By James G. Robinson
Despite a first-place finish in 1900 and a bona fide star in Zach Wheat,
Charles Ebbets' Brooklyn Dodgers fell to the National League cellar in the
first decade of the century. By 1911, Ebbets had decided that the best way
to drag his second-class team out of the cellar was to build them a
first-class facility, even though the only plot of land he could afford was in an
unsavory area of Flatbush known as Pigtown. This malodorous garbage
dump, surrounded by shantytowns, would become the future home of the
Brooklyn Dodgers.
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Players hauling the flag on Opening Day at Ebbets Field (The Library of Congress)
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Ebbets' quest for a new home had been
partially motivated by jealousy; the New
York Giants' brand-new, fireproof Polo
Grounds was set to open in 1912 after the
previous Polo Grounds burned down in
1911. Dwindling attendance at
cheap-but-small Washington Park also
provided justification for Ebbets to pursue
his dream: a magnificent, state-of-the-art
stadium that would finally bring his team
some respect -- and perhaps even help the
Dodgers catch up to their
far-more-successful rivals across the East
River. The vision was so grandiose that Ebbets soon found himself unable to
finance the park alone; he was eventually forced to make up the difference
by giving a half-share in the team to the two brothers contracted to build the
stadium.
Construction was finally completed in time for an exhibition game against
the Yankees in early April, although a host of fans were disappointed by the
news that someone forgot to bring the keys to the outfield bleachers. Even
worse, it was soon discovered that the architects inexplicably neglected to
include a press box -- and for some reason, an American flag was nowhere
to be found behind Ebbets Field's deep outfield fences. (The vast expanses
of the outfield peaked at 476 feet from home plate in center and 420 in left,
but the right field fence beckoned at 301 feet).
Everything except for the press box (incredibly, not constructed until 1929)
was fixed in time for Opening Day on April 9th. The centerpiece of the
stadium -- an impressive rotunda of Italian marble featuring a
baseball-themed chandelier and various mosaics -- became a logjam of
confused fans as 25,000 Brooklynites braved wet and chilly weather to see
Red Dooin's Phillies shut out Bill Dahlen's Dodgers, 1-0.
The Dodgers began to improve in 1914 (thanks more to new manager
Wilbert Robinson than to their new surroundings) and would win pennants in
1916 and 1920 before Ebbets died in 1925. He would not live to see the
team's first championship in 1955. Walter O'Malley moved the team to Los
Angeles three years later, leaving the empty stadium to be demolished in
1960 to make room for a block of apartment buildings.
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