Municipal Stadium from the Chronology

Oct 4, 1972 - Ted Williams manages his final game as the Rangers lose to the Royals 4-0. Williams will be replaced by Whitey Herzog. It is the last game for the Royals manager Bob Lemon and the last game played at KC's Municipal Stadium.

Jun 4, 1968 - Ewing Kauffman signs a 4-year lease for the Royals to play in Kansas City's Municipal Stadium.

Aug 20, 1961 - At Cleveland's Municipal Stadium‚ both Mantle and Maris homer in the twinbill sweep. Mantle's first inning three run homer‚ and Maris's in the 3rd inning make it easy for Ralph Terry. In the nitecap‚ Bill Skowron hits his 21st in the 2nd inning and the Yanks win 5-2. In the 6th‚ after Bell allows a single and then hits Gardner and Maris‚ Mantle collects his 101st walk to force home a run.

Jun 16, 1961 - Kansas City bonus baby Lew Krausse‚ Jr.‚ who just graduated from high school‚ debuts with a 3-hit 4-0 shutout of the Angels before 25‚869 fans at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium. His father ended his brief ML career with the Philadelphia A's in 1932 with a shutout.

Jul 20, 1960 - At Municipal Stadium‚ with Cleveland in the lead 8-2‚ Mantle golfs a Gary Bell pitch over the auxiliary scoreboard into the distant upper deck in RF‚ matching Luke Easter as the only players to reach that spot. Cleveland holds on for an 8-6 win.

Jul 11, 1960 - One-hit shutout pitching by Bob Friend and HRs by Ernie Banks and Del Crandall pace the NL to a 5-4 win over the AL at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium in the first of 2 All-Star Games. Friend has notched 2 of the NL's last 3 All-Star wins.

Jun 17, 1960 - A 2-run HR off Wynn Hawkins at Cleveland Municipal Stadium makes Ted Williams the 4th player in ML history to hit 500 HRs. The Red Sox win 3-1 behind Frank Sullivan's 12 strikeouts.

Dec 10, 1958 - The University of Pittsburgh agrees to buy Forbes Field from the Pirates and lease it to them for 5 years‚ or until a new municipal stadium is built.

Nov 14, 1956 - The Pittsburgh Pirates say the franchise may have to move unless a new municipal stadium is built to replace Forbes Field.

Sep 16, 1956 - In Cleveland's Municipal Stadium‚ Mantle explodes an 8th inning shot‚ his 49th of the year‚ off the RF upper deck‚ matching a shot of Ted Williams earlier in the year‚ but Early Wynn hangs on for a 4-3 Indians' 2nd-game win. But the Yankees win the opener‚ 10-3‚ to clinch a tie and eliminate the Tribe from the AL race. Bob Lemon loses his bid for his 20th win.

Apr 28, 1955 - The Kansas City Athletics sign P Vic Raschi‚ who has just been released by the Cardinals. The Athletics purchase P Lou Sleater from the Yankees for cash. Neither pitcher is any help today as New York thrashes the A's‚ 11-4 at Municipal Stadium. Mantle hits a homer for the 5th run off losing pitcher Charlie Bishop.

Jun 15, 1952 - Before 69‚468 at Municipal Stadium‚ New York scores 6 runs in the 2nd inning off Bob Lemon enroute to an 8-2 win. Mantle's 3-run homer is the big blow in the inning.

Dec 31, 1949 - The 1940s is the only decade in ML baseball history in which no new stadiums are built. After Cleveland opened Municipal Stadium in 1932‚ no new ballpark will be opened until County Stadium in Milwaukee is unveiled in 1953.

Jul 10, 1947 - In a rain-interrupted game before 47‚871‚ Don Black of the Cleveland Indians pitches a no-hitter‚ beating the Philadelphia Athletics 3-0 in the first game of a doubleheader. It is the largest crowd ever to see a no-hitter and it is the first at Municipal Stadium. Black‚ waived from the A's in 1945‚ walks six‚ but retires the last 10 batters. Bob Feller wins the nitecap‚ 2-1‚ for his 11th victory.

May 1, 1947 - For the first time Cleveland will play all its games at Municipal Stadium‚ abandoning League Park‚ where most weekday games have been played. New owner Bill Veeck installs an inner fence to cut power alleys from 435 to 365 feet. A more celebrated attempt to fuel HRs is at Pittsburgh where the 30-foot reduction of the LF wall is dubbed Greenberg Gardens‚ for the Pirates' famous acquisition. Hank will hit only 25 HRs for the season‚ however‚ but sophomore Ralph Kiner will find the shortened distance more advantageous.

