Sportsman's Park
sportsmans-park.jpg
Approximate size: 9.75" x 3" x .75"
Price: $20.00

History of Sportsman's Park:

Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri housed both the St. Louis Browns and the St. Louis Cardinals for 33 years. In 1953 Sportsman's Park was sold to August Busch Jr. and the following season the Browns moved to Baltimore. Sportsman's Park remained the home of the Cardinals for another 13 seasons. Although it is no longer standing, the rich and interesting history of the park keeps it in the hearts and memories of St. Louis sports fans.

Such notable homerun hitters as Stan "the man" Musial, Ken Williams, Ken Boyer, Jim Bottomley, and Rogers Hornsby called it home. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio also hit homeruns at Sportsman's Park. Located on Grand Ave., the reconstructed steel and concrete ballpark remained the home of the Cardinals until it was demolished in 1966.

In 1909 Sportsman Park featured a double-deck grandstand which was under roof and wrapped around home plate from first base to third base. It also had a single-deck grandstand extending down the left field line and single-deck bleachers in the outfield. In 1925 a renovation nearly doubled the capacity to 34,000 by extending the grandstand to both foul poles. The wood bleachers were replaced by concrete and the right field stands were roofed. The addition of the right field stand's roof created a pavilion that became the Park's signature feature. Sportsman's Park occupied one square block and because it was not surrounded by huge parking lots, it was an easy ballpark to get to making it a popular destination of baseball fans.

In 1953 it was purchased by Anheuser-Busch, renamed Busch Stadium and underwent minor renovations that reduced its capacity to 30,500.

In May 1966 the Cardinals played their final game at the stadium and the home plate was taken to the new Busch Memorial Stadium. Shortly afterwards Sportsman's Park was torn down. Although the stadium is gone, the site is still used for ballgames by the Herbert Hoover Boys Club.