Tenants: St. Louis Browns (Baltimore Orioles), April 23, 1902 to September 27, 1953; St. Louis Cardinals, July 1, 1920 to May 8, 1966.
Opened: April 23, 1902
First night game: May 24, 1940
Last game: May 8, 1966
Demolished: 1966
Capacity: 8,000 (1902); 18,000 (1909); 34,000 (1926); 30,500 (1953).

Architect: n/a
Builder: n/a
Owner: St. Louis Browns (1902-1952); St. Louis Cardinals (1953-1966)
Cost: $500,000 (1925 refurbishment)

St. Louis Cardinals & Baltimore Orioles tickets:

• Viewpoint Tickets - Best prices on Cardinals tickets, Orioles tickets, MLB tickets and MLB All Star tickets.

Location: Left field (NE), Sullivan Avenue; third base (NW), North Spring Avenue; first base (SW), 3623 Dodier Street; right field (SE), 2911 North Grand Avenue, later North Grand Boulevard. Same location as earlier Sportsman's Parks, but turned around so that home plate was in the west-southwest corner.

Dimensions: Left field: 368 (1909), 340 (1921), 356 (1923), 355 (1926), 360 (1930), 351.1 (1931); left-center: 379; center field: 430 (1926), 450 (1930), 445 (1931), 420 (1938), 422 (1939); deepest corner just left of dead center: 426 (1938); deepest corner just right of dead center: 422 (1938); right-center: 354 (1942); right field: 335 (1909), 315 (1921), 320 (1926), 310 (1931), 332 (1938), 309.5 (1939); backstop: 75 (1942), 67 (1953).

Fences: Left to center: 11.5 (concrete); 354 mark in right-center to right: 11.5 (1909), 33 (11.5 concrete below 21.5 wire, July 5, 1929), 11.5 (1955), 36.67 (11.5 concrete below 25.17 wire, 1956).

Trivia:

• Renamed Busch Stadium in 1953, but still commonly referred to as Sportsman's Park.
• The local newspaper, the Globe-Democrat, had an ad on the right-center wall that showed the star of the previous game. Just to the right of this ad, the league standings for both leagues were listed.
• The Budweiser eagle would flap its wings after every Cardinal home run. It sat on top of the left-center scoreboard. During World War II there was a War Chest sign there.
• The Herbert Hoover Boys' Club, with a baseball diamond where the major league one used to be, now stands on the site of the stadium.
• Cardinals office was at 3623 Dodier; Browns office was at 2911 North Grand.
• There were pavilion seats in the power alley in right-center.
• A second deck, from first base to third, was added in 1909 and expanded to the foul poles in 1925.
• Bleachers were added to parts of the outfield in 1926.
• The flagpole stood in fair territory until it was removed in the 1950s.
• Bill Veeck's family lived in an apartment under the stands in the 1950s.
• When he bought the stadium from the Browns in 1953, Cardinals owner Gussie Busch almost named it Budweiser Stadium but was prevented by league pressure.
• A helicopter carried home plate to Busch Memorial Stadium after the last game at Sportsman's Park on May 8, 1966.
• Site of the 1940, 1948 and 1957 All-Star games.

Recommended Reading (bibliography):

• St. Louis' Big League Ballparks by Joan M. Thomas.
• Chris Von Der Ahe and the St. Louis Browns by J. Thomas Hetrick
• The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of St. Louis Cardinals and Browns by Peter Golenbock.
• 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).