Forepaugh Park was a

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 t ...

ground located in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, at Broad and Dauphin Streets in North Philadelphia. It had an estimated capacity of 5,000. The ground was home to the Philadelphia Quakers of the Players' League in 1890 and 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. The ballpark was owned by and named for

Adam Forepaugh Adam John Forepaugh (born Adam John Forbach; February 28, 1831 – January 22, 1890) was an American horse trader and circus owner. From 1865 through 1890 his circus operated under various names including Forepaugh's Circus, Forepaugh's Gigantic ...

and the grounds used for circuses and various types of exhibitions until 1894. In April 1886, Forepaugh and

P.T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

joined to present a circus at Forepaugh Park that featured 50 marching elephants, 1,000 horses, a Wild West show, and the skeleton of

Jumbo Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and t ...

the elephant who had died the previous year. 1894FOREPAUGH

Contemporary maps locate the ballpark on the block bounded by North Broad Street (west, third base); Dauphin Street (south, first base); North 13th Street (east, right field); and York Street (north, left field); and with the north-south streets Pembroke (now Watts) Street and Park Avenue penciled in to cut through the ballpark, which they were in 1894 after the block was sold to developers. The ballpark was accessible by six streetcar lines and two blocks from the Reading Railroad's Huntington Street Station. The Players League Athletics signed a lease in December 1889 to pay $5,000 rent for the 1890 season. Prior to the 1890 season, a new grandstand was erected for the 1890 Players League season. During the summer, a new cinder bicycle track was laid down which attracted amateur competitions. During the 1890 season, the ballpark was concurrently dubbed "Brotherhood Park", a common practice for the ballfields used by the Players' League clubs. The largest crowd was 17,812 on April 30, 1890 when the Athletics hosted the Boston Reds. Philadelphia's Players League club at Forepaugh Park outdrew the

Philadelphia Athletics at the Jefferson Street Grounds in 1890. The American Association Athletics had lost their best players to the Players League club which led to the club's financial ruin and expulsion from the American Association after the 1890 season. With the concurrent folding of the Players League, the American Association granted the Philadelphia franchise to Players League Athletics owner J. Earl Wagner. The

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

played their 1891 home games at Forepaugh Park. In October 1891,

Barnum and Bailey The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

erected their tents at the ballpark grounds. Their tents had seating for 16,000 and they presented the show, "Rome Under Nero." Forepark Park often featured soccer. The All Philadelphias faced the Cosmopolitans of New York on March 24, 1894 for the inter city championship. 2,000 fans saw the All Philadelphia win 4 to 0 including

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

ownership and manager Arthur Irwin who would organize the

American League of Professional Football American League of Professional Football was the first professional soccer league in the United States, existing for one season in 1894. It was also one of the earliest professional leagues in the world. It was created by the owners of the Natio ...

later that year. Philadelphia's

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in N ...

held its community games at Forepaugh Park on Memorial Day 1894. In the summer of 1894, the outdoor spectacle, "The Destruction of Herculaneum" was presented on a specially constructed stage with a grand ballet troupe, artificial lake, and pyrotechnics.

References

{{coord, 39.988, -75.156, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Defunct baseball venues in the United States Defunct sports venues in Philadelphia Players' League venues Baseball venues in Pennsylvania