Boundary Field, also known as American League Park II and National Park, is a former

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 ...

ground in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

located on the site currently occupied by

Howard University Hospital Howard University Hospital, previously known as Freedmen's Hospital, is a major hospital located in Washington, D.C., built on the site of the previous Griffith Stadium. The hospital has served the African-American community in the area for over ...

; bounded approximately by

Georgia Avenue Georgia Avenue is a major north-south artery in Northwest Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland. Within the District of Columbia and a short distance in Silver Spring, Maryland, Georgia Avenue is also U.S. Route 29. Both Howard Univers ...

, 5th Street, W Street and

Florida Avenue Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was originally named Boundary Street, because it formed the northern boundary of the Federal City under the 1791 L'Enfant Plan. With the growth of the city beyond its original borders, Bounda ...

, NW. It was just outside what was then the city limit of Washington, whose northern boundary was Boundary Street which was renamed Florida Avenue in 1890.

History

The First Team

The ground was home to the Washington Senators of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

in 1891 and then of 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 ...

from 1892 to 1899 after the League absorbed the Association. The National League contracted after the 1899 season and the Senators folded. From 1891 to 1893, the field was also the venue for home games of the Georgetown football program.

The Second Team

The field was also the home of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

's Washington Senators (also known as the Nationals) from 1904 through 1910. When the

declared itself a major league in 1901 and began raiding National League rosters for talent, the NL decided to retain its lease on the Boundary Field property. This forced the American League's new reincarnation of the Senators to find an alternative home field, and they settled upon a field in Northeast DC with the prosaic name

American League Park American League Park, known by historians as American League Park I, was a baseball park that formerly stood in the Trinidad_(Washington,_D.C.), Trinidad neighborhood of Washington, D.C., at the corner of Florida Avenue and Trinidad Avenue NE on l ...

. After peace was made between the two leagues in 1903, the Senators moved to the old Boundary Field location, which was subsequently also referred to as American League Park. (Today, the terms "American League Park I" and "American League Park II" are used to make the distinction). When the Senators were rebranded as the Nationals, the park was also referred to as National Park. The Senators/Nationals played there through the 1910 season. In 1909, the annual

Congressional Baseball Game The Congressional Baseball Game for Charity is an annual baseball game played each summer by members of the United States Congress. The game began as a casual event among colleagues in 1909 and eventually evolved into one of Washington, D.C.'s m ...

was begun, and was held at this venue and its successor for the next several decades. On April 14, 1910, one of baseball's great traditions was born at National Park when President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

threw out the

ceremonial first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from their seat in the grandstand to ...

. The game involved the Washington Senators against the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

which the Senators won 3–0. The Senators' Manager,

Jimmy McAleer James Robert "Loafer" McAleer (July 10, 1864April 29, 1931) was an American center fielder, manager, and stockholder in Major League Baseball who assisted in establishing the American League. He spent most of his 13-season playing career with t ...

came up with the idea and catcher

Gabby Street Charles Evard "Gabby" Street (September 30, 1882 – February 6, 1951), also nicknamed "The Old Sarge", was an American catcher, manager, coach, and radio broadcaster in Major League Baseball during the first half of the 20th century. As a catch ...

was selected to catch the ball instead of star pitcher

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

after he declined the offer. however, at the last minute, President Taft threw it to Walter Johnson. American League Park Washington 1905

The Fire

The wooden stands were destroyed by fire on March 17, 1911. Around 11:30 in the morning, the fire started and spread rapidly due to a southwestern wind, threatening to destroy the nearby lumber yard owned by the Eisinger Brothers on 7th and W Street NW. It was detected when a bicycle police officer, T. F. Sweeney of the 8th precinct, James P. O'Dea, superintendent of the park and another man noticed a small curl of smoke coming from under the bleachers as they were standing at the main entrance. The police officer ran to the police telephone box located at 7th Street and Florida Ave NW. No. 7 Engine Company responded to the call while the superintendent attempted to put out the fire by hand, burning himself to the wrist. Upon arrival, it was determined that the fire was beyond the control of a single engine and reinforcement was called from another local police box.''Grandstand and Bleachers Go In Mysterious Fire'' - The Washington Times - March 17, 1911 - Front Page The Fire Deputy Chief, G. J. Sullivan arrived at the scene in the chief's automobile. The nearby lumber yard had suffered significant damage in two previous fires, with the latest only four years prior and damaging the clubhouse and grandstand. Based on those facts and the height of the flames in the air, a general alarm was called. Two lines of hoses were laid through the main entrance but the fire spread in the opposite direction, sweeping around the north side of the grandstand. It reached the outfield bleachers and soon after, the old storehouses in the Freedman's Hospital and used by the lumber yard, causing $25,000 worth of damage. The Fire Department focused on saving the open bleachers on the south field and the main portion of the lumber yard by keeping the piles of lumber wet. The Fire Chief, Frank J. Wagner, was on a business trip to New York City. He was on his way back to Washington, DC as the fire started. His train happened to pass in through the Eckington Yards only a few blocks from the fire and he could see the smoke and flames. He got in a car at

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

to arrive in time to take charge after his deputy had announced the fire was under control. The fire had attracted large crowds causing 7th, U and 9th Streets NW to be shut down to traffic. The reserves of almost every police precinct needed to be called in to contain the crowds.

Aftermath

The baseball field suffered $18,000 worth of damage in the half hour fire. The clubhouse in the northeast corner and a portion of the open bleachers in left-field were saved. A meeting of the directors of the club was held that afternoon to discuss the future of the field. The option to start the season on the old Union League grounds or have Boston or New York host the opening series of the games at their parks were considered. Plans for an extension of the park had been started over a year before the fire. A site located at Florida Avenue and 7th Street NW had been purchased to build a structure similar to Shibe Park in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of t ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. However, it had been decided to postpone this project to the end of the season. The structure was rebuilt in steel and concrete as the ballpark that later was known as

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...

. Exactly four weeks after the Washington fire, New York's

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

would also be destroyed by fire and rebuilt with steel and concrete, further accelerating the end of the era of wooden major league ballparks.

References

{{Defunct MLB Ballparks American football venues in Washington, D.C. Baseball venues in Washington, D.C. Defunct college football venues Defunct Major League Baseball venues Defunct sports venues in Washington, D.C. Demolished buildings and structures in Washington, D.C. Demolished sports venues in the United States George Washington Colonials football Georgetown Hoyas football 1911 fires in the United States Washington Senators (1891–1899) Washington Senators (1901–1960) stadiums 1911 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Sports venues demolished in 1911