Exposition Park (Pittsburgh)
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Exposition Park was the name given to three historic stadiums, located in what is today
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 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 ...
. The fields were used mainly for professional
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 ...
and
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
from c. 1879 to c. 1915. The ballparks were initially located on the north side of the
Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...
in
Allegheny City, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...
. The city was annexed into Pittsburgh (then often spelled "Pittsburg") in 1907, which became the city's North Side, located across from Pittsburgh's downtown area. Due to flooding from the nearby river, the three stadiums' exact locations varied somewhat. The final version of the ballpark was between the eventual sites of
Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Built ...
and
PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore (Pittsburgh), North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). It was opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, ...
. In 1903, the third incarnation of Exposition Park was the first
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 ...
ballpark to host a
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
game. The Western University of Pennsylvania (WUP)—known today as the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
—played home
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
games at Exposition Park, and also used the park as a home field for the university's baseball team.


History


Exposition Park I and II

Local newspapers referred to the general area along the Allegheny waterfront as "the Exposition grounds", named for other "expositions" that would be shown there, including
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
and
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
es. Exposition Park I was the first venue in Pittsburgh that hosted major league baseball. In 1882, the club now known as the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
—then known simply as Allegheny, or informally as "the Alleghenys"—began play at Exposition Park as a member 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 ...
; however, after one season a fire and flooding of the field from the nearby river forced a second park to be built. Despite its reason for construction, Exposition Park II was built closer to the river. The Alleghenys played at the second incarnation of the park for the first part of the 1883 season, but after the game of June 9, the club decided to return to Exposition Park I, starting with the game of June 12. The Allegheny club abandoned Expo II in 1884, moving to Recreation Park, which was several blocks north and out of the flood plain. The final usage of Expo II for baseball came in the last week of August, 1884, where the struggling
Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...
club dubbed the Pittsburgh Stogies finished out their schedule after moving from Chicago.


Exposition Park III

While the Pittsburgh Pirates were playing home games at Recreation Park, owners John Beemer and M. B. Lennon of the
Pittsburgh Burghers The Pittsburgh Burghers were a baseball team in the Players' League, a short-lived Major League that existed only for the 1890 season. The team included a number of players who had jumped from the National League's Pittsburgh Alleghenys (now the ...
constructed a baseball park near the former site of Exposition Park I and II, which was approximately two blocks west of where PNC Park sits today. Exposition Park III included a roofed wooden grandstand around the infield, and open bleacher sections extending to the right and left field corners. Total capacity was about 10,000 spectators. The seats faced the Allegheny River and the
Point Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...
. The Burghers played at the stadium during the 1890 Players' League season— both the team and league's only season in existence. On June 10, 1890,
Jocko Fields John Joseph "Jocko" Fields (October 20, 1864 – October 14, 1950) was a Major League Baseball player. He was born on October 20, 1864, in Cork, Ireland. Fields made his Major League debut on May 31, 1887. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, P ...
of the Pittsburgh Burghers hit the first home run at Exposition Park III. The Pittsburgh Pirates moved to Exposition Park the following season. On April 24, 1891,
Fred Carroll Frederick Herbert Carroll (July 2, 1864 – November 7, 1904) was a catcher and outfielder in Major League Baseball. From 1884 through 1891, he played with the Columbus Buckeyes (1884) and for the Pittsburgh teams Alleghenys (1885–89), Burghe ...
hit the first home run by a Pirate in the stadium. Under the management of
Fred Clarke Fred Clifford Clarke (October 3, 1872 – August 14, 1960) was an American Major League Baseball player from 1894 to and manager from 1897 to 1915. A Hall of Famer, Clarke played for and managed both the Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirat ...
the Pirates won the National League pennant in 1901, 1902, and 1903. After the 1903 season, Dreyfuss and
Boston Americans The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
owner
Henry Killilea Henry James Killilea (June 30, 1863January 23, 1929) was an American baseball team owner and attorney. He was one of the founders of baseball's American League. He also played college football and baseball at the University of Michigan. Early y ...
organized a best of nine-game series to match the two pennant winners against each other. The first World Series held three games in Boston before moving to Exposition Park with the Pirates leading the series 2–1. On October 6, 1903, 7,600 people attended the first
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
game in a National League stadium—the Pirates won by one run. The following day 12,000 people attended the game, forcing some spectators to stand behind a rope in the outfield. The Pirates lost three of four games at Exposition Park and eventually the Series. During a July 4, 1902 doubleheader against the
Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...
, an Allegheny flood caused water to rise to thigh level in center and right fields, and about head level in deep center. Players occasionally caught a ball and dove under the water. The Pirates won both games of the doubleheader.
Ham Hyatt Robert Hamilton Hyatt (November 1, 1884 – September 11, 1963) was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1909 to 1918 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Yankees. ...
is believed to be the only person to hit a ball over the right field fence. Monument Hill, which overlooked the field, allowed spectators a free view of the game In 1906, the Pirates were the first baseball team to cover their field with a tarp during inclement weather, and though the field was kept dry from the rain, the Allegheny River still caused problems. Flooding sometimes covered the entire outfield with inches of standing water, causing ground rules that gave any ground ball hit into the outfield an automatic single. In 1907, Pittsburgh's pitcher
Nick Maddox Nicholas Maddox (November 9, 1886 – November 27, 1954) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1907 through 1910. Maddox is one of the few pitcher ...
threw a
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
at Exposition Park. In 1908, owing to the large numbers of people that attended Pirates games, team owner Barney Dreyfuss began looking for a location to construct a new Pirates stadium. The final Pirates game at Exposition Park was played against the Chicago Cubs on June 29, 1909. The Pirates won the game 8–1 in front of 5,545 people, with George Gibson achieving the final National League hit in the ballpark. The very next day, the Pirates once again played the Cubs as the team opened
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 ...
. The
Pittsburgh Filipinos The Pittsburgh Filipinos were a minor league baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team began play in 1912 in the United States Baseball League. The team played all of its home games at Exposition Park, located on Pittsburgh's No ...
called Exposition Park their home in 1912. The Filipinos lasted just over a month after folding with the
United States Baseball League The United States Baseball League was a short-lived hopeful third major-league that was established in New York City in 1912 and lasted only one partial season. History In March 1912, organizers of the proposed league – described by members of ...
. In 1914, the Pittsburgh Stogies began play at Exposition Park. In 1915, the team, renamed the Pittsburgh Rebels, despite improving from the previous season, disbanded due to financial loss with the entire Federal League. Exposition Park continued to host
Semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...
baseball games, as well as other events, but "was eventually razed".


