Haight Street Grounds
Haight Street Grounds was one of San Francisco's earliest baseball parks; it was also used for college football. It opened in 1887 and was demolished in 1895.
| |
| Location | near Golden Gate Park San Francisco, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°46′3.17″N 122°27′5.46″W |
| Record attendance | 22,000 (Nov. 25, 1889)[1] |
| Surface | Natural grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | March/April 1887 |
| Closed | March 1895 |
| Demolished | 1895 (126 years ago) |
| Tenants | |
| California League (professional baseball) Big Game (college football) | |
History
Haight Street Grounds was built for use by the California League and was located on the east side of Golden Gate Park, bounded by Stanyan, Waller, Shrader, and Frederick streets.[2] The opening game on April 3, 1887,[lower-alpha 1] between the Haverlys and the Pioneers, was attended by 10,000 fans.[3] In 1893, the California League folded, and, in March 1895, plans were announced to use the ballpark land for residential development.[1][4] The final baseball game at the grounds was played on March 10, 1895.[5]
While built for baseball, Haight Street Grounds is noteworthy for being the birthplace of the Big Game, a now annual college football game between Stanford and California. It was the site of the first four Big Games, which were played on March 19, 1892; December 17, 1892; November 28, 1893; and November 29, 1894.[6]
Notes
- A newspaper article in 1895 stated an opening date of March 24, 1887.[1]
References
- "It Is To Be Destroyed: Haight-Street Ball Grounds Will Be Sold For Building Lots". The San Francisco Call. March 1, 1895. p. 11. Retrieved August 23, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- 1889 Sanborn map showing the "Cal'a league base ball grounds". San Francisco, 1886-1893, vol. 3, 1889, sheet 88f_a. Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970.
- Lange, Fred W. History of Baseball in California and Pacific Coast Leagues 1847-1938: Memories and Musings of an Old Time Baseball Player. Oakland, CA, 1938.
- "Bay Gleanings (column)". The Sacramento Bee. March 1, 1895. p. 2. Retrieved August 23, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- "Only a Memory Now: The Last Game of Baseball Played at the Haight-Street Grounds". San Francisco Examiner. March 11, 1895. p. 5. Retrieved August 23, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- Sheehan, Jack F. and Louis Honig. The Games of California and Stanford: Nine Years of Intercollegiate Athletic Contests. San Francisco: Commercial Publishing Company, 1900.
Further reading
- Spalding, John E. (1992). Always on Sunday: The California Baseball League, 1886 to 1915. Manhattan, Kansas: Ag Press. ISBN 0897451562.