Robison Field is the best-known of several names given to a former Major League Baseball park in St. Louis, Missouri . It was the home of the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League from April 27, 1893 until June 6, 1920 .
44-588: Today's Cardinals of the National League began in 1882, as the St. Louis Browns of the then-major American Association . They won four championships during the Association's ten-year existence of 1882 through 1891. During that decade, the team was playing their home games at Sportsman's Park , at the corner of Grand and Dodier. In 1892, four of the Association clubs were absorbed into the National League, and
88-402: A beer garden , a race track in the outfield, a "shoot-the-shoots" water flume ride, and an artificial lake (used for ice skating in winter). The side show notwithstanding, the club performed poorly on the field for most of the 1890s, consistently finishing at or near last place in the 12-team league as Von der Ahe sold off his best players in order to keep the club solvent. On April 16, 1898,
132-862: A baseball fan. In 1899, the Robison brothers purchased another National League team, the St. Louis Cardinals , and shifted their best players from Cleveland to St. Louis. The National League eliminated the Spiders after the 1899 season. Afterwards, Britton traveled with her father and uncle on their business trips to St. Louis to watch the Cardinals. Britton was educated at the Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio . She married Schuyler P. Britton, an attorney, on October 29, 1901. They had
176-443: A few more years. They finally sold the property to the developers of Beaumont High School , which was built on the site and was opened in 1926 . After their constant on-field struggles at the old park, the club had begun to improve after their move, and with some fresh cash, they were ready to taste success. 1926 would also be the year of the Cardinals' first modern league and World Series championship. Beaumont High School produced
220-448: A fire ignited by a dropped and still-burning cigar consumed the grandstands and other structures. A heroic overnight effort was made to construct some temporary seating, and the game scheduled for the 17th was played. Von der Ahe was able to secure financing to rebuild the permanent stands, albeit in a much more modest design than before. [1] But this was the last step in the decline of his once-proud franchise. In 1899 , Von der Ahe sold
264-500: A local syndicate for $ 250,000 in December 1916 (approximately $ 7 million in current dollar terms). In March 1917, James C. Jones, now a trustee for the Cardinals, put together a syndicate that began to raise money to buy the Cardinals. and paid Britton $ 25,000 (approximately $ 595,000 in current dollar terms) for a sixty-day option . They agreed on a price of $ 350,000 (approximately $ 8.32 million in current dollar terms) and
308-494: A new and lasting nickname. However, for 1899 they are known to historians as the "Perfectos". The Robisons had previously owned the Cleveland Spiders , and in fact still owned them as the 1899 season began (a situation that would not be allowed today). They stripped Cleveland of its best players, including Cy Young , and sent them to St. Louis. If this made the St. Louis club the "Perfectos", it also unfortunately made
352-608: A number of major league ballplayers. Its own life cycle ended in the spring of 2014, when it closed. American Association (19th century) The American Association of Base Ball Clubs ( AA ) was a professional baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from 1882 to 1891 . Together with the National League (NL), founded in 1876 , the AA participated in an early version of the World Series seven times versus
396-530: A road trip of three-plus weeks, they made their debut at the new park on July 1. [3] The park had been rebuilt, owned and occupied by the American League version of the Browns since 1902 . The "Old" Sportsman's Park would outlive the "New" by some four decades. Robison Field was the last remaining major league ballpark that was primarily wooden. The park site continued to be owned by the Cardinals for
440-467: A son, Frank DeHaas Britton, and a daughter, Marie R. Britton. Britton's father died in 1908, and her uncle died in March 1911. He left Britton three-fourths of his estate, while the other one-fourth went to Britton's mother. Britton became the owner of the Cardinals, making her the first woman to own a Major League Baseball team. Robison named Frederick N. Abercrombie, the treasurer of the Cardinals, as
484-495: The Western League , attempted to buy the Cardinals from Britton, but she resolved to keep the team. Britton attended National League meetings where other owners spent time trying to persuade her to sell the team because she was a woman. Britton renamed the team's ballpark from League Park to Robison Field in honor of her uncle in 1911, and initiated a Ladies' Day promotion for Mondays, allowing women free entry to
