West End Park (Houston)
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West End Park 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 ...
in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
from 1905 to the 1940s. It was the primary ballpark for the city when it was constructed, and the city's first venue for Negro Major League games. From 1909 through 1910 and again in 1915, it also served as the
spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
facility of 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 p ...
(known today as 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 ...
) as well as the 1914
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
of 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 ...
and the 1906 through 1908
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
of 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 ...
in
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), ...
. After its use by its primary tenant, the
Houston Buffaloes The Houston Buffaloes, Houston Buffalos, or Buffs were an American minor league baseball team, and were the first minor league team to be affiliated with a Major League Baseball, Major League franchise, which was the St. Louis Cardinals. The clu ...
of the
Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
, the ballpark was sold to what is now known as the
Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...
for its use until it was demolished. Contrary to its name, the ballpark's location was not in West End, Houston, as that area had not yet been specifically designated as "West End", and the current municipal recreational park of the same has no relation to the ballpark. Instead, West End Park was located in the
freedmen's town In the United States, a freedmen's town was an African American municipality or community built by freedmen, former slaves who were emancipated during and after the American Civil War. These towns emerged in a number of states, most notably Texas ...
area of the Fourth Ward, with its entrance at Andrews and Heiner Streets. It was bounded by Andrews Street (north, third base line), Heiner Street (west, first base line), and Howe Street (east, left field fence). Behind the right field fence, to the south, was the inverted-V-shaped intersection of Jefferson Street and Bagby Street. The location was less than a mile straight west of the eventual site of
Minute Maid Park Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...
. Today, the
Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...
"Pierce Elevated" passes over the area where the ballpark was, from Andrews Street to the Bagby Street exit.


History


Planning and construction

Construction of a new ballpark in Houston became necessary after the redevelopment of Herald Park into a residential neighborhood during the 1904 season. While a temporary ballpark was used to host the rest of games for that season, poor transportation availability made travel difficult, and a new ballpark in the Westmoreland neighborhood was announced to be finished for 1905. On January 9, 1905, the Houston Buffaloes organization was given authorization by the
Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...
for construction to begin on West End Park. During construction, a sandy soil was used for the field, so as to absorb moisture more easily. By March 15, the ball park's construction was nearly completed only lacking paint on the grandstand and field preparation.


Regular use

West End Park opened on April 1, 1905 as an unnamed park with an exhibition game between Houston and the Baton Rouge Cajuns of the
Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...
. Houston lost, 0–2. The ballpark later received its name through a contest conducted by a committee consisting of the ''
Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
'' sports editor, the ''
Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston Po ...
'' baseball editor, and
South Texas League The South Texas League was a Class C level minor league baseball league that played from 1903 to 1906. League teams were based in Louisiana and Texas. Comprising four teams for its first three years, it expanded to six teams in its final season. ...
President Bliss P. Gorham. The suggested name chosen would allow its submitter to receive a season ticket to the new park. Ultimately, John T. Schulte of 1018 LaBranch Street was chosen as the winner through a unanimous committee vote on April 16, 1905. Other names considered included "San Jacinto Park", "Dick Dowling Park", "San Felipe Park", "Washington Park", and "Gorham Park" among others. West End Park received major renovations in late 1908 when the Houston Buffaloes ownership increased capacity to the grandstand, added sidewalks and other pavement, and introduced a new grass diamond. During their annual festival, the No-Tsu-Oh Carnival Association had originally erected the stands at the ballpark as a temporary measure, but they were soon purchased by the Buffaloes to expand the grandstand. Other materials used for renovations, such as fences and more bleachers were purchased from nearby Marmion Park. On December 5, 1911, the grandstand of West End Park was destroyed by a fire. The losses were estimated to exceed $5,000. The grandstand roof was blown off several years later when a storm hit Houston on November 25, 1915.


