EBBETS FIELD (1913-1957) ************************ HOME OF THE: BROOKLYN DODGERS This home-made ball park has been created for use with Diamond Mind Baseball v8. The dimensions and image are to depict the stadium as it looked in 1924. LFL L LFG C RFG R RFL *** *** *** *** *** *** *** DISTANCE: 343 347 351 393 352 318 297 HEIGHT: 9 9 9 20 38 38 38 1924 PARK FACTORS ***************** LEFT HANDED BATTERS RIGHT HANDED BATTERS ******************* ******************** S D T HR S D T HR *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 100 100 100 76 100 98 100 76 SURFACE: Natural Grass FOUL TERRITORY: Normal Of all the ballparks that no longer exist, none have been romanticized more than Ebbets Field. Built in Flatbush, Ebbets Field took on a life of it's own. The right-field wall, backing onto Bedford Avenue, was 19 feet tall with a 19-foot-high screen above that. In Fenway Park, balls driven into the screen were home runs, but in Baker Bowl and Ebbets Field, balls hitting the screen remained in play. Here at Ebbets the right-field wall was concave to the playing field - that is, the bottom half of the wall slanted away from the field and then at mid-point it straightened and became vertical. The wall was, therefore, bent at the middle. The crooked wall baffled visiting outfielders who often chased every which way, in their attempts to track down a ball that caromed off the wall. Dodger right-fielders, Dixie Walker (in the 1940's) and Carl Furillo (in the 1950's) had the benefit of playing at Ebbets on a daily basis, and they became virtual wizards at playing the wall. Both Walker and Furillo racked up high assist totals, year after year, in gunning down unsuspecting runners at second base. Two historical milestones took place at Ebbets Field that changed the game of baseball and, to some extent, the world forever. The first milestone took place on August 26th, 1939, when Dodger radio broadcaster Red Barber was at the microphone in baseball's first ever televised game. The second milestone occurred on April 15th, 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Some other memorable moments at Ebbets Field, ... September 16th, 1924: St. Louis Cardinal first baseman Jim Bottomley hits a grand-slam home run, a two run homer, a double and 3 singles in six times at bat, driving in record 12 runs, as the Cardinals trounce the Brooklyn Dodgers, 17-3. September 21st, 1934: The Cardinals win a double-Dean double-shutout doubleheader over the Dodgers. Dizzy Dean pitches a 3 hitter, followed by brother Paul's no-hitter. After the game, Dizzy tells reporters, "I wish Paul had'a told me he was gonna throw a no-hitter. If I'd known that, I'da thrown one too." June 15th, 1938: On the occasion of the first night game at Ebbets Field, the Cincinnati Reds, Johnny Vander Meer pitches his second consecutive no-hitter, beating the Dodgers, 6-0. The above comments are from the book: "Lost Ballparks - A Celebration of Baseball's Legendary Fields," by Lawrence S. Ritter. ************************************* EBBETS FIELD IS FROM THE CREATORS OF: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Baseball's Analytical Search Engine +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tdmilne Ron Gudykunst - ronlg@aol.com Tom Milne - tdmilne@compuserve.com