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Spider Park
National League Park (II)
1887 illustration in the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Map
Former namesCleveland Base Ball Park /
American Association Park
(1887–1888)
LocationSouth of Payne Avenue
at East 36th Street
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Coordinates41°30′23″N 81°39′48″W / 41.50639°N 81.66333°W / 41.50639; -81.66333
OwnerFrank Robison
TypeBaseball park
Capacity4,500
Field sizeLeft field – 390 feet (119 m)
Center field – 600 feet (183 m)
Right field – 590 feet (180 m)
SurfaceInfield: sod; outfield: grass
Construction
OpenedMay 4, 1887
ClosedOctober 4, 1890
Construction cost$7,000
($237,378 in 2023 dollars[1])
ArchitectE. P. Ruprect
General contractorGeorge W. Foote
Tenants
Cleveland Spiders (AA/NL) (1887–1890)

Spider Park, also known as National League Park (II), was a baseball park in Cleveland, Ohio. Located just east of what is now Downtown Cleveland, the wooden structure existed from 1887 to 1890, and served as the first ballpark for the Cleveland Spiders of the National League. Previous names for the venue included Cleveland Base Ball Park and American Association Park, during which the Spiders franchise was a member of the now-defunct American Association.

History

Spider Park was originally known as "Cleveland Base Ball Park"; the venue first opened on May 4, 1887, for the home opener of the inaugural season of the Cleveland Blues[a]—the second major league team in Cleveland known by that name.[2][3][4] The new ball club began as a member of the now-defunct American Association, thus accounting for another early name of the venue: "American Association Park", or simply "Association Park".[5][6][7] Following the club's 1888 season, the Blues left the American Association and joined the National League;[8][9] from then on, the venue was sometimes known as "National League Park (II)"[b], or just "League Park (II)"[c] (the Roman numeral "II" has typically been used to differentiate this venue from various other Cleveland ballparks).[6][11][12] Finally, at the start of the club's 1889 season, the Blues came to be known as the "Spiders"[d]; likewise, the club's venue came to be known as "Spider Park".[8][9][13]

Located just east of what is now Downtown Cleveland, the wooden ballpark was built on leased property by the team's president, principal investor, and later its sole owner—streetcar magnate Frank Robison. He had selected the site, south of Payne Avenue at the end of Douglass Street (today East 36th Street), due to its location on one of his cable car rail lines.[5][14] The distance from home plate to the outfield fence measured over 400 feet, and the quality of the grass playing surface was considered excellent.[6][14][15] General admission tickets initially cost 25¢, and the total seating capacity was 4,500.[16][17]

1890 print ad for five-game series which included Cy Young's major league debut

Some sources say a thunderstorm damaged Spider Park in June of the 1890 season and that this ultimately led to its closure;[18][19] others say some part of the wooden ballpark, possibly the grandstand, was hit by a lightning strike and that the resulting fire "burned [Spider Park] to the ground."[20][21][22] Neither claim is certain.[23] A severe thunderstorm did end a game on June 5, and there was reportedly a lightning strike that day at nearby Brotherhood Park, home to the Cleveland Infants of the Players' League.[24][25] Whatever damage may have occurred, however, did not force an immediate relocation for either team.[18][19][26] Regardless, future hall of fame pitcher Cy Young made his major league debut at Spider Park on August 6 of that season, winning the first game of a doubleheader for the Spiders against the Chicago Colts (today's Cubs).[27] The final two games at the field were played on October 4, in which the Spiders won both matches of another doubleheader, this time against the Philadelphia Phillies. Robison, who remained the owner of both the team and the ballpark, subsequently built a new venue for the Spiders approximately one mile east known as League Park, which opened in 1891.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Not to be confused with: the Cleveland Blues (1879–1884), a defunct National League franchise; or the Cleveland Guardians (1901–present), an active American League franchise originally known as the "Blues" (or "Bluebirds").
  2. ^ Not to be confused with National League Park, otherwise known as "National League Park (I)"; or the wooden version of League Park, sometimes known as "National League Park (III)".[10]
  3. ^ Not to be confused with League Park. Some sources refer to that venue's original wooden and later concrete-and-steel versions as "League Park (I)" and "League Park (II)", respectively. Others use four Roman numerals to differentiate among the various Cleveland ballparks known at one time or another as "League Park": National League Park (1879–1884) a.k.a. "League Park (I)"; Spider Park (1887–1890) a.k.a. "League Park (II)"; the wooden version of League Park (1891–1909) a.k.a. "League Park (III)"; and the concrete-and-steel version of League Park (1910–1946) a.k.a. "League Park (IV)".
  4. ^ The name "Spiders" came from the tall and skinny look of many players in new, tight black uniforms.

