Jewel Box (baseball)
Encyclopedia
Jewel Box is a term sometimes used in reference to the group of Major League Baseball
ballparks
built (or re-built) primarily between 1909 and 1915, after the wooden ballpark era and before the modern multipurpose stadium era. The "retro" ballparks constructed in the 1990s were an attempt to capture, to some degree, the perceived intimacy and baseball-focus of these parks.
Boston
Brooklyn
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Detroit
New York
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
St. Louis
Washington
^Unless otherwise noted, first and last years listed include entire baseball season in that year.
Baker Bowl
in Philadelphia, which opened in 1895 (closed mid-1938) and was the first park to be built with steel and brick rather than wood as its primary materials, is considered a forerunner of the "Jewel Box" ballparks.
The Cleveland Indians
also played home games at Cleveland Stadium
starting in 1932. They played their first night game at Cleveland Stadium in 1939.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
ballparks
Baseball park
A baseball park, also known as a baseball stadium, ball park, or ballpark is a venue where baseball is played. It consists of the playing field and the surrounding spectator seating...
built (or re-built) primarily between 1909 and 1915, after the wooden ballpark era and before the modern multipurpose stadium era. The "retro" ballparks constructed in the 1990s were an attempt to capture, to some degree, the perceived intimacy and baseball-focus of these parks.
Jewel Box Ballparks by City
Here is a list of the Jewel Box ballparks, their dates of use as a Major League Baseball facility^ (see note below), and some indication of their remnants, if known:Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
- Braves FieldBraves FieldBraves Field was a baseball park that formerly stood on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium was home to the Boston Braves National League franchise from 1915–1952, when the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
(late 1915–1952) – Right field pavilion and concourse, as well as ticket office, survive as part of Nickerson FieldNickerson FieldNickerson Field is a stadium on the site of Braves Field, in Boston, Massachusetts, the former home of the National League Boston Braves baseball team which is now located in Atlanta...
on the campus of Boston UniversityBoston UniversityBoston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. - Fenway ParkFenway ParkFenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
(1912–present) – Still standing as of 2010.
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...
- Ebbets FieldEbbets FieldEbbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
(1913–1957) – Plaque marking its location. Apartment building on site.
Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- Comiskey ParkComiskey ParkComiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
(mid 1910–1990) – Outline of batters boxes with replica of home plate. U. S. Cellular Field parking lot on site. - Wrigley FieldWrigley FieldWrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
(built 1914; MLB facility 1916–present) – Still standing as of 2010.
Cincinnati
- Crosley FieldCrosley FieldCrosley Field was a Major League Baseball park located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second and third American Football League...
(1912-mid 1970) – Plaque and some old grandstand chair seats. Office park on site.
Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
- League Park (1910–1946) – Ticket office, part of grandstand wall, and ballfield. (Remnant of first-base grandstand was razed ca. 2005).
Detroit
- Tiger Stadium (1912–1999) – Abandoned for MLB but stood for nearly nine years. Demolition began summer 2008. After plans for saving the field and the dugout-to-dugout portion of the stands fell through in June 2009, demolition continued, and was completed at the end of the year.
New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- Polo GroundsPolo GroundsThe Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
(mid 1911–1957, 1962–1963) – Plaque marking its location, along with parts of old stairway down from Speedway. Apartment building on site. - Yankee Stadium (1923–1973, 1976–2008; significantly altered 1974–1975) – Demolition completed in 2010 for public parkland.
Philadelphia
- Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium (1909–1970) – Plaque marking location. Church on site.
Pittsburgh
- Forbes FieldForbes FieldForbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
(mid 1909-mid 1970) – Parts of outfield walls and the flagpole exist at the original site; another part of the outfield wall now stands at the Pirates' current home of PNC ParkPNC ParkPNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...
; and home plate is preserved under lucite in Posvar Hall, a University of PittsburghUniversity of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
academic building standing on most of the stadium site. (The original location of home plate is in a women's restroom at Posvar Hall; the preserved home plate was moved so that all visitors could view it.)
St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
- Sportsman's ParkSportsman's ParkSportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, all but one of which were located on the same piece of land, the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street on the north side of the city.- History :From...
(1909-early 1966) – Ballfield as part of Herbert Hoover Boys' Club on site.
Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- Griffith StadiumGriffith StadiumGriffith Stadium was a sports stadium that stood in Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street, and between W Street and Florida Avenue, NW. An earlier wooden baseball park had been built on the same site in 1891...
(1911–1961) – Plaque. Howard UniversityHoward UniversityHoward University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
hospital on site.
^Unless otherwise noted, first and last years listed include entire baseball season in that year.
Baker Bowl
Baker Bowl
Baker Bowl is the best-known popular name of a baseball park that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its formal name, painted on its outer wall, was National League Park. It was also initially known as Philadelphia Park or Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds.It was on a small...
in Philadelphia, which opened in 1895 (closed mid-1938) and was the first park to be built with steel and brick rather than wood as its primary materials, is considered a forerunner of the "Jewel Box" ballparks.
Night Baseball – Lights Added
Jewel Box Parks were used during the era that saw the Major Leagues begin playing games at night. Below is a list of when each park had lights installed.| Park | year lights were installed |
|---|---|
| Crosley Field | 1935 |
| Ebbets Field | 1938 |
| Connie Mack Stadium | 1939 |
| Comiskey Park | 1939 |
| Polo Grounds | 1940 |
| Sportsman's Park | 1940 |
| Forbes Field | 1940 |
| Griffith Stadium | 1941 |
| Braves Field | 1946 |
| Yankee Stadium | 1946 |
| Fenway Park | 1946 |
| Tiger Stadium | 1948 |
| Wrigley Field | 1988 |
| League Park | never |
The Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
also played home games at Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
starting in 1932. They played their first night game at Cleveland Stadium in 1939.
Sources
- Green Cathedrals, by Phil Lowry
- Ballparks of North America, by Michael Benson
- Lost Ballparks, by Lawrence Ritter
- There are also various internet sites that contain photos of the remnants