Eastern Park
Encyclopedia
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
park
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the 1890s. It was bounded by Eastern Parkway
Eastern Parkway (Brooklyn)
Eastern Parkway is a major boulevard that runs through a portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The road begins at Grand Army Plaza and extends east, running parallel to Atlantic Avenue, along the crest of the moraine that separates northern from southern Long Island, to Ralph Avenue...
(segment later renamed Pitkin Avenue when Eastern was diverted) to the north (home plate); the Long Island Railroad and Vesta Avenue (later renamed Van Sinderen Street) to the east (left field); Sutter Avenue to the south (center field); and Powell Street to the west (right field). The ballpark held 12,000 people.
It was originally the home of the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders
Brooklyn Ward's Wonders
The Brooklyn Ward's Wonders was a team who played in the Players' League in 1890. The team's nickname derived from its superstar shortstop, hall of famer John Montgomery Ward. The team finished with a 76-56 record, good enough to finish in second place. Other notable players for Brooklyn that...
of the Players' League
Players League
The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League , was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century...
in 1890. Some sources say that it is here that the nickname "Trolley Dodgers", later shortened to "Dodgers", first arose, due to the need for fans to cross various trolley lines to reach the ballpark. After the one-year Players' League experiment, the park became the part-time home of the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
in 1891 and then full-time during 1892–1897, between their stints at the two versions of Washington Park.
Eastern Park was considered difficult to reach, and although the team survived there for seven seasons, the venture there was a failure. When Charlie Ebbets acquired the Dodgers, he moved the team back, to the second version of Washington Park, which was both closer to the city center and offered a lower rent.
The park also hosted numerous college and amateur football games during its heyday, notably the Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
-Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
game of 1890. There was also a track installed, and both bicycling and running races were held from time to time. It was also the home venue of the short lived Brooklyn Bridegrooms Soccer Team in 1894. this was a spin off of the Baseball Franchise that took part in an ill fated attempt by six baseball franchises to fill their stadiums in the off season by running a Soccer League. Brooklyn were top of the league when the season was cancelled uncompleted and was never resumed.