The highlight of the year at Grand and Dodier came on May 6. A batted ball that hit the screen was in play. The local papers also still used the alternate name "Grand Avenue Park" until at least 1885. In an effort to sell even more brew, he put up a beer garden in the right-field corner at Sportsman’s Park, which, oddly enough, was in play. The city eventually persuaded the Bidwill brothers to stay. Hurley had to comply, and Gaedel was allowed to bat. Starting in the 1930s, radio station KMOX began broadcasting Cardinals and Browns games. [5] Robinson launched an amazingly long pass in the game against the Jayhawks, which was variously reported to have traveled 48, 67 or 87 yards in the air. Depression Era America fell in love with this colorful collection of hard-nosed, rough-and-tumble players who always seemed to have the dirtiest uniforms on the field. The center field area was a short diagonal segment connecting the two longer walls. Lou Brock, Curt Flood, and Orlando Cepeda ignited the Redbirds’ lineup in the second half of the decade. By the middle of the 1920s, the Cardinals were beginning to come into their own as a franchise. Perhaps no Cardinals team is as fondly remembered as the Gas House Gang of 1934. Sportsman's Park Restaurants, Breakfast & Brunch 9901 Clayton Rd. The seating capacity was listed as 30,500. Not only did the name of the ballpark and team change, but the team colors changed, to Cardinal Red. -Architect: Osborn Engineering They never seriously contended again during the decade, but featured some exciting players. Busch Stadium, with its lack of parking, could not accommodate them. His brother Paul Dean  won 19. League Park was renamed Robison Field in 1911 in honor of Frank Robison, former owner of the team. Paige was in his mid-40s at the time. Tigers pitcher Bob Cain threw four straight balls, and the midget took his base. This article is included in “The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals The World Champion Gas House Gang” (SABR, 2014), edited by Charles F. Faber. Even in the pennant-winning year of 1944, they attracted 508,644, fifth out of the eight American League teams. From 1942 to 1946, the Cardinals experienced a stretch of excellence that saw them go to the fall classic four times, winning three of them. The team had had a disappointing 1965 season, and was in eighth place and playing very poorly at the beginning of 1966, which probably led to the modest crowd. -Demolished: 1966. This ball field, Grand Avenue Ball Grounds, became home to the St. Louis Brown Stockings in the mid 1870s and the first wooden grandstand was constructed along the Southeast corner of Grand Avenue Grounds in 1881, that was known as Sportsman’s Park. 1 Ron Smith, The Ballpark Book: A Journey Through the Fields of Baseball Magic, 289-90. The Browns were a very strong team in the mid-1880s, but their success waned. For the sports venue in Glendale, Arizona, see, The park's site is now occupied by a Boys and Girls Club, including an athletic field at the same location of the original playing field, Defunct stadiums of the National Football League, †= Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time. Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. Veeck and his family lived in an apartment of his own making under the stands at Sportsman’s Park. Sportsman’s Park was purchased by the Cardinals in April 1953 for $800,000 after owner of Anheuser-Busch, August Busch, purchased the team from Fred Saigh. By being able to develop homegrown talent on minor-league teams that they owned, the Cardinals became one of the more progressive teams in baseball. At that time, the diamond and the grandstands were on the southeast corner of the block, for the convenience of fans arriving from Grand Avenue. The ballpark area had become run-down and dangerous. They played at a park called the Grand Avenue Ball Grounds, which was really nothing fancier than a single grandstand for the paying customers. However, for over a half-century the City of St. Louis was home to two professional baseball franchises, the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals, where they shared Sportsmans Park for 33 seasons. Trying to break up a double play, he was plunked in the forehead by the baseball on the relay throw to first base. A covered wooden grandstand was behind homeplate and down both the first and third base lines, and bleachers were located in the outfield. Concrete and steel was used to build a double deck grandstand from first to third base with additional seating joining the lower level and extending down the lines. Throughout 1953 and 1954 the Cardinals spent $1.5 million renovating the ballpark. Original capacity was approximately 18,000. Bobo Holloman, a 30-year-old career minor leaguer, pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Athletics in his first major-league start, the only player ever to do so. When sports fans think of cities with two professional teams of the same sport they may think of cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.