Delormier Stadium
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Delorimier Stadium (; also known as ''Montreal Stadium'', ''Hector Racine Stadium'' and ''Delorimier Downs'') was a 20,000-seat
sports stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec, Canada. It was located at 2101 Ontario Street East, at the corner of De Lorimier Avenue in the present-day Montreal borough of Ville-Marie. The stadium was home to the
Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...
of the
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
, as the top farm club of the
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
from 1928 to 1960. The stadium was additionally home to the
Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL) from 1946 to 1953. The former site of the stadium is now occupied by École des Métiers des Faubourgs-de-Montréal, a trade school.


History

Delorimier Downs, as it was originally called, was built by former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
manager
George Stallings George Tweedy Stallings (November 17, 1867 – May 13, 1929) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and Philadelphia Phillies in 1890 and 1897 to 1898 and manage ...
, Montreal lawyer and politician
Athanase David Louis-Athanase David (June 24, 1882 – January 26, 1953) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and businessman. He was a cabinet minister in the Provincial Parliament of Quebec, representing the riding of Terrebonne and serving as Provincial Secret ...
, and Montreal businessman
Ernest Savard J. S. Ernest Savard (April 17, 1896 – March 12, 1971) was a Canadian businessman. He was a stockbroker and a partner at the brokerage firm of Savard & Hart in Montreal, Quebec. He was also an owner of the Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Royals s ...
. Among the stadium's other local affluent financiers were close friends Lucien Beauregard, Romeo Gauvreau, Hector H. Racine, and Charles E. Trudeau. The stadium opened in May 1928 following a parade and a large inauguration ceremony. Royals' general manager
Frank Shaughnessy Francis Joseph "Shag" Shaughnessy (April 8, 1883 – May 15, 1969) was an American athlete and sports executive. Shaughnessy played both baseball and football and was an executive in baseball, football and ice hockey. He was born in the United S ...
had a lighting system installed in the stadium for the 1933 season. The stadium saw the launching of the baseball career of
Gene Mauch Gene William Mauch (November 18, 1925 – August 8, 2005) was an American professional baseball player and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers (, ), Pittsburgh Pirates (), Chicago Cubs ...
, who later came back to manage the
Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
, plus future
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
members
Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third t ...
,
Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...
and
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
, the latter debuting in professional baseball with the Montreal Royals in 1946, and who went on to break baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Other Royals' players of note include player-turned-actor
Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...
and Hall of Fame members
Duke Snider Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Silver Fox" and "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (M ...
,
Don Drysdale Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball, D ...
,
Walter Alston Walter Emmons Alston (December 1, 1911 – October 1, 1984), nicknamed "Smokey", was an American baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball He is best known for managing the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 through 1976, and sig ...
,
Roy Campanella Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993), nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering the minor lea ...
and
Tommy Lasorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Nati ...
. The Montreal Alouettes were founded in 1946 and played there to capacity crowds until 1953 when the team moved to larger facilities. It is where
Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...
quarterback
Sam Etcheverry Samuel "The Rifle" Etcheverry (May 20, 1930 – August 29, 2009) was a professional American football, American and Canadian football player and head coach. Etcheverry played the quarterback position, most famously with the Montreal Alouettes of ...
made his CFL debut. In 1951, several
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
teams toured North America.
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
played an exhibition match at Delorimier Stadium on May 20 against
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
. In 1957 Celtic returned to Delorimier for a June 9 exhibition match against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
. Although six years apart, on both occasions the ticket price was 15¢. Delorimier Stadium was also the site of a number of professional
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
and
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
matches. In June 1952, Dodgers owner
Walter O'Malley Walter Francis O'Malley (October 9, 1903 – August 9, 1979) was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league b ...
travelled to Delorimier Stadium to dedicate a plaque to Hector Racine, who was not only the owner of the Royals, but a member of the Dodgers board. With Racine in the Delorimier Stadium president's office, the Royals won more pennants, playoffs and
Little World Series The Junior World Series was a postseason championship series between champions of two of the three highest minor league baseball leagues modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball. It was called the Little World Series (no relation to ...
than any club in International League history to date. Four years later O'Malley returned for Hector Racine Memorial Night with a high-ranking delegation of Brooklyn Dodgers,
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
and
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
executives to dedicate another plaque for Racine, who had died that day in Miami after watching the Brooklyn Dodgers lose to the
Boston Red Sox 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 ...
in an exhibition game."Hector Racine, 69, Baseball Leader; President of Montreal Royals, who was also a director of the Dodgers, and numerous Montreal and Midtown Manhattan firms, dies." The New York Times. March 13, 1956. "Hector Racine, president of the Montreal Baseball Club and a Brooklyn Dodgers executive, died early yesterday."