Post-Houston Buffaloes

On January 5, 1927,
Sam Breadon Samuel Wilson Breadon (July 26, 1876 – May 8, 1949) was an American executive who served as the president and majority owner of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1920 through 1947. During that time, the Cardinals ro ...
, then owner of the team, announced that he wanted to purchase land from the City of Houston to construct a new ballpark. On January 18, it was announced that the location had been purchased in the
East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
. Houston's new ballpark,
Buffalo Stadium Buffalo Stadium was a minor league stadium primarily used by the Houston Buffaloes from 1928 through 1961 (except for 1943 to 1945 because of World War II). It was the site of the first night game between two major league baseball clubs, which to ...
was then constructed for the 1928 season, and the Buffaloes moved from West End Park to the new stadium. On August 1, 1928, the Houston Board of Education officially purchased the park from the Houston Baseball Association for $100,000 for use as school athletic fields. The park continued under the same name and continued to be used for secondary school, amateur and collegiate athletics, and for
Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
games. With football being the major event for Houston public schools, West End Park was eventually replaced when Public School Stadium (later known as "Robertson Stadium") opened in 1942. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, most of the land occupied by the ballpark was used for various purposes when Heiner Street was extended and the
Gulf Freeway Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...
was connected to downtown.


Other uses

The
Sells Floto Circus The Sells Floto Circus was a combination of the Floto Dog & Pony Show and the Sells Brothers Circus that toured with sideshow acts in the United States during the early 1900s. History Frederick Gilmer Bonfils and Harry Heye Tammen owned the first ...
used the West End Park grounds for their show when they came to Houston in September 1907.


American football

West End Park was often used as a site for
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 ...
games. In 1908, the ballpark was the host of what was dubbed the "state championship" in high school football with a game between Houston High School and San Antonio High School. This championship preceded the formation of the
University Interscholastic League The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organi ...
(UIL) that governs Texas high school extracurricular activities today. From 1908 through 1911, the
Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...
and
Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also referred to as "A&M" or "Texas Aggi ...
played football games at West End Park during Houston's annual No-Tsu-Oh festival. On
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
of 1910, Texas A&M played
Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...
there. West End Park was also the venue of the inaugural football game of the
Rice Owls Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of Conference USA, Rice sponsors teams in seven men's and seven women's NCAA sanctio ...
against Houston High School in 1912. The Rice teams moved to
Rice Field Wendel D. Ley Track and Holloway Field is a stadium in Houston, Texas. It is primarily used for track and field and soccer for the Rice University Owls. It is bounded by Main Street (southeast), University Boulevard (southwest), Reckling Par ...
when it opened in 1913. Rice later hosted Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and
LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
in football competitions at the ballpark in the 1915 season. In 1929 the first edition of the Prairie View Bowl, which was the first
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
played by
historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...
, took place at the ballpark between the Prairie View A&M Panthers and Atlanta Lions.


Transportation access

West End Park was served by the Houston Electric Company's San Felipe line, which provided
streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
access during its time. With transfers from Houston's
Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
and Grand Central Station, this allowed for direct public transportation using
interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...
lines such as the
Galveston–Houston Electric Railway The Galveston–Houston Electric Railway was an interurban railway between Galveston and Houston, Texas from 1911 to 1936. The railway was recognized as the fastest interurban line in 1925 and 1926., Texas State Historical Association. Route The ...
and Houston North Shore Railway.


See also

* Herald Park *
Buffalo Stadium Buffalo Stadium was a minor league stadium primarily used by the Houston Buffaloes from 1928 through 1961 (except for 1943 to 1945 because of World War II). It was the site of the first night game between two major league baseball clubs, which to ...
*
Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...
*
Minute Maid Park Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...
*
Robertson Stadium John O'Quinn Field at Corbin J. Robertson Stadium (often referred to as simply Robertson Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, located on the campus of the University of Houston. It was the home of the Houston Cougars football and wome ...


Sources

* ''Baseball in the Lone Star State: Texas League's Greatest Hits'', Tom Kayser and David King, Trinity University Press, 2005


External links


Part of the ballpark, on a Sanborn map, 1907Part of the ballpark, on a Sanborn map, 1907Parts of the ballpark, on a Sanborn map, 1907


References

{{s-end 1905 establishments in Texas Baseball venues in Houston Defunct college football venues Defunct minor league baseball venues Houston Buffaloes Negro league baseball venues New York Yankees spring training venues Sports venues completed in 1905 St. Louis Cardinals spring training venues St. Louis Browns spring training venues Defunct sports venues in Texas American football venues in Houston 1942 disestablishments in Texas