References

  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Fleitz, p. 11. "The newest American Association team needed a park to play in, so Robison and his fellow directors built a new facility... Called Cleveland Base Ball Park..."
  3. ^ "The Red Legs Won: Cincinnati Wins the First Game by a Score of 10 to 6". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. May 5, 1887. p. 5. ... yesterday afternoon... The game was the opening one of the Clevelands at their new park...
  4. ^ "The Clevelands Win a Game and the Mets Win One Too". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. May 31, 1887. p. 5. Pretty fielding prevented the Blues from scoring until the third inning...
  5. ^ a b Fleitz, p. 7. "He then built a new ballpark, called American Association Park... on one of his streetcar lines."
  6. ^ a b c Lowry, pp. 69–70. "League Park (II): aka American Association Park 1887–1888, National League Park (II)... Dimensions – Foul poles: 410; Center field: 420"
  7. ^ "Improving Association Park". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. November 3, 1887. The work of improving association park is rapidly going on...
  8. ^ a b Schneider, p. 389. "It was renamed Spider Park when the team's nickname was changed to Spiders in 1889. That also was the year the team left the American Association..."
  9. ^ a b Knight, p. 53. "When the name of the club was changed to the 'Spiders' in 1889... the name of their home field was also changed, appropriately, to Spider Park. That year also marked Cleveland's return to the National League."
  10. ^ Lowry, p. 71. "League Park (III): aka National League Park (III)..."
  11. ^ Palmer, p. 1,785. "Cleveland... National League Park (II): 1887–1888 AA Blues; 1889–1899 NL Spiders... 410–?/420/?–410"
  12. ^ "1890 Cleveland Spiders Roster". Baseball Almanac. Baseball Almanac, Inc. 2022. Archived from the original on January 14, 2006. Retrieved January 8, 2022. They played their home games at National League Park II...
  13. ^ Krsolovic, p. 8. "It was also at this time that the team began to be known as the Spiders. ... Likewise, the field became known as Spider Park...
  14. ^ a b Enders, p. 166. "... located east of downtown on Payne Avenue, was noted for its excellent playing surface..."
  15. ^ Schneider, p. 389. "... the park's outfield fences were more than 400 feet from the plate."
  16. ^ "Cleveland Base Ball Park!: Metropolitans vs. Cleveland (advertisement)". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. May 29, 1887. p. 8. ... General Admission 25 Cents...
  17. ^ "The New Ball Grounds". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. February 27, 1887. p. 3. The pavillion will seat 2,000 people... The grand stand will seat 1,000 people... The open stand... will seat 1,500 people.
  18. ^ a b Schneider, p. 389. "In June 1890 a severe thunderstorm struck the park, causing considerable damage. The team played the rest of the season at Spider Park..."
  19. ^ a b Knight, p. 53. "A devastating thunderstorm in June 1890 caused considerable damage to Spider Park, and even though the team finished the season there..."
  20. ^ Enders, p. 166. "Spider Park... a bolt of lightning struck and burned it to the ground."
  21. ^ Odenkirk, p. 9. "... the stands of Payne Avenue were hit by lightning and burned to the ground."
  22. ^ "National League Park (II)". ProjectBallpark.org. Paul Healey. Archived from the original on January 4, 2004. Retrieved September 24, 2022. AKA: Spider Park... This park was more or less destroyed when lightning hit the grandstand, splintering it, and causing it to burn in June 1890.
  23. ^ Krsolovic, p. 8. "It has been said that the ballpark suffered irreparable damage following a fire from a lightning storm... but documentation from that time remains elusive.
  24. ^ "Rain Was Winner". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. June 6, 1890. p. 5. Yesterday's game between the Cleveland and Chicago clubs of the National League was postponed by the intervention of rain...
  25. ^ "Lightning's Work: Some of the Results of Yesterday's Violent Storm". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. June 6, 1890. p. 8. At the beginning of the third inning of the base ball game at Brotherhood park... lightning struck the flagstaff...
  26. ^ Krsolovic, p. 8. "... a game on June 5 with Chicago... was then abandoned because of a fierce storm. However, the only lightning strike reported that day took place at the Brotherhood Park game between the Infants and Buffalo. Neither team moved from their home field after that date..."
  27. ^ Peterjohn, Alvin K. "The First Year of "Cyclone" Young". SABR.org. SABR. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2022. His first pitching assignment was against the Chicago Colts... as part of a doubleheader on August 6. ... The Cleveland Plain Dealer headlined its story of the 8 to 1 victory 'Young's Great Work'.
Books
Tenants
Preceded by
first ballpark
 Home of the Cleveland Spiders
1887–1890 		Succeeded by

{{Cleveland Spiders}} {{Defunct MLB Ballparks}} {{Wooden baseball parks}}

Category:1887 establishments in Ohio Category:1890 disestablishments in Ohio Category:Baseball venues in Ohio Category:Cleveland Spiders Category:Defunct baseball venues in the United States Category:Defunct Major League Baseball venues Category:Demolished sports venues in Ohio Category:Sports venues in Cleveland

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