Location and dimensions

The ballpark's address was 2101 Ontario Street East (the east border of the park, on the first base side). Other bordering streets were Parthenais Street (north, right field); Lariviere Street (west, left field); and De Lorimier Avenue (south, third base). The outfield was basically rectangular. There are some uncertainties about the precise dimensions of the outfield: *The book ''Baseball's Fabulous Montreal Royals'', by William Brown, Robert Davies Publishing, Montreal, 1996, p. 28, has the left field line as , center field , and right field line , with a wall high surrounding the outfield. *The book ''Green Cathedral'', by Phil Lowrey (several editions) has left field as , center field , and right field . *''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' for May 2, 1935, p. 30, has a drawing comparing
Oriole Park Oriole Park, often referred to as Terrapin Park, opened in 1914 and closed after a fire on July 3–4, 1944. "Oriole Park" was the name of multiple baseball parks in Baltimore, Maryland, all built within a few blocks of each other. Oriole Par ...
's dimensions with those of the Montreal ballpark. The article has it as left field , center field , and right field .


Legacy

After the Montreal Royals disbanded in 1960, the stadium saw limited use. It was briefly considered as a home for the major league Expos when that team launched in 1969. However, it could not be renovated or expanded because it was in the middle of a residential area, and was thus deemed unsuitable even for temporary use. It was eventually torn down. Prior to the demolition of the stadium, the building was torn down in bits, and the interior was used to house makeshift classrooms by the
Montreal Catholic School Commission The Montreal Catholic School Commission (Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal, CECM) was a Roman Catholic school district in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which operated both French-language and English-language schools. It was the largest s ...
(as the student population in Quebec grew rapidly in the late 1960s). There is a small stone memorial surrounded by a red batting cage at the corner of the park at Ontario and Delorimier with a bronze plaque honouring Jackie Robinson's accomplishments.


See also

*
Jarry Park Jarry Park (french: Parc Jarry) is an urban park in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Jarry Park has total area of 36 hectares. It is considered by the City of Montreal as one of its large park ...


References


External links


Montreal's Delorimier Downs Baseball Stadium as business and centre of mass culture, 1928-1960
– a link to thesis written about the stadium. * Brown, William (foreword by
Ken Singleton Kenneth Wayne Singleton (born June 10, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter from to , most prominently as a member ...
) ''Baseball's Fabulous Montreal Royals'' (1996) Robert Davies Publishing
Society For American Baseball Research article by Bill Brown
{{coord, 45, 31, 42, N, 73, 33, 27, W, type:landmark, display=title Sports venues in Montreal Defunct baseball venues in Canada Defunct Canadian football venues Montreal Alouettes Jackie Robinson Demolished buildings and structures in Montreal Baseball in Montreal Ville-Marie, Montreal Sports venues completed in 1928 Sports venues demolished in 1969 Defunct minor league baseball venues 1928 establishments in Quebec 1969 disestablishments in Quebec Defunct sports venues in Canada Baseball venues in Quebec Soccer venues in Montreal Demolished sports venues