Ebbets Field

[Ebbets field], 1914 ca; Brooklyn photographs and illustrations, ARC.202, V1973.5.1801; Brooklyn Historical Society

It’s officially spring, which also means the baseball season is underway. The photo of the week features the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ebbets Field around 1914. On April 9^th 1913, over 100 years ago, the Brooklyn Dodgers hosted an opening game against the Philadelphia Phillies at the brand new Ebbets Field. The stadium was located in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, on Sullivan Place.

The Dodgers made history in 1947 when they hired Jackie Robinson, Major League Baseball’s first African American baseball player, to take over first base. In 1955, the Dodgers won the World Series. Despite success, a combination of events led to the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn. The Dodgers’ now-famous move to Los Angeles in 1957 has been much debated by fans, developers, politicians, and historians. The team’s departure was a major blow for fans and is emblematic of the cultural and economic challenges that Brooklyn faced in the late 20^th century.

To learn more about the Brooklyn Dodgers, check out the O’Malley Brooklyn Dodgers records collection which contains newspaper clippings and correspondence of former Brooklyn Dodgers president, Walter O’Malley. Brooklyn historical Society also has a Brooklyn Dodgers finding aid, which can be accessed here.

The above photograph is from the Brooklyn photographs and illustration collection. The collection contains over 7000 items dating from the early 20^th century. The collection provides comprehensive visual documentation of the borough of Brooklyn, N.Y., with images of neighborhoods, homes, buildings, the waterfront, and infrastructure. Over 30 Brooklyn neighborhoods are documented. To learn more about the collection, be sure to check out the finding aid here.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. photos@brooklynhistory.org