Crosley Field

Cincinnati is home to the oldest professional baseball team, the Reds and from 1912 through half of 1970, the Reds played at Crosley Field. Over that stretch, Crosley Field was home to two World Series champions while 18 future Hall of Famers doned the red ballcaps, daring to climb up the notorious slope in the outfield. This is Crosley Field's story.

The Conception

The Reds of the present day are actually the third version of the team. The first one (the one that is credited for being the first all-professional baseball team) won an astonishing 130 straight games from 1868 through 1870 before the Red Stockings ran out of money. The second version of the ballclub was expelled from the National League in 1880 after it was discovered that it was selling beer at its games and had been renting out its ballpark on Sundays.

The third and final version of the Cincinnati Reds began play in 1881 after the American Association had been formed in Cincinnati's Gibson Hotel. Once the Reds claimed the league championship the next year, they firmly had the city's heart. But while the Reds were busy winning pennants, the crowd size at their various ballparks became increasingly problematic.

Over the course of their history, the Reds had played in two versions of League Park as well as a place affectionately known as the Palace of the Fans, all of which were located on the corner of Findlay and Western.Of all of their old homes, the Palace of the Fans showed the most potential. With a seating capacity of just 6,000, the concrete ballpark was filled with the first ever luxury box suites. Still, the Palace of the Fans never hosted a winner and was demolished in 1911.

The Reds refused to move from the sight and built on top of the rubble. Led by famed Cincinnati architect Harry Hake who designed the Cincinnati Bell office building, ground broke soon after the Palace of the Fans burned down. Having cost $225,000 to build, Redland Field opened to the public on April 11, 1912. With a capacity of 22,000, owner Gary Herrmann hoped that this new ballpark would last longer than its predecessors.

The Glory Years

The Reds opened Redland Field in style. After going down 5-1 against the Cubs, the Reds stormed back by scoring six runs in the fourth inning. Partly due to Bob Bescher, Dick Hoblitzell and Art Phelan each driving in tow runs, the Reds won handily before a packed house of 26,336 by a score of 10-6. They ended up winning their first four games at home that year, but eventually things settled down and the Reds finished the year 75-78-2, well out of first place. Still, they managed to rank fourth in the N.L. attendance standings by drawing in 344,000 fans.

Seven years later, the Reds were in the infamous 1919 World Series. Although the series is forever stained by the nine White Sox (Black Sox) who were audacious enough to throw the World Series, the Reds still had a good ballclub that year. Led by 21-game winner Slim Sallee and paced by Ed Roush's .321 batting average, the Reds had won 96 games that year. Still, no matter how well they played, in this case, it was the losers who would be remembered more.

The Reds opened the 1919 World Series at home in Redland Field and even from the start, there was widespread belief within the press box that the fix was in. Reds pitcher Dutch Ruether contributed to his 9-1 win by collecting three hits, drawing a walk and driving in three runs in four plate appearances. In Game Two, it was Larry Kepf's turn to be the hero as he drove in half of the Reds' runs in a 4-2 triumph.

Eventually, at least some of the White Sox decided to go back on their promise to the bookies and attempted to win the World Series, but by then it was too late. Having lost their last two games at Redland Field, the Reds won the 1919 World Series at Chicago's Comiskey Park.

The ballpark got a name change in 1934 when Powel Crosley Jr. bought the team and team president Larry MacPhail insisted on the name change. From then on, the ballpark was known as Crosley Field.

On May 24, 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt flipped a switch all the way in Washington D.C. to turn on the recently installed floodlights at Crosley Field. The Reds beat the Phillies that night, 2-1, in the first night baseball game ever played.

Crosley Field was widely known for its unique slope in the outfield that stretched. Stretching from left to right field, it varied in steepness as players such as Babe Ruth and Willie Mays stumbled, fumbled and fell across the terrain. But as much as it provided a home-field advantage, it did come with issues when water was involved. In 1937, the city was drenched in a massive flood. With Crosley Field under 21 feet of water, it took officials a long time to clean up the mess as the slopes only made draining the water harder.

In 1938, Crosley Field went under extensive expansion. A press box was added on the roof of the recently-extended second deck. Later that year, Crosley Field hosted its first All-Star Game. In front of 27,067, two days after Independence Day, the National League beat the American League 4-1. The ballpark hosted its second and last All-Star Game in 1953 when the N.L. again beat the A.L. 5-1.

One year later, the Reds were swept by the Yankees at home to finish off the World Series. The Reds used that disaster as fueled for 1940. All year long, the memories came back in painful waves as the Reds tore through their schedule, ultimately winning 100 games and earning their second straight N.L. pennant. Waiting for them in the Fall Classic was the Detroit Tigers.

It was a tough, back and forth affair as neither team won consecutively until the end. The last two games in the seven game series was at Crosley Field and none of the Reds players wanted to lose the series at home. Not again.

Bucky Walters was masterful in Game 6, pitching a 4-0 shutout to earn his second victory of the Fall Classic. Thee Reds found themselves in familiar territory in Game 7. Down by one going into the seventh, they knew that they needed a spark to get their offense going. Up stepped Jimmy Ripple to the plate who then proceeded to hit a one run double. Billy Myers made sure that Ripple lived up to his surname by driving in a run on a sacrifice fly to give Cincinnati a hard fought 2-1 win and their second World Series championship.

In 1957, a massive 58-foot tall scoreboard with a Longines clock atop replaced the original scoreboard in right field. While the addition was nice, by then many had been moving to the suburbs and with the migration came with a need for parking. Located in the crowded Queensgate section of the city, Crosley Field had no hope to include parking around its structure. By the early 1960's, its days were numbered.

In 1963, longtime groundskeeper Matty Schwab retired at the age of 83 and handed over the reigns to his grandson Mike Dolan. Having been with the club since its League Park days in 1894, it was a sign of things to come for Crosley Field as a closed chapter seemed imminent.

The Final Days

Cincinnati knew that this day was coming. Still, it was deflating to know that it was transpiring. On June 24, 1970, the Reds played their last game at Crosley Field. Down 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, catcher Johnny Bench blasted a home run to tie the game. Lee May next stepped up to the plate and hit a homer of his own to beat the Giants 5-4 and to give one of the smallest ballparks in the majors a proper sendoff.

For the next two years, Crosley Field served as a lot for impounded cars before it was demolished in 1972. But although it was demolished so long ago, its legacy lives on. When the Houston Astros first opened Minute Maid Park in 2000, their outfield featured slopes that resembled Crosley's. Unfortunately, "Tal's Hill" is now gone, done away by renovations after the 2015 season. Today, a business park and parking lot stand where so many wonderful memories were made and a plaque commemorating the site's legendary history sits on the corner of Findley and Western.

References

Crosley Field

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