Ballparks Then and Now®: A photographic guide for baseball fans to the history of grounds across the USA

by Eric Enders

Ballparks Then and Now is a fascinating exploration of ballparks across America. Packed with archival and modern photography, this book documents the development of America’s national pastime by looking at the fields of dreams on which it is played. The ballpark experience has changed dramatically from baseball’s early days on grassy lots with wooden grandstands and free admission. The Union Grounds in Brooklyn, New York, is considered by many historians to be the first ballpark ever built, when William Cammeyer decided to use the Union Skating Pond as grounds for baseball games in 1862. When the first professional leagues were formed in 1871, enterprising owners began to invest in the creation of luxurious wooden palaces such as the Grand Pavilion in Boston and Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. The first steel-and-concrete ballpark was Shibe Park in Philadelphia, built in 1909, which housed a record number of 20,000 paying customers and set the standard in ballpark design for the next fifty years. The cookie-cutter ballparks of the 1960s and 1970s have largely been replaced by newer retro designs that give each park its own unique feel and have re-established ballparks as a vital part of urban America. Ballparks Then and Now is a fascinating exploration of ballparks across America. Packed with archival and modern photography, this book documents the development of America’s national pastime by looking at the fields of dreams on which it is played.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published June 10, 2002

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the updated 2015 edition.

The pictures in the book are an excellent document to have. Some of the ballpark histories seemed rushed compared to the sprawling pages devoted to the Yankees (gross), but there was a good amount of interesting baseball history tidbits. I would have liked more discussion on the quirks that make each ballpark unique, like it did for Coors Field's purple seats signifying the section that was exactly one mile over sea level.


“In 1894, fire destroyed ballparks in our of the nation’s largest cities…prompting rumors that a ballpark arsonist, perhaps someone opposed to Sunday baseball, was at work.” (6)
"In 1903, the Baltimore Orioles of the American League moved to New York, where they eventually became the Yankees." (22)
Wrigley Field's "famed scoreboard and ivy were added in 1937 by twenty-three year old Cubs assistant Bill Veeck. (46)
8/9/88-first night game at Wrigley
5/24/35-first night game in MLB
Cleveland’s Rock N Roll Hall of Fame stand where Municipal Stadium used to be, “The Mistake on the Lake.” (62)
Coors Field (Rockies) stores their balls in a humidity-controlled room since balls would otherwise fly 9% farther in Denver’s elevation. (69)
Coors Field features one row of purple seats in the upper deck signifying the one-mile above sea level line. (69)
10/3/34 – The Angels are so dominating during the season, the league playoffs are cancelled in favor of pitting the Angels against a team of Pacific Coast League All-Stars. The Angels still won. (82)
5/28/1916 – Jimmy Claxton, an African American passing as a Native American, makes his pitching debut for the [Oakland] Oaks. His true heritage was discovered and he was released after two games, but he remained the last African American to play in the majors until Jackie Robinson.” (120)
Gus Greenlee (who built Greenlee Field for the Negro Leagues in Pittsburgh) was a “gangster.” (132)

[Dave Whitman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and easy read with great photos handling the bulk of the storytelling. The author definitely has some opinions about ballpark architecture, most of which I agree with, but sometimes these opinions took away from the historical objectivity.

[Madame Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative book about baseball stadiums.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great photos and history of stadiums from long ago

[Ryan Forster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book. It is cool seeing what the teams old ballparks looked like and learning the history of each one.

[Zach Koenig · Rating 3 out of 5]

When it comes to compendiums of Major League Baseball stadiums, there are many choices out their. This one is thoroughly average.

The information in this book is about as dry as it gets. Even a baseball history nut like myself got worn out by the dull, droll writing after about 15 pages and resorted to just leafing through and looking at the pictures.

Luckily, though, the pictures in this book are interesting and provide some nice snapshots of the rich history of MLB stadiums through the years.

Thus, while better options for this sort of fare most surely exist, this one isn't terrible. If you skip the text entirely and leave it on your coffee table for guests to page through and skim the pics, it's serviceable.

[Ron Kaplan · Rating 2 out of 5]

ballparks,photography

[Jim Blessing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great pictures of the old and new stadiums of Major League teams.