Lloyd Street Grounds was a

baseball park 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 ...

located in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. It was used by two different professional baseball clubs during 1895–1903. The field was situated about one mile northwest of downtown Milwaukee in the eastern part of a block bounded by West North Avenue on the north, North 16th Street on the east, North 18th Street on the west and West Lloyd Street on the south. The field faced due north, so Lloyd Street ran directly behind home plate and the grandstand.

History

The first occupants of the Lloyd Street Grounds were the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

of the Western League, which opened the park in 1895 after leaving Athletic Park, the eventual Borchert Field. The Western League became 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 ...

in 1900, but was still officially a minor league. In 1901 the American League became a major league, retaining Milwaukee as one of its charter members. The first major league game played at Lloyd Street was on 3 May 1901 and the last on 12 September 1901. For 1902, the Brewers announced they were moving to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

to become the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

, where they remained until 1954, when the Browns moved to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

to become the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. A new Western League formed in 1902, with the

Milwaukee Creams The Milwaukee Creams were a minor league baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Between 1889 and 1913, the Creams played as members of the 1889 Western Association, Western League from 1902 to 1903 and 1913 Wisconsin-Illinois League. The We ...

as a charter member. This club played for two years in competition with the new

of the newly formed

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 ...

, which had re-opened the park eventually known as Borchert Field. The city wasn't large enough to support two clubs, and the Western entry folded after 1903. The Western League continued on until 1937, maintaining a close relationship with the American Association, trading franchises back and forth on occasion, and playing post-season series from time to time. But 1903 was the end of the Western's Milwaukee experiment, and of the Lloyd Street ballpark as a professional venue.

Major leagues

When 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 ...

contracted by four teams following the 1899 season, it opened the door for a second Major League.

Ban Johnson Byron Bancroft Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL). Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of the mino ...

, the President of the minor Western League, decided to step up his league to the top level, changing its name to the ''American League''. He placed teams in cities that the National League had shunned, and other teams were placed in already existing National League cities to create a rivalry. With all this moving around, only two cities survived from the Western League:

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, which would soon experience a boom as a result of the burgeoning

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...

; and Milwaukee, which was years away from being a major-league sized city. Almost from the start of the season plans were underway to relocate the Brewers; this resulted in the club finishing dead last with a 48-89 record. The Brewers moved to St. Louis the following season, and became the Browns. Milwaukee was a successful minor league city for years, before getting another Major League team in 1953, when the NL's

Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

moved from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. After the Braves left Milwaukee without a team again in 1966, the

were re-incarnated in 1970, when the

Pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

moved from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

after just one season.

References

* Michael Benson, ''Baseball Parks of North America'', McFarland, 1989.

External links

Lloyd Street Grounds

Article including a diagram of the ballpark
{{Wooden baseball parks Defunct Major League Baseball venues Sports venues in Milwaukee 1895 establishments in Wisconsin Event venues established in 1895 1903 disestablishments in Wisconsin

History

Major leagues

See also

References

External links