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#1732787995173528-587: The 20th Century. In late August, the Cardinals were in a close three-way race with the New York Giants and the Boston Braves (who eventually won the National League title). An overflow crowd filled the old park for a doubleheader against the Giants on August 26. The Cardinals won the first game 1-0. The crowd swarmed the field between games, and Giants' manager John McGraw strenuously complained to
572-510: The AA had no such restrictions, especially as several of its teams were backed by breweries and distilleries. The AA became known as "The Beer and Whiskey League", another pejorative term applied by NL owners, which did not seem to bother the fans of the Association's clubs. Beginning in 1884 and continuing through 1890, the champion of the AA met the champion of the NL in an early version of the World Series . These early Series were less organized than
616-539: The AA in the 1889 World Series , switched to the NL during the off-season, and then repeated the same feat. No player who spent the majority of his career in the AA is in the baseball Hall of Fame , although Bid McPhee of the Cincinnati Reds played eight of his eighteen seasons in the AA before the Reds moved to the National League. The living legacy of the old Association is the group of teams that came over to
660-532: The AA's home-field venues survived into the 1960s: The ballpark used by the 1891 Washington club evolved into Griffith Stadium ; the home of the St. Louis Browns, Sportsman's Park ; and the city block occupied by the Reds, which evolved into Crosley Field . Other than the clubs themselves, Crosley Field was the last physical remnant of the AA—it was the home field of the Cincinnati Reds until mid-season 1970 and
704-501: The Association folded. Sportsman's Park remained the home of the Browns during their first NL season. Although the Browns had been the most successful of the Association clubs, they fell on hard times for some years after the merger. For 1893, owner Chris von der Ahe moved his team a few blocks to the northwest and opened a "New" Sportsman's Park , on the southeast corner of Natural Bridge and Vandeventer. The move to this particular site
748-435: The Browns to Frank and Stanley Robison . By then the ballpark was no longer the "New" Sportsman's Park. During the Robison's tenure, the venue was simply called League Park . It would bear that name through the 1910 season. The Robison brothers sought to change the image and reverse the fortunes of their team. They dropped the old "Browns" identity, abandoning that team color and switching to Cardinal red. This would yield
792-551: The Cardinals in May 1912. Steininger resigned from the Cardinals in June and Britton appointed local attorney James C. Jones as team president. In February 1913, Schuyler P. Britton was elected team president and Helene Britton was elected vice president. However, Helene Britton continued to control the team through her husband. The debut of the St. Louis Terriers of the upstart Federal League in 1914 harmed attendance and revenues for
836-606: The Cardinals. As the leagues began to discuss a peace agreement in 1915, offers to purchase the Cardinals resumed. At the league meetings in January 1916, where the peace agreement between the major leagues and the Federal League was established, Harry Ford Sinclair offered Britton $ 200,000 for the team (approximately $ 5,600,000 in current dollar terms), but she declined. A local syndicate offered Britton $ 375,000 (approximately $ 10.5 million in current dollar terms) for
880-464: The Cleveland club the "Wanderers", as they became known when they were forced to play most of that season (their last) on the road. Despite loading up their roster, the previously cellar-dwelling St. Louis club was only able to improve to fifth place. Cleveland and three other clubs were contracted after the 1899 season. The Cardinals began the 1900 season with less competition, but sank back toward
924-529: The NL, the AA offered cheaper ticket prices, Sunday games and alcoholic beverages to its patrons. On November 8, 1881, at the Gibson House in Cincinnati, it was decided that individual teams in the league-to-be would operate their own affairs and set their own admission prices, under an agreement called the "guarantee system". The NL at that time prohibited the sale of alcohol on its grounds, while
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#1732787995173968-621: The NL. The consistently stronger NL was in better position to survive adverse conditions. Some owners of AA teams also owned a NL team. The most significant blow to the AA was dealt by the Players' League , a third major league formed in 1890, which siphoned off talent and gate receipts. In a rare historical oddity, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (now the Los Angeles Dodgers ) won the league's championship and represented
