Burnes: Dreaming of fields: a brief history of Kansas City ballparks
From Brian Burnes at Flatland KC on December 19, 2019, with mention of SABR members Phil S. Dixon, Bill Carle, Lloyd Johnson, Thomas Busch, Larry Lester:
Kansas City needs a downtown ballpark.
At least, that’s the speculation sparked by the recent sale of the Kansas City Royals to a new ownership group led by John Sherman.
Indeed, there is a long history of downtown ballparks or ball fields in Kansas City – depending upon how one defines “downtown.”
Fans called one of these facilities “The Hole.” Another was located on a pre-Civil War cemetery. A third shut down for the season when a flood washed away much of its outfield fence.
A fourth closed when railroad tracks were built through it.
That, in turn, led to the construction of Kansas City’s most beatified ballpark – what became Municipal Stadium at 22nd Street and Brooklyn Avenue – at least before what is now Kauffman Stadium opened in 1973.
The story of baseball in early Kansas City is rich, detailed and sometimes weird, and for decades a devoted band of local scholars researched it along with the various clearings, fields or stadiums in which it was played.
Read the full article here: https://www.flatlandkc.org/news-issues/dreaming-of-fields-a-brief-history-of-kansas-city-ballparks/
- Related link: Read more ballpark histories at the SABR BioProject
Originally published: December 19, 2019. Last Updated: December 19, 2019.