Tag: Ebbets Field

This day in baseball: The sale of Ebbets Field

October 30, 2015

On October 30, 1956, the Dodgers sold Ebbets Field to a real estate developer, Marvin Kratter.  The sale of the ballpark was one of the early indications that it was nearing the end of its life, and some speculate that this move served as an early catalyst for the sale of the Dodgers to Los Angeles.  As part of the deal for the sale, club owner Walter O’Malley is given a three-year lease, with an option to stay two more years, until 1961.

thenationalpastimemuseum.com
Ebbets Field, 1955 (thenationalpastimemuseum.com)

This day in baseball: Ebbets Field demolition begins

February 23, 2015

The demolition of Ebbets Field began on February 23, 1960, a little over two years after the Brooklyn Dodgers had finished their final season in Brooklyn.  An urn of dirt from behind home plate was given to former catcher Roy Campanella.  In place of the stadium, apartment buildings rose, called Ebbets Field Apartments.

Ebbets Field Apartments, 2008 (Wikimedia Commons)
Ebbets Field Apartments, 2008 (Wikimedia Commons)

This day in baseball: The coming of Ebbets Field

January 2, 2015

On January 2, 1912, Charles Ebbets announced that 4.5 acres of land in the Pigtown section of Brooklyn had been purchased in order to build an 18,000-seat stadium.  At the time, the neighborhood in which the concrete and steel stadium would be built consisted of dilapidated homes and junk piles.  The name “Pigtown,” in fact, was due to the pigs that once ate their fill at the location, leaving behind an overwhelming stench.  The metamorphosis of this plot of land into Ebbets Field would introduce to the area a cathedral where some of baseball’s greatest moments would take place.

The first exhibition game at Ebbets Field in 1913 (Wikimedia Commons)
The first exhibition game at Ebbets Field in 1913 (Wikimedia Commons)

This day in baseball: Dean brothers domination

September 21, 2013

In a doubleheader at Ebbets Field on 21 September 1934, brothers Dizzy Dean and Paul Dean dominated the Dodgers, each starting a game on the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals.  In the first game, Dizzy Dean pitched a two-hit shutout, blanking the Dodgers 13-0.  Not to be outdone, his rookie younger brother, Paul, followed up in game two with a no-hitter, as the Cardinals defeated Brooklyn 3-0.  This performance made Paul Dean only the fifth pitcher in Major League history to throw a no-hitter in his rookie season.

Paul and Dizzy Dean, 22 March 1934 (Photo Source: Baseball-Fever.com)

This day in baseball: Hitting the TV screen

August 26, 2013

History’s first televised baseball game was broadcast by NBC on 26 August 1939.  The Reds played the Dodgers at Ebbets Field and split a doubleheader, the Dodgers winning 6-2 in the first game, and the Reds taking the second game 5-1.  The telecast was shown on experimental station W2XBS.  Red Barber called the game for the television audience.

Only two camera angles were in place for the game: one down the third base line, and the other high over home plate in order to capture the entire field.  And cameras, not nearly as advanced as they are today, had difficulty capturing any fast-moving plays.  While baseball owners initially feared that television coverage would hurt game attendance, they quickly embraced the increased coverage and revenue that could be gained through the sale of broadcast rights and from advertising.

Today, televised sports is a multi-billion dollar industry.

Photo source: Early Television Museum