| General
Information
Who
Played Here: Cleveland
Indians (AL); Cleveland Browns (NFL)
First opened: July 1, 1931
First Indians game: July 31, 1932
First night game: June 27, 1939
Last
Indians game: October 3, 1993
Demolished: November 1996
Surface: Bluegrass
Architect:
F.R. Walker of Walker & Weeks
Builder: Osborn Engineering Co.
Owner: City of Cleveland
Cost: $3 million (1931); $5 million (1967 renovation); $3.6 million
(1974 renovation)
History
For years, baseball in Cleveland took place in Municipal County Stadium -
the "Mistake By the Lake." The Depression-era park was huge - the distant
center field bleachers, known as the Dawg Pound during Cleveland Browns
games, were never reached by a baseball - with over 74,000 seats, but
attendance was low and the dearth of luxury boxes sapped revenues.
In 1994, the Indians had moved to their new, beautiful, modern ballpark, Jacobs
Field, and instantly became a big-market team, attracting large crowds
on a daily basis and contending for a World Series title in 1995 (losing
to the Braves in six) and 1997 (losing to the Marlins in 7), and going to
the postseason in 1996 (dropping the ALDS to the Orioles).
Cleveland Stadium was built in the hope that the 1932 Olympics would be
held in Cleveland, the stadium formally opened on July 1, 1931. The
Indians played in Cleveland Stadium from July 31, 1932 to September 24,
1933; until 1947, the Indians only played their Sunday and holiday games
here, playing at otherwise playing at League Park.
Bill Veeck finally moved all of the team's games to this massive facility
in 1947.
Because of its large capacity, Cleveland Stadium hosted
the All-Star Game four times; only New York and Chicago have hosted
more All-Star games than Cleveland. The game's origin in 1911 was a
match between the American League All-Stars and the Cleveland Indians, to
raise money for the widow of legendary Cleveland pitcher Addies Joss, who
died of tubercular meningitis prior to the season. The first
official All-Star game was held in chicago in 1933.
On September 12, 1954 against the Yankees, the Indians played in front of
their largest crowd in history, 86,563. It was the largest crowd for
any team until the Dodgers started playing in the Los Angeles
Coliseum. For most of their years at Cleveland Stadium, however, the
Indians fielded losing teams and attracted small crowds which contrasted
with their enormous ballpark. This park was abandoned by both
professional teams in the 1990s - the Indians departed to the Jake in
1994, and the Cleveland Browns went to Baltimore to become the Ravens.
The stadium was demolished in November 1996.
Analysis
The large, dreary park was often cold and miserable during the early
spring months, and the large dimensions and expansive foul territory
usually suppressed run production dramatically. During the 1980s,
the deep power alleys made it generally tough for home run hitters, though
as far as run production went the ballpark played relatively neutral.
In 1991, the Indians expected to feature a speedy lineup with guys like
Alex Cole and Mike Huff, so they moved the fences out. The alley
in left-center moved out from 377 to 390 feet; deep left-center went
from 387 to 400 feet; center field moved from 400 to 415 feet; deep
right-center went from 395 to 400 feet; and short right-center moved from
385 to 390 feet. In 1991, the Indians were outhomered 41-22 at home,
and they went out and acquired Glenallen Hill and Reggie Jefferson to
supplement emerging power hitters Albert Belle and Jim Thome. The
team changed the dimensions to favor the new power lineup in 1992, sliding
the power alley in deep left-center back from 400 feet to 375 feet, and
dialling the power alley in deep right-center back to 370 feet from 400
feet. Center field came in from 415 feet to 404 feet.
The lineup was greatly favored by the
new dimensions - they whacked 62 HR at home, 40 more than in the previous
year. They also won 19 more games that season. Unfortunately
for Cleveland pitchers, they coughed up 94 home runs at home, versus 65 on
the road, and the Indians still were on 76-86.
Because the dimensions were slightly asymmetrical, with a little more
distance in left field, in 1992 and 1993 Cleveland Stadium played a little
harder on right-handed power hitters than on lefties. The smooth,
clean walls and comfy dimensions made doubles and triples rarer than
normal, and over the two seasons the ballpark played almost exactly
neutral for run production.
