Haight Street Grounds

Haight Street Grounds was one of San Francisco's earliest baseball parks; it was also used for college football. It opened in 1887 and was demolished in 1895.

Haight Street Grounds

Location	near Golden Gate Park San Francisco, California
Coordinates	37°46′3.17″N 122°27′5.46″W
Record attendance	22,000 (Nov. 25, 1889)[1]
Surface	Natural grass
Construction
Opened	March/April 1887
Closed	March 1895
Demolished	1895 (130 years ago)
Tenants
California League (professional baseball) Big Game (college football)

History

Haight Street Grounds was built for use by the California League and was located on the east side of Golden Gate Park, bounded by Stanyan, Waller, Shrader, and Frederick streets,^[2] across Stanyan from the eventual Kezar Stadium complex. The opening game on April 3, 1887,^[a] between the Haverlys and the Pioneers, was attended by 10,000 fans.^[3] In 1893, the California League folded, and, in March 1895, plans were announced to use the ballpark land for residential development.^[1][4] The final baseball game at the grounds was played on March 10, 1895.^[5]

While built for baseball, Haight Street Grounds is noteworthy for being the birthplace of the Big Game, a now annual college football game between Stanford and California. It was the site of the first four Big Games, which were played on March 19, 1892; December 17, 1892; November 28, 1893; and November 29, 1894.^[6]

Notes

1. A newspaper article in 1895 stated an opening date of March 24, 1887.^[1]

External links

• Most of the ballpark, on a Sanborn map, 1889