The Baker Bowl
The Phillies have had its share of memorable ballparks, contributing to the unique personality of the different eras in the team's history. One of the most memorable venues that framed the team's triumphs and tribulations was the Baker Bowl.
Known originally as the Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds, the Baker Bowl first welcomed fans in 1887. The stadium, considered state of the art upon its completion, replaced Recreation Park as the home of the Phillies. Recreation Park had itself earned a place in Philadelphia baseball history, having served as the home field of the Philadelphia Centennials, one of three teams that played in the city under the auspices of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. The field was known as Centennial Park, located along Ridge Avenue between 24th and 25th Streets.
Al Reach, sporting goods mogul and the star second baseman of the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia in the 1860s, bought the park in 1882, so it could serve as the home field of Philadelphia's new National League team, the Phillies, which began play in 1883. Reach, who owned the Phillies along with Colonel John Rogers, resodded the grounds, had a new wooden grandstand built, and renamed the venue Recreation Park.
As the popularity of National League baseball grew, Reach and Rogers sought to build a stadium to house more spectators, and thus sell more tickets. They chose a location between Broad and 15th Streets, bordered by Lehigh Avenue and Huntingdon Street. This was the stadium that would later come to be known as the Baker Bowl.
With a cost of $80,000, the initial capacity of the ballpark was 12,500. The park had to fit within a single city block, which was bordered by railroad tracks. The result was an outfield with dimensions that would be considered odd today. Specifically, the right field fence stood a mere 280 feet from home plate along the foul line. This is thirty feet shorter than the Green Monster in left field at Fenway Park.
The wooden grandstand and bleachers fell victim to fire on August 6, 1894. While the Phillies went on a short road trip, and then played six games at the University of Pennsylvania Grounds, workers were able to build temporary bleachers by August 18th, permitting the Phils to complete their season at their home field.
The short disruption did little to silence the bats of the Phillies' outfield. The 1894 Phillies stands as the only team to boast a regular outfield where all three players hit for over .400. Stolen base specialist, Slidin' Billy Hamilton hit .403 and scored 198 runs, while Sam Thompson and Big Ed Delahanty hit .415 and .405 respectively. Thompson hammered home 149 runs and Delahanty 133 runs. All three players made the Hall of Fame.
The ballpark was rebuilt in time for the 1895 season, this time becoming the first baseball stadium to utilize steel and concrete. With the name changed to National League Park, the stadium also became the first to feature a cantilevered upper deck. This is a construction method where a slab is supported at one end, and carries a load at the other. This creates an overhang that is stabilized with counterbalanced weight in the part of the slab closest to the support. The result is stable upper deck seating that does not require poles that obstruct the view of lower level seating area. The construction expanded the ballpark's capacity to 18,000 fans.
Tragedy hit on August 6, 1903. Two drunken men and two teenage girls engaged in a brawl on 15th Street, just outside of the stadium. Fans in the left field bleachers climbed to the top of the bleachers to spy on the spectacle. But the additional weight was too much for the wooden structure to bear. Under the stress, the bleachers collapsed, killing 12 and injuring 232. The cost to repair the damage forced the owners to sell the team. Meanwhile, the Phillies had to play the rest of home games that season at the Athletics' home stadium, Columbia Park.
With the likes of Gavvy Cravath and Fred Luderus taking advantage of the short right field fence, the Phils finally won the pennant in 1915. The Baker Bowl, which was renamed for Phillies owner William Baker, became the first World Series venue to host the President of the United States, when Woodrow Wilson attended the second game of the series. The legendary Grover Cleveland Alexander won the first game of that series for the Phils. Unfortunately, the Phillies had to wait another 65 years before winning another World Series game.
The Negro Leagues, meanwhile, used the stadium to host some games of the Colored World Series from 1924 through 1926. In 1924 and 1925, the local team, the Hilldale Daisies (also known as the Giants), which played in Darby, PA, represented the Eastern Colored League against the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League. Hilldale fell to the Monarchs in 1924, but rose triumphant in 1925. The 1926 Colored World Series saw the Bacharach Giants, who played in Atlantic City, fall to Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants.
A second tragedy hit the stadium on May 14, 1927, when the aging wooden structures supporting the the seats along the right field foul line gave way. Fortunately, the incident did not cause any deaths, but 50 people were injured. Fans had sought shelter under the upper deck overhang from the rain. The additional weight proved too much for the structure to stand. The field that had once been praised as a state of the art venue had now become a laughing stock of the league due to its aging architecture. Renovations to the stadium followed, resulting in an expanded capacity of 20,000 in 1929.
Unfortunately, the quality of baseball played at the Baker Bowl remained dismal throughout much of its existence. By contrast, three blocks to the west, fans at Shibe Park were witness to five World Championships by Connie Mack's American League Philadelphia Athletics. A sign in the 60 foot tall right field fence at the Baker Bowl read, "The Phillies Use Lifebuoy," a popular soap brand of the times. Reflecting the disappointing play of the team, graffiti on the sign once read, "and they still stink."
A new era began in 1928, as a rookie, who would become known as the Hammerin' Hoosier joined the Phils. In seventeen years, Chuck Klein had three stints with the Phillies, playing all or part of fifteen season with the team. In 1932, Philadelphia became the only city to have an MVP in both leagues, with Klein winning the award in the National League, while the A's Jimmie Foxx won it in the American League. Klein continued to pay well for the Phillies, earning the Triple Crown in 1933, and hitting four home runs in one game on July 10, 1936. Klein never played a World Series game with Philadelphia, but his batting average was .326, with 243 home runs and 983 RBIs in his time with the Phillies.
In 1980, Klein overcame the stigma of playing most of his home games in a stadium with a short right field fence, and was inducted to the Baseball Hall of the Fame. This was an achievement a few other early 20th Century Phillies hitters such as Gavvy Cravath and Fred Luderus never realized.
On May 30, 1935, fans at the Baker Bowl saw Babe Ruth's last game, when the Phils hosted a double-header with the Braves. Ruth ended his storied career after the first game.
Within three years, the Phillies' time at the Baker Bowl likewise came to an end. The Phillies moved three blocks West to become tenants of the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park. During its life, the Baker Bowl saw its share of great hitters, a legendary pitcher, and way too many years of lousy baseball. In a way, the history of the stadium reflected the team's prospects. It began as a state of the art achievement, hosting a promising set of young, future Hall of Fame hitters. It ended horribly outdated, home to an underperforming team, playing second fiddle to a fabled American League franchise whose home was a mere stone's throw away.
Statistics from: http://www.baseball-reference.com
References
"Baker Bowl," SABR Research Journals Archive (visited Feb. 19, 2020) http://research.sabr.org/journals/baker-bowl.
Jordan, David, Closing 'Em Down: Final Games at Thirteen Classic Ballparks, p. 216 (McFarland Publishing Company: 2010).
Perry, Dayn, "Just because: The ridiculous dimension of the Baker Bowl," CBS Sports (Feb. 10, 2014) https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/just-because-the-ridiculous-dimensions-of-the-baker-bowl/.
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