"The Wigwam" "The Bee Hive" (1936–1941) | |
Former names | National League Park (1936–1941) Boston University Field (1953–1955) |
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Location | Commonwealth Avenue and Babcock Street Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Coordinates | 42°21′12″N 71°7′9″W / 42.35333°N 71.11917°W |
Owner | James E. Gaffney (1915–1932) Estate of James E. Gaffney (1932–1949) Boston Braves (1949–1953) Boston University (1953–1955) |
Operator | Boston Braves/Bees |
Capacity | 40,000 |
Field size | Final Left field – 337 ft (103 m) Left-center – 355 ft (108 m) Center field – 390 ft (119 m) Right-center – 355 ft (108 m) Right field – 319 ft (97 m) |
Surface | Natural grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | March 20, 1915 |
Opened | August 18, 1915 109 years ago |
Renovated | 1944, 1955 |
Closed | September 21, 1952 |
Demolished | 1955 (reconfigured into Nickerson Field) |
Construction cost | $600,000 |
Architect | Osborn Engineering |
Tenants | |
Baseball Boston Braves (MLB) (1915–1952) Football Boston Bulldogs (AFL) (1926) Boston Bulldogs (NFL) (1929) Boston Braves (NFL) (1932) Boston Shamrocks (AFL) (1936–1937) Boston Yanks (NFL) (1946) |
Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the Braves' move to Milwaukee in 1953. The stadium hosted the 1936 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and Braves home games during the 1948 World Series. The Boston Red Sox used Braves Field for their home games in the 1915 and 1916 World Series since the stadium had a larger seating capacity than Fenway Park. Braves Field was the site of Babe Ruth's final season, playing for the Braves in 1935.[1][2] From 1929 to 1932, the Boston Red Sox played select regular season games periodically at Braves Field.[3] On May 1, 1920, Braves Field hosted the longest major league baseball game in history: 26 innings, which eventually ended in a 1–1 tie.[4]
Braves Field was also home to multiple professional football teams between 1929 and 1948, including the first home of the National Football League (NFL) franchise that became the Washington Commanders. The pro football Braves played at the ballpark in their inaugural season of 1932, then were at Fenway Park for four seasons as the Boston Redskins before the move south in 1937 to Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. After the stadium was purchased, Boston University leased it to the new American Football League's Boston Patriots for the 1960–1962 seasons, before, like the Redskins, the team relocated to Fenway Park.
Located on Commonwealth Avenue at Babcock Street, the baseball field was aligned northeast, much as Fenway Park has been since it opened in April 1912. Most of the stadium was demolished in 1955, but significant portions of the original structure still stand and make up part of the Nickerson Field sports complex on the campus of Boston University.