History of Baseball in Denver, Part I
First, I have a little housekeeping to take care of. I’m sad to report that the individual who was the initial inspiration behind DITr, my friend Rick Cummings, has decided to retire his blog and hang up his keyboard, so to speak. In fact, when I consulted him on a name for my blog, one of his MANY suggestions was Diamond in the Rox, which was also one I was already considering. Rick, I will miss your humor, wit and creativity. Thanks for the memories.
I’m happy to report that DITr has undergone an expansion of sorts. I have created a DITr web page, which consists of a few files available for viewing and download, links to websites I have referred to in previous editions of DITr and other references I have enjoyed. This web page culminates a vision I have had for about four years. I have also added a poll to the blog page. You will find the poll and a link to the web page in the left margin.
Now, on to the topic at hand: the history of baseball in Denver. Given the fact that the Colorado rockies will be entering their 13th season, some may assume that Denver has a short history of baseball. In actuality, professional baseball has been in Denver at one time or another since the mid-1800’s. Like much of the United States, Denver has a rich baseball history. This edition of DITr will be the first in a three-part series about the history of baseball in Denver. The three parts will be as follows:
Part I, Stadiums of Denver
Part II, Teams of Denver
Part III, Facts and Events
History of Baseball in Denver, Part I, Stadiums of Denver
One of the earliest fields in Denver was Broadway Grounds at Broadway and Colfax, about where Civic Center Station is located today. Professional baseball was played at Broadway Grounds starting in 1862. Grandstands were erected for big games and special events. Broadway Grounds was the setting for the Festival of Mountain and Plains, which began in 1895 and held until 1912. The festival eventually became A Taste of Colorado, which takes place annually at Civic Center Park.
Another early field was located between 32nd and 33rd and Larimer and Market streets and was known as Larimer Street Base Ball Park. It served as the home field for the first all-salaried team in Denver in 1885, when improvements were made including sod, stands, shelter for spectators and concessions. It also was the home field for the 1886 Western League pennant winning team, the Denver Nine. Tickets were twenty-five cents for adults and ten cents for children.
As baseball grew in popularity, so did the demand for baseball fields. River Front Park was privately developed as part of a 50-acre recreational area located between 16th and 17th streets and the Platte River and Bassett Street. The field was located in the center of a half-mile racetrack. Professional baseball was played at River Front Park in 1887 and 1888.
In 1889, a new park for professional baseball was built at Broadway and Cherry Creek. Known as Athletic Park or the Base Ball Park, it was built by the Denver Tramway Company at a cost of $11,000. The first game was played March 31, 1889 between an Aspen team and the Denvers. A fire in 1899 caused heavy damage. George Tebeau rebuilt the part for his new Western League team, the Denver Nine, at a cost of $5,000. On July 16, 1901 another fire destroyed the majority of the grounds. On July 18, 100 men began work to reconstruct the stadium and completed the reconstruction in a little over a week, increasing seating capacity by 50% in the process. The Athletic/Base Ball Park was used for professional baseball until 1922.
Union Park was built in 1901 and located at Exposition and Broadway, but was renovated and expanded in 1922 when a group of businessmen bought a minor league team from Joplin, Missouri and moved the team to Denver. The new owners could not reach an agreement with Tebeau for the team to play at his stadium, so they quickly remodeled Union Park to serve as the team’s new home and renamed it Merchants Park. The stadium got its name from the Merchants Biscuit Company, now part of Keebler Company, which leased the land to the owners and provided funds for the expansion. Merchants Park was built at a cost of $20,000 and seated 8,000. Construction started just five weeks before the start of the season and was nearly completed for the first game April 28, 1922. All that was missing was paint on some of the stands. The center field fence was 457 feet and only three home runs were hit over center field in the park’s 26-year history. Babe Ruth, while on a barnstorming tour in 1927, hit one of the home runs. Lights were added to the park in 1931, four years before Crosley Field in Cincinnati became the first major-league field to have lights. For much of the park’s history, nearly every aspect of the park was considered seriously inadequate. Merchant’s Park was actually termed the “Worst Park in America”, among others that were not endearing. In 1945, the grandstands were condemned when the park was deemed unsafe just three days before the start of the season. The park was reopened in 1946 after renovations and improvements were made. The last game at Merchants Park was played on July 26, 1948.
