League Park is the site of many events in baseball history. There was Babe Ruth’s 500th career home run, the final game of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Cleveland’s first game as an American League team, Adie Joss’ 1908 perfect game, and the first “All-Star” game, just to name a few.
League Park opened as a wooden structure in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood in 1891. The location was chosen due to its proximity to a streetcar line owned by Cleveland Spiders owner, Frank Robinson. In 1899, Robinson sent all of the Spiders’ best players, including future Hall of Famer Cy Young, to another team that he purchased in St. Louis. This meant the Cleveland Spiders finished that season with a 20-134 record, which is still the record for the worst season in baseball history. The first 16 games of the 1899 season saw an average attendance of 199 people in the 9,000 seat ballpark and visiting teams refused to come to League Park due to low ticket sales. The Spiders played 85 of their next 93 games on the road and were removed from the National League after the 1899 season.
In 1901, the Cleveland Blues were charter members of the American League and called League Park home. By 1920, the team, then named the Cleveland Indians, were American League Champions and faced the Brooklyn Robins for the World Series title. Game 5 of that series, at League Park, saw the first World Series grand slam and the only unassisted triple play in World Series history.
Prior to the 1910 season, the wooden structure was rebuilt with steel and concrete grandstands which expanded the capacity to over 21,000. The design work was done by a Cleveland firm called Osborn Architects and Engineers, architects who would go on to design many classic ballparks including Comiskey Park, the Polo Grounds, Tiger Stadium, and Fenway Park.
Starting in 1932, the Indians bounced between League Park and the much larger Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Cleveland Indians played their last game at League Park in 1946. It was the last stadium in major league baseball to never install permanent lighting.
Babe Ruth’s 500th home run which was hit at League Park on August 11, 1929. At the time, he was the only player tohave ever hit 500 home runs. A man waiting for the bus outside of League Park retrieved the ball and gave it back to Ruth in exchange for a signed ball and $20.
On July 16, 1941, Joe DiMaggio got three hits again the Cleveland Indians, giving him at least one hit in 56 straight games. It would also be the last game of his streak. The following night, he would go 0 for 3.
In 1945, the Cleveland Buckeyes defeated the Washington Homestead Grays at League Park to win the Negro League World Series. Game two at League Park saw 15,000 fans. They saw future Hall of Famers Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell compete in a loss for their Homestead Grays.
The Cleveland Indians owned League Park until 1950. At that time, it was sold to the City of Cleveland for $150,000. It was no longer used as a professional sports venue after the Negro League Cleveland Buckeyes disbanded. By 1951, most of the structure of the stadium had been demolished to avoid competition with Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Cleveland Browns used the field as a practice facility from 1952 until 1965, even though most of the remaining seats were torn out in 1961.
The site is currently a city park where little league and youth teams can play. The only remnants of the old stadium are a section of brick façade on the first base line and the old ticket booth. A restoration was completed in 2012 and the ticket house now houses the Baseball Heritage Museum.