Dimensions

In an article on the soon-to-be-opened Forbes Field, the Pittsburgh ''Post'' for June 27, 1909, stated the Expo Park dimensions as follows: left field , center field , right field .


Football

The Western University of Pennsylvania (WUP), which would in 1908 be renamed the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
, played its first official game at Exposition Park on October 11, 1890, when Shadyside Academy failed to show up for their game with the
Allegheny Athletic Association The Allegheny Athletic Association was an athletic club that fielded the first ever professional American football player and later the first fully professional football team. The organization was founded in 1890 as a regional athletic club in A ...
. The Allegheny A.A. made a call to WUP team founder
Bert Smyers Bertrand Hunter Smyers (March 1872 – June 18, 1953) was an attorney and, along with fellow student John Scott, founder of the University of Pittsburgh's football program. Smyers is also considered to be the University's first quarterback. ...
to bring the WUP team to the park as a replacement. The WUP team was subsequently defeated 38–0. The WUP football team began playing games more regularly at Exposition Park around 1900, occasionally playing in other local venues. Prior to the 1903 season,
Arthur Mosse Arthur St. Leger "Texas" Mosse (March 29, 1872 – January 8, 1956) was an American football player and coach and the 9th head football coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers and the 13th head football coach for the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Whi ...
was recruited from the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
to become the team's new coach. In addition to players that Mosse brought with him, WUP also recruited players from
Geneva College Geneva College is a private Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional undergra ...
to play on the team. Mosse's first season was a disappointment as the WUP football team went 0–8–1 and supporters of the team disbanded leaving the team $500 in debt. George Hubbard Clapp then organized a voluntary $5 "athletic fee" to be paid by students in order to allow the debt to be repaid and the school's football team to play home games at Exposition Park during the next season in order to give the WUP team a more permanent and stable home. Mosse and university officials then obtained a lease to play at Exposition Park during the fall from Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss for 20% of the admission fee. The 1904 WUP team, the first full season in which WUP played at Exposition Park, saw WUP achieve a remarkable turnaround that included a 10–0 record in which they outscored opponents 407–5 and finished second in the state behind the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. Prior to home games at Exposition Park, WUP students would organize parades through downtown streets prior to marching across a bridge to the game. A gong, used to announce the beginning of Pirates games, was also sounded prior to the opening kickoff of WUP football contests.


Today

After parts of 62 seasons in the Oakland district, baseball and football returned to the north side of the Allegheny River when
Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Built ...
opened. The site of the final incarnation of Exposition Park, relative to Three Rivers and the later PNC Park, was in between the two venues. Exposition Park had been on the southwest corner of South Avenue (later Robinson) to the north (first base) and School Street (later Scotland) to the east (third base). To the south (left field) was some open space and railroad tracks and the Allegheny. To the west (right field) was some open space and then Grant Street (later Galveston). That open space would eventually be the site of Three Rivers. Therefore, the site of Exposition Park was the northeast corner of the parking lot east of Three Rivers. In 1995, members of the
Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...
marked and painted the location where
home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...
is believed to have been located, in honor of one of the two sites of the first World Series (the other being in Boston). At the time, the location of home plate was parking lot for Three Rivers. In 2018, the faded home plate paint was replaced by a metal plaque by the Society for American Baseball Research. In 1998, a Pennsylvania Historical marker was placed at the site of the park.
Interstate 279 Interstate 279 (I-279), locally referred to as Parkway North, is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that lies entirely within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Its southern end is at I-376 at the Fort Pitt Bridge in Pittsburgh, a ...
currently runs over portions of the site of Exposition Park just before crossing the
Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...
along the
Fort Duquesne Bridge The Fort Duquesne Bridge is a steel bowstring arch bridge that spans the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was colloquially referred to as "The Bridge to Nowhere". History The bridge was constructed from 1958-1963 by PennDOT, and ...
.


References


External links


Pittsburgh bird's-eye map showing the ballpark, near lower left corner, 1902


Bibliography

* {{Defunct MLB Ballparks Defunct Major League Baseball venues Pittsburgh Rebels Pittsburgh Pirates stadiums Pittsburgh Panthers football venues Defunct college football venues Sports venues completed in 1890 Pittsburgh Panthers baseball venues Defunct college baseball venues in the United States Sports venues in Pittsburgh Demolished sports venues in Pennsylvania Players' League venues Federal League venues Baseball venues in Pennsylvania United States Baseball League venues 1890 establishments in Pennsylvania