Shibe Park
- David Hegler
- 14 hours ago
- 7 min read
The sports world thrives on rivalries big and small. When National League Park first opened in Philadelphia, it was the envy of every other ballclub in America. The owner who was most envious happened to own the team across town: the Athletics. Seeing how his ballclub was faring in the standings and how quickly his old home was becoming obsolete, Ben Shibe sought to build a ballpark that was even better than the Phillie's new home. This is the story of Shibe Park.
The Conception
Since their birth in 1901, the Philadelphia A's had done quite well for themselves, winning the American League pennant in 1902 and 1905. With that success came problems as crowds converged upon Columbia Park, often swelling well beyond its 13,500 capacity. A's owner Ben Shibe recognized how his small, wooden ballpark on 30th and Oxford stood against the palatial National League Stadium and decided that his team needed a cathedral of their own. Besides, the Phillies hadn't won anything yet while the A's were contenders practically every year. He knew that between the two teams, his A's deserved their own palace more.
In 1907, Shibe learned that the Philadelphia Hospital for Contagious Diseases (also known as "the Smallpox Hospital") was going to close and jumped at the opportunity to cheaply buy six acres of land in that area. As a man with a clear vision of the future, he saw how its proximity to public transit would mean more money in his coffers.
While he and his manager, Connie Mack, decided on what they wanted their ballpark to look like, Shibe hired William Steele & Sons to lead the charge. He was grateful that he had hired the architectural firm responsible for the Witherspoon Building, the city's first skyscraper.
The Glory Years
Less than a year after ground was broken, Shibe Park opened for business on April 12, 1909. Fans swooned over the domed tower at 21st and Lehigh, the one that contained offices for Ben Shibe's sons as well as Connie Mack's own oval office sitting just below the peak. An ornate brick facade, massive arch windows and statues of both Shibe and Mack greeted the eager fans who flocked to the gate as a cavernous 515-foot center field awaited the first pitch.
As the throng of thousands pressed harder and harder against the barrier, the feeble gate could only do so much as a stamped of fans surged against it. As a result, several thousand ended up not paying a penny for their tickets as the crush of fans proved to be too much for the terrified ticket-takers.
In some ways, that was exactly what Ben Shibe wanted. While the original layout of the ballpark had metal seats filling the double deck grandstand which costs fans $0.50-$1, it also included an additional 13, 000 bleacher seats tat stretched along the foul lines which cost just $0.25. As the Evening Telegram stated, those "who live by the sweat of their brow should have as good a chance of seeing the game as the man who never rolled up his sleeves to earn a dollar".
Philadelphia mayor John E. Reyburn threw out the ceremonial first pitch in front of more than 30,000 and ace pitcher Eddie Plank got the 8-1 win over Boston to officially open up Shibe Park. the A's ended up finishing that year 95-58, good for second behind the Detroit Tigers.
The following year, the A's won 102 games, the A.L. pennant and beat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series, winning both home games to open the series before clinching their first world championship in five games in Chicago. The following year, the A's repeated as champions by clinching the World Series in a dominating 13-2 Game 6 win over the mighty New York Giants. Two years later, the A's again beat the Giants in the World Series after splitting their two games at Shibe Park before finishing off the N.L.'s preeminent powerhouse in five.
Simply put, very few sports teams have opened their new stadiums in such a dominating fashion. Seeing the throngs of fans at his gates, Ben Shibe decided to upgrade his still new ballpark, adding an unroofed bleacher section across left field and adding roofs to cover the pavilions that stretched down the first and third baselines.
But dark days were ahead. Facing competition from the Federal League, Connie Mack decided to sell off the best players from his first dynasty. In a flash, Eddie Collins, Home Run Baker and Herb Pennock were gone.
Ben Shibe felt their ghosts every game for the next seven years. After averaging 7,751 fans per game over the ballpark's first five years, Shibe Park averaged just 3,352 from 1915 through 1922, ranking in the bottom three in each of those eight years.
Tragically, Ben Shibe was killed in a car accident at the end of that stretch, ceding much of the stadium's operational control over to his sons. While many heirs have squandered their fortunes, Ben Shibe had raised his children well and they were determined to honor their father's legacy. Shortly after his death, Jack and Tom Shibe replaced the open left field bleachers with a double deck roof terrace, installed a 750 seat mezzanine area, raised the original grandstand roof, installed a press box and 3,500 seats beneath. By the time all of their improvements had completed, their father's namesake looked nothing like it had on Opening Day 1909.
