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Beginning in 1883, the
Athletics leased the western half of the Jefferson Street lot, and erected a new diamond and grandstands at the northwest corner. Local newspapers then referred to the ballfield location as "26th and Jefferson", where there was an entrance gate. Also by this time, the venue was
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starting in the early 1830s and had adopted the "New York game" by 1860. When they began playing at the
Jefferson site, the diamond was situated at the southeast corner, at 25th (first base) and Master (third base). The Olympics built a clubhouse along Master. Jefferson was behind right field. Local
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bounded by
Jefferson Street (north); 25th Street (east); Master Street (south); and 27th Street (west). Across the street to the south was the Spring Garden Reservoir, which has since been filled in. Although often listed as one ballpark, the 1870s diamond was located in the opposite corner of the
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After an early
Athletics franchise was expelled from the National League following the 1876 season, the field fell into disuse. The City of Philadelphia cut 26th Street through the lot, allowing the eastern half of the large block to be developed. The western half remained vacant. A new American
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The ballpark site is currently occupied by various structures including Daniel Boone Public School, also known as
Camelot Academy, at 1435 N 26th St, and the Athletic Recreation Center and its ball fields. The field at the northwest corner of the lot approximates the location of the 1883–1890
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On March 1, 1890, the
Kensington Rovers and Philadelphia South End soccer clubs met at the ballpark in what the Philadelphia Inquirer called "the roughest and most exciting game of football (under English Association rules) that has ever been played in this city..."
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334:; the Bostons won, 6–5. By a quirk of fate, it was the only National League game played that day, all others being rained out. This game is often pointed to as the
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The facility opened to professional league baseball during 1871, as early as May 15. The club's first official
National Association home game was played on June 3.
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Prior to the 1889 season, a new band stand was erected on the left field side next to the grandstand large enough for a 25-piece military band.
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The
Athletics opened the new ballpark to the public on Saturday, April 7, 1883 for a preseason exhibition game against
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Baseball had first been played on the site in 1864. Several local clubs held their games there, including the historic
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One of the largest crowds at the ballpark was recorded on April 4, 1887 for the first game of
Philadelphia's 1887
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529:"MLB carries on strong, 200,000 games later: Look what they started on a ballfield in Philadelphia in 1876"
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which
Athletic won 12 to 0. It was reported that the new ballpark could accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 fans.
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The "Athletics" teams that played at the Jefferson Street Grounds do not have any direct lineage to the
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612:"Association Football Match: Philadelphia South End and Kensington Rovers Play an Exciting Match".
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when 9,183 tickets were sold and an "immense crowd" turned out to see the
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newspapers typically gave the ballfield location as "25th and Jefferson".
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game was played there, on Saturday, April 22, 1876, between Athletic and
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Association team, also called the Athletics, decided to move from their
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1887 birds-eye map showing Jefferson Street grounds and Recreation Park
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Athletic Base Ball Grounds, 27th and Master Streets, during 1883 season
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The last major league game played in the park was October 11, 1890.
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582:"The Phillies Win: The Athletics Beaten by a Score of Ten to Two".
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aseball is about to celebrate its 200,000th game — Saturday ....
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The grounds would be home to three different professional teams:
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Former baseball field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US (1864–90)
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Thomas Eakins painting probably set at Jefferson Street Grounds
628:"1890 Log For Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia, PA"
498:"1876 Log For Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia, PA"
471:"1871 Log For Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia, PA"
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601:. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. March 30, 1889. p. 6.
616:. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. March 2, 1890. p. 6.
586:. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 5, 1887. p. 2.
571:. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 9, 1883. p. 2.
597:"Ball and Bat Sports: Base Ball Season Opens To-Day".
567:"Base Ball: The Athletics' Opening Game with Yale".
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323:The seating capacity was meager, only 5,000 seats.
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299:from 1883 to 1890. This franchise competed in the
246:. Notably, it was the venue for the first game in
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274:Athletic Club of Philadelphia (also known as the
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418:The ball field still exists in a revised form.
363:being called Athletic Grounds or Athletic Park.
289:Philadelphia Base Ball Club (also known as the
262:, which had begun playing various varieties of
444:"Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia, PA"
278:) from 1871 to 1876. The team competed in the
704:Defunct baseball venues in the United States
662:SABR article on early Philadelphia ballparks
657:SABR article on Jefferson Street ballparks
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699:Defunct sports venues in Philadelphia
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402:that was an inaugural member of the
359:after their inaugural 1882 season.
312:The grounds were located on a large
242:teams, competing in three different
557:. Retrosheet. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
527:Noble, Marty (September 23, 2011).
250:history, played on April 22, 1876.
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555:Events of Saturday, April 22, 1876
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336:beginning of Major League Baseball
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406:in 1901, and exists today as the
260:Olympic Ball Club of Philadelphia
238:. It was home to three different
714:Event venues established in 1871
400:Philadelphia Athletics franchise
342:26th and Jefferson, 1883 to 1890
308:25th and Jefferson, 1864 to 1875
709:Sports venues completed in 1871
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291:Philadelphia White Stockings
190:Philadelphia White Stockings
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286:of Base Ball Clubs in 1876.
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230:. It was also known as
674:Photos of current site
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297:Philadelphia Athletics
276:Philadelphia Athletics
200:Philadelphia Athletics
180:Philadelphia Athletics
170:Philadelphia Athletics
614:Philadelphia Inquirer
599:Philadelphia Inquirer
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569:Philadelphia Inquirer
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240:professional baseball
301:American Association
280:National Association
135:American Association
414:Ballpark site today
123:1871 (professional)
75:39.9781°N 75.1762°W
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109:Construction
45:Pennsylvania
41:Philadelphia
29:Former names
381:defeat the
375:City Series
222:located in
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53:Coordinates
693:Categories
639:August 31,
633:Retrosheet
538:2011-09-30
509:August 31,
503:Retrosheet
482:August 31,
476:Retrosheet
455:August 31,
449:Retrosheet
426:References
66:75°10′34″W
63:39°58′41″N
422:diamond.
383:Athletics
264:town ball
145:Renovated
379:Phillies
186:) (1876)
92:Capacity
37:Location
533:MLB.com
254:History
244:leagues
161:Tenants
101:Surface
332:Boston
218:was a
153:Closed
114:Opened
314:block
96:5,000
641:2020
511:2020
484:2020
457:2020
234:and
148:1883
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204:NA
194:NA
184:NL
174:AA
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.