Park
Factors
| |
Run
Index |
HR
Index |
| 1980 |
107 |
118 |
| 1981 |
86 |
87 |
| 1982 |
101 |
96 |
| 1983 |
113 |
137 |
| 1984 |
116 |
112 |
| 1985 |
91 |
81 |
| 1986 |
98 |
100 |
| 1987 |
111 |
109 |
| 1988 |
104 |
81 |
| 1989 |
107 |
84 |
| 1990 |
100 |
102 |
|
|
|
| 1991 |
92 |
49 |
|
|
|
| 1992 |
116 |
120 |
| 1993 |
85 |
89 |
| |
Run |
HR |
Avg |
L-Avg |
R-Avg |
L-HR |
R-HR |
H |
2B |
3B |
| 1992 |
116 |
116 |
108 |
104 |
111 |
113 |
119 |
111 |
111 |
93 |
| 1993 |
85 |
93 |
94 |
94 |
93 |
93 |
105 |
89 |
98 |
77 |
Location
Cleveland, Ohio: On the shore of Lake Erie
between the lake and downtown Cleveland. 1st base (S) W. 3rd and Cleveland
Memorial Shoreway; 3rd base (W) Erieside Ave., Lake Erie and W. 3rd; left field
(N)Erieside Ave. and Lake Erie; right field (E) Cleveland Memorial Shoreway.
Dimensions
- History
Foul
lines:
1932:
322 ft
1933:
320 ft
April
27, 1947: 319 ft
June
6, 1947: 320 ft
1948:
321 ft
1953:
320 ft
Corners
where fence meets stadium walls:
June
6, 1947: 362 ft
1980:
360 ft
1991:
370 ft
Power
alleys:
1932:
435 ft
1947:
365 ft
1948:
362 ft
1949:
385 ft
1954:
380 ft
1965:
400 ft
1967:
390 ft
1968:
395 ft
1970:
385 ft
1991:
395 ft
Short
left-center:
1980:
377 ft
1991:
390 ft
1992:
364 ft
Deep
left-center:
1980:
387 ft
1991:
400 ft
1992:
375 ft
Grandstand
corners: 435 ft
Bleacher
corners: 463 ft
Corners
where inner 8-foot fence meets tall 16-foot straightaway center fence:
1991:
417 ft
Center
field:
1932:
470 ft
1938:
467 ft
1939:
450 ft
April,
1947: 468 ft
April
27, 1947: 410 ft
1966:
408 ft
1967:
407 ft
1968:
410 ft
1970:
400 ft
1991:
415 ft
1992:
404 ft
Deep
right-center:
1980:
395 ft
1991:
400 ft
1992:
370 ft
Short
right-center:
1980:
385 ft
1991:
390 ft
1992:
360 ft
Backstop:
60 (1991)
Fences -
History
Left
and right field:
1932:
5.25 ft, concrete
April
27, 1947: 5.5 ft, wire
June
6, 1947: 5.25 ft, concrete
1955:
6 ft, concrete
1976:
9 ft, wire
1977:
7 ft, wire
1984:
8 ft, canvas padding
Center
field:
1932:
12 ft, concrete
April
27, 1947: 5.5 ft, (wire
1975:
8 ft, wire
1976:
9 ft, wire
1977:
8 ft, wire
1984:
8 ft, canvas padding
1991:
16 ft, for a 36-foot-wide stretch in dead
center, angling down to the lower fences in the alleys, canvas padding, 1991)
1992:
8 ft, canvas padding all the way
around the outfield
Fun
Facts
- A.K.A. Lakefront Stadium, Cleveland
Public Municipal Stadium, Municipal Stadium and "The Mistake by
the Lake."
- Teepees were erected in 1946 in the
center field bleachers.
- On September 23, 1949, Bill Veeck and
the Indians buried their 1948 pennant in center field before a game,
the day after they were mathematically eliminated from the pennant
race.
- The center field bleachers were called
the "Dog Pound" during Browns football games.
- On Beer Night, the Indians forfeited
their June 4, 1974 game when unruly fans took over the field and would
not leave.
- The Indians enlarged the field of play
significantly in 1991, believing that this would help their
defensively oriented team, but the strategy didn't work and the fences
were moved back in 1992.
- No player ever hit a ball into the
center field bleachers.
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