Recreation Park (Philadelphia)
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 Interactive map of Recreation Park | |
Former names | Columbia Park (1866–1875), Centennial Base Ball Grounds (1875–1883), League Grounds (1884-1886) |
|---|---|
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 39°58′56″N 75°10′29″W / 39.98222°N 75.17472°W |
| Owner | City of Philadelphia |
| Operator | Fiss & Doerr (1876) |
| Capacity | 2,000 (1876) 6,500 |
| Surface | Grass |
Field size | Left – 300 ft. Center – 331 ft. |
| Public transit | Philadelphia Traction Co.:  Union Thirteenth & Fifteenth Ridge Avenue |
| Construction | |
| Opened | In use by at least 1860. |
| Closed | after 1888 |
| Demolished | c. 1890 |
| Tenants | |
| Philadelphia Athletics (NA) (1861–1870) Philadelphia Pythians (1865-1871) Philadelphia Centennials (NA) (1875) Philadelphia Phillies (ECA) (1881) Philadelphia Phillies (League Alliance) (1882) University of Pennsylvania Quakers (1882-1884) Philadelphia Phillies (NL) (1883–1886) | |
Recreation Park was a baseball park in Philadelphia. The ballpark was the first home of the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League during the years 1883–1886, prior to the opening of National League Park in 1887. The University of Pennsylvania football team played home games at Recreation Park from 1882 to 1884. The park was bounded by 24th Street (east, first base); Ridge Avenue (north, right field); Montgomery Avenue (northwest, center field); 25th Street (west, left field); and Columbia Avenue (south, third base) (which in 1987 was renamed Cecil B. Moore Avenue after the civil-rights leader).
The field was used at least as early as June 16, 1860, when Equity defeated Pennsylvania 65-52 in what author Charles Peverelly, writing about "the national game", called the "first baseball game played in Pennsylvania."[1]
During the Civil War, a cavalry of the Union Army occupied the park. In 1866, with new houses bordering the field, a nine-foot fence was erected and the field was put back in shape for baseball. It was poorly maintained by 1871 and used increasingly less.
The Philadelphia Centennials of the National Association leveled and resodded the field, built a 10-foot fence, clubhouse and grandstands in 1875. They called it Centennial Base Ball Grounds. The team folded after just 14 games and the association followed at the end of the season. With no tenant the park fell into disrepair.
During the 1876-1879 period, the lot was used as a horse market. Local newspapers referred to its location variously as Ridge and 23rd, 24th or 25th. Most of the time it was given as 24th. The property was operated by horse merchants, Fiss & Doerr, who had holdings in multiple cities including New York and Boston.
Pigeon shooting was held at the field in 1875 and 1876. A pigeon shooting match was staged at the Centennial Base Ball Grounds in January 1876 by Fiss & Doerr. When the first match ended in a tie, a second match was scheduled. There were 300 attendees along with the birds at the park when it was halted by the chief of police.[2]
In 1876, the ball field was named "Centennial Base Ball Grounds", and advertised for rent with a capacity of 2,000 by "Fiss & Doerr, Proprietors".[3] The ballfield was utilized by professional and amateur teams alike during this period. A benefit game was played in March 1879 between the top professional base ball players of the city and the gate receipts donated to Charles Mason who was reported to have been ill.[4] The Athletics faced the University of Pennsylvania base ball club at the park in May 1879.[5]
In December 1876, a 110-yard foot race won by Trenton's Fred Rogers was held at the field.[6] A 125-yard foot race was staged at the grounds in April 1880. John Crossley of Philadelphia's Frankford neighborhood defeated Frank McQuigan of Boston for a prize of $500 (approximately $15,000 in 2025).[7]
The Eastern Championship Association Philadelphia Phillies played at the ballpark in 1881. Under the ownership of Al Reach, the Philadelphia Base Ball Club (the Phillies) "secured the Horse Market Grounds" on a long lease.[8] By March 1882, Reach and Horace Phillips were reported to be fixing up the grounds to be a first class sports park.[9] The Phillies would play at Recreation Park in 1882 as members of the minor league League Alliance.
