Exposition 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 located in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, USA. The ground was home to the

Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys: *Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a baseball team in the Union Association in 1884 *Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a baseball team in the National League in 18 ...

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 ...

for the 1888 and 1889 seasons. It was located at 15th & Montgall from 1888 to 1902 in the 18th and Vine-Downtown East, Kansas City neighborhood. It was on the grounds of the Kansas City exposition park which had opened in 1886 between 12th and 15th Street on Kansas Street—the center piece of which was an 80,000 square foot building modeled on

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...

until it was destroyed in 1901 in a fire that had occurred just a week after plans were announced to dismantle it. The exact location and orientation of the ballpark, per Sanborn maps, was East 15th Street (now Truman Avenue) (south, first base); the imaginary line of Montgall Avenue (west, third base) + Prospect Avenue (farther west); the imaginary line of East 14th Street + Exposition Driving Park (north, left field); buildings and Kansas Avenue (east, right field). The first football game between Kansas and Missouri was played here on October 31, 1891 (

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

beat

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

22-8 before a crowd of about 3,000). It was site of one of the first

night game A night game, also called a nighter, is a sporting event that takes place, completely or partially, after the local sunset. Depending on the sport, this can be done either with floodlights or with the usual low-light conditions. The term "night ...

s when the Kansas City Blues played the

Sioux City Cornhuskers The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota: /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples in North America. The modern Sioux consist of two major divisions based on language divisions: the Dakota and ...

on August 28, 1894 --- an event in which the players dressed in costume. The Cornhuskers were bought by

Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "The Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also ...

following the 1894 season and eventually became the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. The stadium was also home to other Kansas City teams: * Kansas City Maroons * Kansas City Blues (

minor league baseball)

External links

Sanborn map showing the ballpark portion of the Exposition grounds, 1909

References

Sports venues in Missouri Defunct baseball venues in the United States Sports venues in Kansas City, Missouri Defunct American football venues in the United States Defunct minor league baseball venues Defunct sports venues in Missouri {{Missouri-baseball-venue-stub