Location | Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
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Coordinates | 42°54′18″N78°52′52″W / 42.90500°N 78.88111°W |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Opened | 1884 |
Demolished | 1889 |
Tenants | |
Buffalo Bisons (NL) (1884–1885) Buffalo Bisons (IL) (1886–1888) |
Location | Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°54′53″N78°51′40″W / 42.91472°N 78.86111°W |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Opened | 1889 |
Demolished | 1923 |
Tenants | |
Buffalo Bisons (IL) (1889–1923) Buffalo Bisons (PL) (1890) Buffalo All-Americans (NFL) (1920–1923) Buffalo Prospects (NYPFL) (1919) Buffalo Niagaras (BSPFL) (1918) Buffalo All-Stars (NYPFL) (1915–1917) University at Buffalo Bisons (1894–1919) |
Olympic Park is the name shared by two former baseball grounds located in Buffalo, New York, United States.
From 1878 through 1883, Buffalo's baseball teams had played at an initially unnamed ballpark at Fargo Avenue and Rhode Island Street. The club's owners named it "Riverside Park" in 1882, although it was actually over 1,000 feet (300 m) from the Niagara River. The owner of the site, Alexander Culbert, decided to develop the property and the team left the site for Olympic Park (I). [1]
Olympic Park (I) was home to the Buffalo Bisons baseball club of the National League for two seasons, 1884 and 1885. [2] It was located on the block bounded by Richmond Avenue (west); Summer Street (south); and Norwood Avenue (east). After the National League dropped the Bisons franchise, professional baseball continued to be played there by the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, until the lease expired following the 1888 season. The last professional game in Olympic Park (I) was played on September 28, 1888, when the Buffalo Bisons played the Cuban Giants. [3]
The site of Olympic Park (I) is currently occupied by a residential neighborhood, including the Richmond-Summer Recreation Center.
The Bisons found a new location at a block bounded by East Ferry Street (north, third base); Masten Avenue (east, left field); Woodlawn Avenue (south, right field); and Michigan Avenue (west, first base). This site would remain the primary location of Buffalo professional baseball through the 1960 season. In the late winter and early spring of 1889, the club's owner had the existing (wooden) stands disassembled at the old location, and moved section by section to the new location. The club decided to continue the name because of its familiarity to the public, so it became the new Olympic Park (II).
The club held the grounds for the 1889 season, but in 1890 the Players' League version of the Bisons secured a lease on it. The minor league club had to find another location, and they played the season at grounds in the eastern part of the city, near Genesee Street and the Belt Line Railroad, which was primarily the home field of the amateur Buffalo Baseball League organization.
The Players' League folded after the 1890 season, enabling the minor league Bisons to move back to Olympic Park (II). This would be the Bisons' home stadium through the early part of the 1923 season. During the summer, they demolished the old wooden stands and began building a new set of stands in steel and concrete. It was originally named Bison Stadium, and in 1935 was renamed Offermann Stadium in memory of the club's owner.
In addition to baseball, Olympic Park (II) was also used for football, serving as the home of the Buffalo All-Americans of the National Football League [ citation needed ], and several iterations of the New York Pro Football League Championship. The UB Bisons college football squad played its games at the stadium until 1919, after which they moved to Rotary Field on-campus.
The site of Olympic Park (II) / Offermann Stadium is currently occupied by the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts and a church. In August 2012, a historical plaque was dedicated at the site in remembrance of over 72 years of baseball played on the grounds. Local Buffalo sports historian John Boutet spearheaded the project and raised the funds through the Facebook group Buffalo Sports Museum, the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Bisons.
