23rd Street Grounds, also known as State Street Grounds and 23rd Street Park, and sometimes spelled out as Twenty-third Street Grounds, was a

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, in what is now the

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

district. In this ballpark, the Chicago White Stockings played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

from

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

to 1877, the first two years in the National Association and the latter two in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. The 1871 Great Chicago Fire had put the original White Stockings club out of business, and its best players scattered to other National Association clubs. For 1872, the Chicago Base Ball Association was formed, with the intention of eventually fielding a new Chicago ball club, which it finally did in 1874. Until then, they staged some games figuring to get good attendance and some revenue. In early May, the organization built a new grounds "on 23rd Street near State Street", with the inaugural game coming on May 29, Baltimore defeating Cleveland 5–2. The land was owned by Charles Follansbee. 23rd Street hosted a total of eight National Association games during 1872–1873, along with other contests. The Cleveland and Troy clubs played two and four home games there, respectively, in

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

, when they were struggling economically (both eventually went out of business). The Boston Red Stockings played one in August of 1873 when they were flourishing. Their opponent was the Philadelphia club, and the two clubs played there again a few days later, swapping "home" and "visitor" roles.

Location

The grounds occupied a city block well south and east of the 1871 fire's origin on DeKoven Street. Several modern sources say it was bounded by 23rd Street, State Street, 22nd Street (now

Cermak Road Cermak Road, also known as 22nd Street, is a 19-mile, major east–west street on Chicago's near south and west sides and the city's western suburbs. In Chicago's street numbering system, Cermak is 2200 south, or twenty-two blocks south of the ...

) and what is now Federal Street. This location is inconsistent with contemporary city directories and newspapers. The directories say: *1872: 23rd southwest corner of Burnside n extension of Dearborn Street*1873: not listed *1874: west side of State Street between 23rd and 24th *1875, 1876, 1877: west side of Dearborn Street between 23rd and 24th Newspapers varied in naming the location as 23rd (usually spelled out as "Twenty-third") and State, 23rd "near" State or 23rd "west of" State. State was touted as the best thoroughfare to get to the park. The Chicago ''Inter Ocean'' for April 20, 1872, p. 6, gave a few details about the ballpark, and specifically stated its location was to be "between Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Streets, on Burnside Street, extending estto the track of the Michigan Southern Railroad." The Chicago ''Tribune'' for May 5, 1872, p. 2, reported in some detail on the ballpark's construction: *Bounded by 23rd north, Clark west, 24th south, Burnside east *Butterfield hich eventually became Federaldid not go through *Railroad tracks past the west line of fencing, close enough for fans sitting atop the cars to watch the game racks still exist; Clark does not go through*600 feet north to south, 400 feet east to west *Home plate about 125 feet from north line of fencing *100 yards along ight fieldfoul line to west end of fencing *Batter facing southeasterly *Open seating 200 feet on north end, another 200 feet on east side *Covered grandstand in northwest corner *Chicago Baseball Association clubhouse in southwest corner No contemporary illustration of the ballpark is known to survive.

Milestone games

The first game for the re-formed Chicago White Stockings came on May 13, 1874, with the locals defeating the Athletics (Philadelphia

The first home game for the Chicago White Stockings in the newly-formed National League came on May 10, 1876, with the locals defeating Cincinnat

The final game played at this park was on Saturday, October 6, 1877. Chicago defeated Louisville 4-0 behind a shutout effort from hurler

Laurie Reis Lawrence P. "Laurie" Reis (November 20, 1858 in Chicago, Illinois – January 24, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois) was a 19th-century pitcher in Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the old ...

. The final home run at the grounds was hit four days earlier by

Lip Pike Lipman Emanuel "Lip" Pike (May 25, 1845 – October 10, 1893) the "Iron Batter", was an American who was one of the stars of 19th-century baseball in the United States. His brother, Israel Pike, played briefly for the Hartford Dark Blues during ...

of Cincinnat

Finale

The ballpark was on a portion of what was called the Uhlich Tract, which was a 60-acre plot bounded by 22nd Street (north), State Street (east), 25th Street (south) and Wentworth Avenue (west). The ballpark's lot was available in part because there were various legal disputes over the ownership of the larger property. The only permanent building was the Uhlich House hotel on the southwest corner of 22nd and state. hicago ''Tribune'', April 26, 1874, p. 5 By 1875, the disputes had been resolved and the owners announced plans to develop the mostly-vacant area into residential properties. hicago ''Tribune'', December 12, 1875, p. 6Once the ball club's lease ran out, they went shopping for a new location, and secured a lease on the lakefront site which had been their home grounds for the ill-fated 1871 season.

References

*Jack Bales,
Ballparks,"WrigleyIvy.com
*Jack Bales
''Before They Were the Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team''.
Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2019. *''Green Cathedrals'', by Philip J. Lowry. *Retrosheet

Retrieved 2006-09-04. *Chicago Tribune, Oct. 3rd and 7th editions. {{Defunct MLB Ballparks Baseball venues in Chicago Chicago Cubs stadiums Defunct Major League Baseball venues Former buildings and structures in Chicago 1872 establishments in Illinois 1877 disestablishments in Illinois Sports venues completed in 1872