Bears Stadium opened August 14, 1948. The stadium was built at a cost of $250,000, was the first concrete, amphitheater-style stadium in Denver, and was constructed on the city dump. Box seats cost $1.25; reserved seats $1.10 and general admission tickets cost $.90. Construction was not completed by opening day, but construction continued and seating capacity eventually reached 18,523. Attendance in 1949 totaled 463,029, outdrawing two major-league teams, the St. Louis Browns and the Philadelphia Phillies. In efforts to lure a major-league team as well as an American Football League franchise, the south stands were built in 1960, increasing the capacity to 26,623. Portable seats were also added on the east side to increase the seating to 35,000. In 1961, the city of Denver purchased Bears Stadium from the current ownership group and renamed it Mile High Stadium. Various expansion projects from 1968 to 1988 increased the capacity to 76,131. Mile High was used for both football and baseball. When constructed, the east stands were designed to move forward 145 feet for football and back for baseball. The stands were raised by 1.5” of water and moved in six-foot intervals by hydraulic cranes, taking two hours and five minutes. The last baseball game at Mile High was played August 11, 1994 when major-league players went on strike and the remainder of the 1994 season was cancelled.
On August 14, 1990 voters approved a .1% sales tax to finance construction of a baseball-only stadium in efforts to obtain one of two expansion franchises being awarded by the National League. Coors Field was constructed, at a cost of $215 million, on the site of the Denver Pacific Railroad, which, in 1870 connected Denver to Cheyenne, and the transcontinental railroad. Construction workers found ruins of the Denver Pacific Station between first and second bases. Three historic buildings were preserved on the Coors Field property: The Union Pacific Freight House at Nineteenth and Wynkoop streets, the Banker’s Warehouse, and Transport Service Station, both near Twenty-Second and Blake streets. Originally planned as a 43,800-seat stadium, capacity was 50,249 at completion due to the unexpected attendance of the Colorado Rockies. Coors Field opened in 1995 with replacement players while major-league players were still on strike. The first official game at Coors Field was played April 26, 1995 between the Rockies and the New York Mets after the players’ strike was settled.
I’m happy to report that DITr has undergone an expansion of sorts. I have created a DITr web page, which consists of a few files available for viewing and download, links to websites I have referred to in previous editions of DITr and other references I have enjoyed. This web page culminates a vision I have had for about four years. I have also added a poll to the blog page. You will find the poll and a link to the web page in the left margin.
Now, on to the topic at hand: the history of baseball in Denver. Given the fact that the Colorado rockies will be entering their 13th season, some may assume that Denver has a short history of baseball. In actuality, professional baseball has been in Denver at one time or another since the mid-1800’s. Like much of the United States, Denver has a rich baseball history. This edition of DITr will be the first in a three-part series about the history of baseball in Denver. The three parts will be as follows:
Part I, Stadiums of Denver
Part II, Teams of Denver
Part III, Facts and Events
History of Baseball in Denver, Part I, Stadiums of Denver
One of the earliest fields in Denver was Broadway Grounds at Broadway and Colfax, about where Civic Center Station is located today. Professional baseball was played at Broadway Grounds starting in 1862. Grandstands were erected for big games and special events. Broadway Grounds was the setting for the Festival of Mountain and Plains, which began in 1895 and held until 1912. The festival eventually became A Taste of Colorado, which takes place annually at Civic Center Park.
Another early field was located between 32nd and 33rd and Larimer and Market streets and was known as Larimer Street Base Ball Park. It served as the home field for the first all-salaried team in Denver in 1885, when improvements were made including sod, stands, shelter for spectators and concessions. It also was the home field for the 1886 Western League pennant winning team, the Denver Nine. Tickets were twenty-five cents for adults and ten cents for children.
As baseball grew in popularity, so did the demand for baseball fields. River Front Park was privately developed as part of a 50-acre recreational area located between 16th and 17th streets and the Platte River and Bassett Street. The field was located in the center of a half-mile racetrack. Professional baseball was played at River Front Park in 1887 and 1888.