In July 1907, Bisons' owner Alexander Potter announced that the ballpark was to be renamed, from Olympic Park to Buffalo Baseball Park. This decision was not binding on news writers, and the Olympic Park name was kept alive for years, by referring to "Buffalo Baseball Park" and "Olympic Park" interchangeably, or by saying "Buffalo Baseball Park (formerly Olympic Park)". By the early 1920s, the name "Olympic Park" was fading from use. During the 1923 season, with construction on the new steel-and-concrete stadium under way, papers continuing calling it "Buffalo Baseball Park" and also "new Bison stadium", unwittingly anticipating its new name. Meanwhile, the name "Buffalo Baseball Park" continued to be used, posted on the signs above the gates, even after Bison Stadium had been renamed Offermann Stadium in 1935. "Buffalo Baseball Park" continued to appear under that name in Buffalo city directories as late as 1957.
Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, it opened on April 14, 1988, and can seat up to 16,600 people, making it the highest-capacity Triple-A ballpark in the United States. It replaced the Bisons' former home, War Memorial Stadium, where the team played from 1979 to 1987.
The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the sport of polo. Bound on the south and north by 110th and 112th streets and on the east and west by Fifth and Sixth (Lenox) avenues, just north of Central Park, it was converted to a baseball stadium when leased by the New York Metropolitans in 1880.
Exposition Park was the name given to three historic stadiums, located in what is today Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fields were used mainly for professional baseball and American football from c. 1879 to c. 1915. The ballparks were initially located on the north side of the Allegheny River in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. The city was annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907, which became the city's North Side, located across from Pittsburgh's downtown area. Due to flooding from the nearby Allegheny River, the three stadiums' exact locations varied somewhat. The final version of the ballpark was between the eventual sites of Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park.
Palace of the Fans was a Major League baseball park located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home of the Cincinnati Reds from 1902 through 1911. The ballpark was on an asymmetrical block bounded by Findlay Street (south), Western Avenue, York Street (north) and McLean Avenue (west).
South End Grounds refers to any one of three baseball parks on one site in Boston, Massachusetts. They were home to the franchise that eventually became known as the Boston Braves, first in the National Association and later in the National League, from 1871 through part of the 1914 season. That stretch of 43 1/2 seasons is still the longest tenure of the Braves club at any of their various ballparks and cities since 1914.
South Side Park was the name used for three different baseball parks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois, at different times, and whose sites were all just a few blocks away from each other.
The Bank Street Grounds was a baseball park located in Cincinnati. The park was home to three major league baseball teams. The National League Cincinnati Stars club in 1880, the current Cincinnati Reds franchise from 1882 to 1883 and the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the Union Association in 1884. It succeeded the Avenue Grounds as the home site for professional ball in the Queen City.
The Staten Island University Hospital Community Park is a baseball stadium located on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City. The ballpark is the home of the Staten Island FerryHawks, a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, and is the largest stadium in the league by capacity, at 7,171. Since 2022, it has also been the home of the Wagner College Seahawks baseball team and New York University Violets baseball team. In addition, local high schools have the chance to play at least one game a season at the park.
Burnett Field, in Dallas, Texas, was home to several minor league baseball clubs from 1924 to 1964. The ballpark sat 10,500 fans. It was located at 1500 East Jefferson Boulevard, Brazos Street ; Colorado Boulevard ; and the Trinity River.
Riverside Park is the name of a former baseball ground located in Buffalo, New York, United States. The ground was home to the Buffalo Bisons baseball club of the International Association in 1878, and the National League from 1879 through 1883.
Sal Maglie Stadium is a stadium in Niagara Falls, New York. It is primarily used for baseball and is currently the home of the Niagara Power (PGCBL) baseball team.
Offermann Stadium was an outdoor baseball and football stadium in Buffalo, New York. Opened in 1924 as Bison Stadium, it was home to the Buffalo Bisons (IL), Buffalo Bisons/Rangers (NFL) and Indianapolis Clowns (NAL).
League Park was a Major League baseball park located in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was the home of the Cincinnati Reds from 1884 through 1901. The ballpark was on an asymmetrical block bounded by Findlay Street (south), Western Avenue, York Street (north) and McLean Avenue (west).
Herald Park was a baseball park located in Houston, Texas and was the home of the Houston Buffaloes from 1888 until 1904. It also served as the spring training facility for the Louisville Colonels and the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League of Major League Baseball in 1895 and 1904 respectively.