1012-616: The National League to stay. The Pirates moved to the NL after the 1886 season, the Bridegrooms/Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds after the 1889 season, and the Browns/Cardinals after the American Association folded following the 1891 season. Following the reorganization and contraction of the NL from 12 teams down to 8 in 1900, half of the eight surviving teams were former members of the AA. Several of
1056-419: The Robison family was no longer associated with the team, the park was often called simply Cardinal Field in its final years. Breadon attained majority ownership in 1920 and decided that the nearly three-decades-old wooden ballpark was no longer adequate. In mid-season 1920 the Cardinals abandoned this ballpark and moved back to Sportsman's Park . Their final game at the old park came on June 6, [2] and after
1100-530: The St. Louis Cardinals (joined the NL after the AA demise in 1891), have posted more than 10,000 all-time major-league victories. AA statistics are recognized by Major League Baseball (MLB), the AA being one of six leagues deemed "major" by the Special Baseball Records Committee of Major League Baseball in 1969. Helene Hathaway Britton Helene Hathaway Britton ( née Robison ; January 30, 1879 – January 8, 1950)
1144-402: The ballpark Robison Field as a memorial to her father (who had died in 1908) and her uncle. She held the club for the next few seasons, until selling her interest in the team in 1917 to a group that included Sam Breadon . The Cardinals never won a league championship at Robison Field, but they had some flirtations with success. In 1914, pennant fever gripped Robison Field for the first time in
1188-490: The cellar again. The only thing that kept the baseball situation in balance was that the new Browns of the American League (who moved from Milwaukee to St. Louis in 1902) generally fared equally poorly in the pennant races. The wooden ballpark continued to be plagued by fire. On May 4, 1901, a fire began under the main part of the stands, and as with the 1898 fire, the structure was consumed within half an hour. During
1232-513: The champion of the NL in an interleague championship playoff tournament. At the end of its run, several AA franchises joined the NL. After 1891, the NL existed alone, with each season's champions being awarded the Temple Cup (1894–1897). During its existence, the AA was often simply referred to as "the Association" in the media, in contrast to the NL, which was sometimes called "the League". It
1276-476: The executor of his will, but Abercrombie challenged the will in court as he wanted Robison's purported original will to stand instead. The will went into probate and Edward E. Steininger, the president of the Cardinals, was made administrator of the estate. Britton had supported Steininger over Abercrombie. Both Chicago businessman Charles Weeghman and James McGill, the president of the Denver Bears of
1320-519: The franchise until financial pressures led her to sell the team in 1917. Britton was born on January 30, 1879, in Cleveland , Ohio, to Frank DeHass Robison and Sarah Carver Hathaway. She was raised in Bratenahl, Ohio . Frank and his brother, Stanley Robison , owned a streetcar business in Cleveland as well as the Cleveland Spiders , a baseball team in the National League . Britton was raised as
1364-578: The modern version, with as few as three games played and as many as fifteen, and the contests of 1885 and 1890 ending in disputed ties. The NL won four of these Series, while the AA won only one, in 1886 when the St. Louis Browns (now the St. Louis Cardinals ) defeated the Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs ). Over its lifetime, the AA was weakened by several factors. One was the tendency of some of its teams to jump to
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1408-664: The park if accompanied by a man. The Cardinals had a strong season in 1911, and Britton signed player-manager Roger Bresnahan to a five-year contract worth $ 10,000 per season (approximately $ 327,000 in current dollar terms) with additional profit sharing in September. However, the 1912 season started off with Bresnahan moving the team's spring training location without consulting Britton. Britton and Bresnahan attacked each other publicly. Britton said under oath during her testimony that Bresnahan had offered her $ 500,000 (approximately $ 15.79 million in current dollar terms) to buy
1452-446: The park was typical for its era: a wooden structure, with a covered grandstand behind home plate and extending to first and third base; open bleachers extending to the left field corner; bleachers in parts of the outfield; and a covered pavilion from first base to the right field corner. Helene Britton , daughter of Frank Robison, inherited the Cardinals team and the ballpark from her uncle Stanley upon his death in 1911 . Helene renamed