In 1889, a new park for professional baseball was built at Broadway and Cherry Creek. Known as Athletic Park or the Base Ball Park, it was built by the Denver Tramway Company at a cost of $11,000. The first game was played March 31, 1889 between an Aspen team and the Denvers. A fire in 1899 caused heavy damage. George Tebeau rebuilt the part for his new Western League team, the Denver Nine, at a cost of $5,000. On July 16, 1901 another fire destroyed the majority of the grounds. On July 18, 100 men began work to reconstruct the stadium and completed the reconstruction in a little over a week, increasing seating capacity by 50% in the process. The Athletic/Base Ball Park was used for professional baseball until 1922.
Union Park was built in 1901 and located at Exposition and Broadway, but was renovated and expanded in 1922 when a group of businessmen bought a minor league team from Joplin, Missouri and moved the team to Denver. The new owners could not reach an agreement with Tebeau for the team to play at his stadium, so they quickly remodeled Union Park to serve as the team’s new home and renamed it Merchants Park. The stadium got its name from the Merchants Biscuit Company, now part of Keebler Company, which leased the land to the owners and provided funds for the expansion. Merchants Park was built at a cost of $20,000 and seated 8,000. Construction started just five weeks before the start of the season and was nearly completed for the first game April 28, 1922. All that was missing was paint on some of the stands. The center field fence was 457 feet and only three home runs were hit over center field in the park’s 26-year history. Babe Ruth, while on a barnstorming tour in 1927, hit one of the home runs. Lights were added to the park in 1931, four years before Crosley Field in Cincinnati became the first major-league field to have lights. For much of the park’s history, nearly every aspect of the park was considered seriously inadequate. Merchant’s Park was actually termed the “Worst Park in America”, among others that were not endearing. In 1945, the grandstands were condemned when the park was deemed unsafe just three days before the start of the season. The park was reopened in 1946 after renovations and improvements were made. The last game at Merchants Park was played on July 26, 1948.
Bears Stadium opened August 14, 1948. The stadium was built at a cost of $250,000, was the first concrete, amphitheater-style stadium in Denver, and was constructed on the city dump. Box seats cost $1.25; reserved seats $1.10 and general admission tickets cost $.90. Construction was not completed by opening day, but construction continued and seating capacity eventually reached 18,523. Attendance in 1949 totaled 463,029, outdrawing two major-league teams, the St. Louis Browns and the Philadelphia Phillies. In efforts to lure a major-league team as well as an American Football League franchise, the south stands were built in 1960, increasing the capacity to 26,623. Portable seats were also added on the east side to increase the seating to 35,000. In 1961, the city of Denver purchased Bears Stadium from the current ownership group and renamed it Mile High Stadium. Various expansion projects from 1968 to 1988 increased the capacity to 76,131. Mile High was used for both football and baseball. When constructed, the east stands were designed to move forward 145 feet for football and back for baseball. The stands were raised by 1.5” of water and moved in six-foot intervals by hydraulic cranes, taking two hours and five minutes. The last baseball game at Mile High was played August 11, 1994 when major-league players went on strike and the remainder of the 1994 season was cancelled.
On August 14, 1990 voters approved a .1% sales tax to finance construction of a baseball-only stadium in efforts to obtain one of two expansion franchises being awarded by the National League. Coors Field was constructed, at a cost of $215 million, on the site of the Denver Pacific Railroad, which, in 1870 connected Denver to Cheyenne, and the transcontinental railroad. Construction workers found ruins of the Denver Pacific Station between first and second bases. Three historic buildings were preserved on the Coors Field property: The Union Pacific Freight House at Nineteenth and Wynkoop streets, the Banker’s Warehouse, and Transport Service Station, both near Twenty-Second and Blake streets. Originally planned as a 43,800-seat stadium, capacity was 50,249 at completion due to the unexpected attendance of the Colorado Rockies. Coors Field opened in 1995 with replacement players while major-league players were still on strike. The first official game at Coors Field was played April 26, 1995 between the Rockies and the New York Mets after the players’ strike was settled.
At the time of posting: 24 days, 15 hours, 17 minutes until pitchers and catchers report.
posted by Todd Nikkel | 8:45 PM
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