and Phil Lowry for helping to untangle the messy history of Washington Park.