1496-440: The rebuilding process, the Robison brothers arranged with the management of Athletic Park (as the "old" Sportsman's Park was being called by then) to play there until yet another wooden stand could be built. After playing there on the 5th, in a venue that local newspapers described as wholly inadequate for major league ball, they went on a month-long road trip, and returned to a newly rebuilt League Park on June 3. In its final form,
1540-665: The syndicate paid half to Britton in May. Branch Rickey took over as team president from Britton. The team was $ 175,000 in debt (approximately $ 4.16 million in current dollar terms) when Rickey took over. After selling the Cardinals, Britton moved to Boston , Massachusetts. She married Charles S. Bigsby, who sold electrical appliances, on August 19, 1918. Bigsby died in 1935. In her later life, Britton lived in New York City and Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania . Britton died in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, after
1584-572: The team and ballpark in February 1916, but Britton reportedly wanted $ 400,000 (approximately $ 11.2 million in current dollar terms). Britton separated from her husband in November 1916 and filed for divorce a few days later. Her husband resigned as team president and the board of directors elected Britton to succeed him in the role. In divorce court, Britton testified that her husband had "squandered her means to such an extent that her property
1628-415: The team's second baseman , as the Cardinals' new player-manager. Britton and Bresnahan settled their dispute for $ 20,000 (approximately $ 631,000 in current dollar terms). In April 1912, Britton and her mother sought an injunction against Steininger, who had been making decisions against Britton's wishes and not sharing all details of the business with her. Britton won the suit and acquired full control of
1672-503: The team, and accused him of not trying to win to hasten her selling the team. Bresnahan was upset with Britton when she vetoed a trade that he arranged that would have sent Miller Huggins to the Chicago Cubs . Britton fired Bresnahan after the 1912 season. Bresnahan then petitioned the National Baseball Commission for the remaining salary on his contract, which Britton refused to pay. Britton hired Huggins,
1716-452: The umpiring crew. The police cleared the field and the Giants went on to win the second game 4-0.[St. Louis Globe-Democrat , Aug. 27, 1914, p.6] Three days later, the Cardinals again drew an overflow crowd, this time for a doubleheader against the Braves, who swept the Cardinals and dealt a severe blow to the Cardinals' pennant hopes. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch , Aug. 30, 1914, sec.4 p.1] Once
1760-456: Was also sometimes called the "Beer and Whiskey League". The American Association (AA) distinguished itself in several ways from what it considered to be the puritanical National League (NL). The new league established teams in what the NL leaders pejoratively called "river cities", including Pittsburgh , Cincinnati , Louisville and St. Louis , with the inherent implication of lower morality or social standards in those cities. In contrast to
1804-426: Was an American baseball executive. She owned the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League , and was the first woman to own a Major League Baseball franchise. Britton was born and raised in Cleveland . Her father Frank and uncle Stanley Robison owned the Cardinals. After her uncle's death in 1911, Britton inherited the team from him. Despite receiving pressure to sell the team, Britton maintained ownership of
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1848-453: Was imperiled". The divorce was granted in February 1917, with the court awarding her custody of their two children. By December 1916, Britton was willing to sell the Cardinals, if a buyer met her desired price. The conditions at Robison Field deteriorated to the point that a member of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen sent an open letter to National League president John K. Tener to seek his intervention. Britton rejected an offer made by
1892-450: Was part of a "deal", as the property had been owned by a trolley company, who then ran a trolley line out near the ballpark. The diamond was in the northwest corner of the block. Prairie Avenue was the east (left field) border. Right field, the shorter of the outfields, was bordered by Lexington Avenue. The ballpark was generations ahead of its time in some ways. Along with the basic stands, Von der Ahe had built an adjoining amusement park ,
1936-614: Was razed in April 1972. During the AA's existence, several teams defected over to the NL, and at the AA's demise in 1891 four additional clubs joined the NL. From 1892 to 1899, when the NL consisted of 12 teams, 7 of them had been former AA clubs. Four former AA clubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates (defected to the NL in 1887), the Cincinnati Reds (defected to the NL in 1889), the Los Angeles Dodgers (defected in 1890) and
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