Sep 22, 1946 - At Municipal Stadium‚ Detroit tops Cleveland‚ 3-0‚ as Newhouser beats Feller for the first time. The battles between the two will result in Feller winning 8 of 10 decisions. Feller complains after the game that‚ except for Dick Wakefield‚ all the Tiger hitters were chopping at the ball to avoid striking out. He K's 7 to Newhouser's 9. The Tigers win the nitecap‚ 4-3.

Aug 13, 1946 - In Cleveland‚ more than 65‚000 are on hand at Municipal Stadium to see Bob Feller take on Detroit's Dizzy Trout. Feller pitches no hit ball for 6 innings‚ but a walk and two singles in the 8th scores a run for Detroit‚ and Cleveland loses‚ 1-0. Feller strikes out 7 to run his total to 262.

Oct 9, 1944 - In the Junior World Series in Baltimore‚ a record (for Municipal Stadium) crowd of 52‚833 watch Louisville edge Batlimore‚ 5-4‚ in game 4.

Jul 4, 1944 - Baltimore's Oriole Park‚ erected in 1914 for the Federal League‚ burns down. The team moves to the city's unroofed Municipal Stadium. It will be used this way until a second tier is added when the St. Louis Browns move in for the 1954 season.

Apr 15, 1941 - Bob Feller walks 7 White Sox batters‚ hits 2‚ and allows 5 hits as Chicago edges Cleveland‚ 4-3. One of Feller's walks forces in the winning run. A crowd of 46‚064 breaks the Municipal Stadium record for an opener.

Sep 24, 1940 - With all their September games now at Municipal Stadium‚ the Indians drop a 7-2 game to the lowly Browns. Red Sox and Tiger castoff Eldon Auker outpitches Mel Harder for his 15th win. With the Tigers rained out‚ the Indians are 1 1/2 back.

Sep 2, 1940 - With the decision to play all their September games at Municipal Stadium‚ the Indians promptly drop a Labor Day doubleheader to the 7th place St. Louis Browns. The Tribe loses 2-1 and 3-0 and now lead the Yankees by 3 1/2 games. Vern Kennedy wins the opener‚ collecting 3 hits.

Aug 2, 1936 - In Cleveland‚ the Indians play their first game in three years at Municipal Stadium and draw 65‚000 fans to watch the Yankees and the Tribe battle to a 16-inning 4-4 tie. Darkness ends the game at 7:15. Cleveland catcher Frank Pytlak will miss a month after being struck with in the jaw with a Pearson pitch in the 3rd inning. The pitch fractures his jaw. Gehrig is 3-for-6 before leaving in 14th inning for Jack Saltzgaver. Hal Trosky runs his hit streak to 28 games but will be stopped tomorrow by Schoolboy Rowe. The game is part of a promotion put on in conjunction with the nearby Great Lakes Exposition. Prior to the game there are a number of contests including one for pitching accuracy‚ won by 17-year-old Bob Feller.

Jul 8, 1935 - The AL continues its All-Star Game reign‚ winning the 3rd event‚ at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium‚ 4-1. Jimmie Foxx is the hitting star with a homer and 3 RBI. Lefty Gomez goes six innings for the win‚ while Bill Walker takes the loss.

Aug 17, 1933 - Earl Averill hits for the cycle‚ as the Indians beat the A's 15-4. Playing at home in Cleveland's new Municipal Stadium‚ Averill will hit just 11 homers this year‚ compared to 32 last season when the Tribe played at League Park.

Aug 1, 1932 - The Indians drop another 1-0 game to the A's at Municipal Stadium‚ as Rube Walberg beats Wes Ferrell.

Jul 31, 1932 - Cleveland plays its first game in new Municipal Stadium before a crowd of 80‚184 (paid attendance of 76‚979)‚ the largest crowd in baseball history. But Mel Harder loses to the A's Lefty Grove 1-0 on Cochrane's RBI single. Municipal Stadium will be the only new park built between the opening of Yankee Stadium in 1923 and Candlestick Park in 1960. From 1932 through 1946‚ the Tribe will play about 40% of their games at Municipal Stadium‚ with the other 60% at League Park.

Nov 6, 1928 - Voters in Cleveland approve a bond issue to build a giant municipal stadium near the lakefront to attract events for the 1932 Olympics.