Tenant: New York Highlanders (Yankees; AL)
Opened: April 30, 1903
First night game: Never
Last Yankees game: October 5, 1912
Demolished: 1914
Surface: Grass
Capacity: 16,000 plus standing room (up to an additional 15,000).

Architect: Bernstein & Bernstein
Owner: Greater New York Base Ball Club
Cost: $30,350.00

New York Yankees tickets:

• Viewpoint Tickets - Best prices on Yankees tickets, Baseball tickets and MLB All Star tickets.

Location: In the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, on the west side of Broadway. Left field (N), 168th Street; 3rd base (W), Fort Washington Avenue; 1st base (S), 165th Street; right field (E), Broadway.

Dimensions: Left field: 365 feet; center field: 542; right field: 400.

Fences: 15 to 20 feet high.

New York obtained its American League team belatedly when Frank Farrell and Bill Devery bought the Baltimore Orioles and moved them to Manhattan. The team was known as the Highlanders for the first few years at Hilltop. Then, of course, they became known as the Yankees. Hilltop Park, constructed in only six weeks, had a roofed single-decked grandstand that wrapped around home plate and extended a few feet past 1st base and 3rd base. Open bleachers, which were covered on 1911, extended down the foul lines to the outfield fences. In 1912, bleachers were erected in center field.

The Giants originally greeted their American League counterparts with animosity. However, a healthy rivalry developed as the years passed. The teams staged exhibition series and when the Polo Grounds burned down near the start of the 1911 season, the Giants shared Hilltop Park with the Yankees for over two months. The Giants returned the favor by letting the Yankees share the Polo Grounds beginning in 1912, an arrangement that lasted until Yankee Stadium was built in 1923.

Hilltop Park was torn down in 1914. The Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center has occupied the site since the 1920s.

Hilltop Park Trivia:

• The famous photograph of Ty Cobb sliding hard into 3rd base was taken here.

Recommended Reading (bibliography):

• Babe Ruth Slept Here: The Baseball Landmarks of New York City by Jim Reisler.
• Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Tour of Baseball Parks Past and Present by Josh Leventhal and Jessica Macmurray.
• The Ballpark Book: A Journey Through the Fields of Baseball Magic (Revised Edition) by Ron Smith and Kevin Belford.
• City Baseball Magic: Plain Talk and Uncommon Sense about Cities and Baseball Parks by Philip Bess.
• Diamonds: The Evolution of the Ballpark by Michael Gershman.
• Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of All 273 Major League and Negro League Ballparks by Philip J. Lowry.
• Lost Ballparks: A Celebration of Baseball's Legendary Fields by Lawrence S. Ritter.
• Roadside Baseball: A Guide to Baseball Shrines Across America by Chris Epting.
• The Story of America's Classic Ballparks (VHS).