Emboldened by their improvements, Connie Mack got to work on his baseball club, adding talented players such as Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Mickey Cochrane and Al Simmons to lead the charge into the legendary manager's second dynasty.
The A's finished 1929 18 games ahead of the Yankees and clinched their first World Series triumph in 16 years with a thrilling win over the Cubs in Game 5. With the game tied 2-2, Bing Miller hit a double to deep center field, driving in Al Simmons for the clinching run in front of a lively crowd at Shibe Park, ending the season in dramatic fashion. Just days later, the Great Depression officially kicked off.
But despite the dwindling stock market, the A's continued to thrive in both the standings and the box office. As they repeated as champions in 1930 and lost the 1931 Fall Classic, both to the Cardinals, the A's averaged 9,734 fans per game during that glorious three-year stretch.
But once again, de-ja-vu struck again. Facing dwindling attendance number in the heart of the Depression, Connie Mack again sold off his dynasty. Thus, the last last vestige of greatness that the A's would shine upon the City of Brotherly Love.
The End of an Era
Since Shibe Park first opened in 1909, homeowners across 20th street had often taken advantage of having a clear view of the field by building bleacher seats on their roofs and selling tickets. While the A's tolerated this for decades, it often hurt their bottom line as their neighbors would often pilfer would-be attendees in the ticket line. It has been estimated that 3,000 watched the 1929 World Series from that view.
In 1935, with the A's last dynasty behind them and the Great Depression still affecting them at the box office, the A's built a 22 foot high extension wall on top of the original outfield wall in an effort to keep homeowners from watching their games for free while making a profit on their own. With the extension, the outfield wall now reached 50 feet, infuriating the neighbors who could only gripe and protest.
In 1939, Connie Mack again infuriated his neighbors by installing lights in lieu of his A's first night game on May 16. The A's lost to the Indians 8-3 that night. After hosting the A.L's first night game, Shibe Park hosted the All Star Game in 1943 and 1952.
Shibe Park also became a popular site for the Negro Leagues. In 1945, it served as a neutral site for the Negro League World Series which the Cleveland Buckeyes won 5-0 over the Homestead Grays
Having moved into Shibe Park in 1940, the NFL's Eagles enjoyed enormous success late in that decade, winning back to back titles to close out the 1940's. In 1948, Shibe Park hosted one of the snowiest title games in NFL history as the Eagles beat the Cardinals 7-0 on the elusive legs of legendary running back Steve Van Buren who scored the game's only touchdown on a five-yard trot into the endzone to clinch it in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile the Phillies were making themselves comfortable in Shibe Park's expansive surroundings, having moved there in 1938. They even made it to the World Series in 1950 after beating the Dodgers on the last day of the regular season, but their magical run would end in a four game sweep at the hands of the Yankees.
After Connie Mack retired that year, his children took charge of the stadium's operations and in an effort to revitalize the A's, renamed the stadium in his honor three years later. It was too little too late. In 1955, the A's were sold to Arnold Johnson and moved to Kansas City. Their last game in Connie Mack Stadium was a 4-2 loss to the Yankees on September 19, 1954.
Phillies owner Bob Carpenter bought the stadium shortly thereafter for $1.675 million and immediately began making changes. Soon, large billboards covered the massive outfield wall with brands such as Plachter Cadillac, Alpo dog food and Coca-Cola. A new fence covered the awkward square corner in center field, shorting the distance to just 447 feet. In 1956, a 50 foot high outfield scoreboard similar to the one used in Yankee Stadium was installed and topped off with a Ballantine ad and Longlines clock.
Even though they never had a squad nearly as talented as any of Connie Macks, the Phillies actually outdrew the A's at Connie Mack Stadium. While the A's best attendance in 1948 was 945,076, the Phillies enjoyed their best year in the box office in 1964 with 1,425,891 fans as the game continued to grow in popularity.
By 1970, the Phillies moved out of Connie Mack Stadium and into Veterans Stadium downtown. The stadium sat vacant for several years until two brothers snuck in in the summer of 1976 and started a fire. Seeing the possibility of even more damage and possible injury, a judge ordered that the abandoned stadium be demolished. Today, Deliverance Evangelistic Church sits where Shibe Stadium once stood.
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