With the nation on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, many fans are turning to MLB® The Show™ 20 to satisfy their baseball craving. Like the previous installments in the series, the most recent version of The Show™ gives users the option to play in historic ballparks from generations past.
These parks may no longer be in existence, but employing them as a backdrop in The Show™ transports the gamer to bygone eras of baseball bliss. These parks not only possessed quirky features and alluring architecture; they also had eventful histories worth exploring.
Researching the six classic ballparks featured in MLB® The Show™ 20 has given me profound insight into early 20th century baseball and how the game has evolved in the ensuing decades.
In order to share that knowledge, I have provided the historical background and descriptions of each those parks: the Polo Grounds, Shibe Park, Sportsman’s Park, Crosley Field, Forbes Field, and Griffith Stadium.
Notable Teams That Played at Sportsman’s Park
- St. Louis Browns (1902-1953)
- St. Louis Cardinals (1920-1966)
History of Sportsman’s Park
Sportsman’s Park was originally built as a wooden structure, which made it susceptible to fires. But the stadium underwent extensive renovations prior to the 1909 season, including the addition of a double-decked concrete and steel grandstand. That year saw the opening of two new concrete and steel ballparks: Philadelphia’s Shibe Park and Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field.
The construction of these venues ushered in the Era of the Classic Ballpark.
One of the park’s quirkiest features could be seen in right field. The short distance to right necessitated the eventual construction of a 25-foot screen atop the wall that extended 156 feet toward center. Balls that hit the screen were in play, adding a degree of difficulty for baserunners.
According to Cardinals legend Stan Musial, “The ball would fly out there and the runner didn’t know if it was going to hit the screen, go over it, or how it would bounce.”
The Cardinals came into their own as a franchise at Sportsman’s Park, winning their first seven World Series championships in the years they called it home. The beloved 1934 team, usually referred to as the “Gashouse Gang,” was among the Cardinal clubs that enjoyed immense success during the Sportsman’s Park era. The park was also the site of Enos Slaughter’s “mad dash” in the 1946 World Series.
Beers and Golden Years
August “Gussie” Busch Jr. became president of the Cardinals when the Anheuser-Busch brewery bought the team in 1953. Busch wanted to change the name of Sportsman’s Park to Budweiser Stadium, but his proposal was rejected because the league was reluctant to have a park named after a beer.
The brewing magnate was crafty, however, and got around the issue by naming a beer after the ballpark instead. Busch renamed the park Busch Memorial Stadium, and soon afterwards Busch Beer was released.
A fun fact about Sportsman’s Park that I came across in my research: in its earliest years, the venue was the home of the American Association’s St. Louis Brown Stockings, the team that would later become the Cardinals. Ticket prices were deliberately low, leaving fans with leftover money to spend on beer. As a result, a beer garden was added to the right-field corner in order to increase revenue. The garden was originally in play, but a rule change made it so that balls that landed there were home runs.
Want to learn more about other classic ballparks in The Show™ ? Click these links below to explore!!
