The following images from the ebaseballparks.com archives capture the actual game day programs from historic seasons / dates in the lives of the baseball fields of summer. Where available, a detailed cover image is available by clicking on the program images below.
For many people, the golden age of ballparks started on April 12, 1909. It was on that date that the Philadelphia Athletics defeated Boston by an 8 -1 score in their new ballpark on the corner of Lehigh Avenue and 21st Street. Shibe Park, built of concrete and steel, rather than wood, and seating thousands more than old Columbia Grounds lead the way for others to follow. With it's distinctive cupola, it was easily recognizable from its brethren. The 1909 season program was rather elaborate for it's time. It is interesting that the Athletics name does not appear on the program, just Philadelphia & American League.
Another of the new wave of ballparks to open made of concrete and steel was Braves Field. The largest ballpark at the time it was completed, a crowd estimated at 40,000 came out on August 18, 1915 to see the Braves defeat the Cardinals in the first game by a 3 - 1 score. The image at the left is of a program / scorecard sold at the ballpark that day. As above, still no team name, just the city & league.
On April 18, 1923 the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by the score of 4 - 1 in front of a reported crowd of 74,200. In many ways, this game is a watershed game in that the dead ball era was to gave way to Babe Ruth and the long ball. The final score also is indicative of the final standings between those two storied franchises, as the Red Sox usually comes out second to the Yankees. Fans keeping score in this "programme" paid a nickel for it. Noteworthy is the fact that there is no image of the ballpark, or the players, but rather, it is the Yankees' owners who are featured on the cover.
The age of franchise movements, which had been dormant since the early years of the American League returned in the 1950's. Teams were generally moving west, Boston to Milwaukee, Philadelphia to Kansas City, New York to San Francisco, and Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Bucking the trend, The Browns headed east to Baltimore, and traded their earth tone color for some feathers. The first MLB game in Memorial Stadium took place on April 15, 1954 with the Orioles defeating the White Sox by a score of 3 - 1 in front of 46, 354 fans.
It's a whole new ball game as the Dodgers move west to Los Angeles. Before the "Home of Tomorrow Chavez Ravine" opened it's gates in 1962, the Dodgers played ball in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Pictured to the left is a program from that first game of April 18, 1958, against the former cross town, and now cross state rival- San Francisco Giants, in front of a then opening day record 78,762 fans. The Dodgers won 6 - 5.
In 1961, the American League expanded to 10 teams. One franchise was awarded to the Los Angeles Angels. In their first season, the Angels played in the "original" Wrigley Field. Though not as old as it's cousin in Chicago, this ballpark carried the Wrigley moniker a year before Cubs Park was renamed. This scorecard depicts the view from just behind the right field fence. The distinctive clock tower and tiled roof are plainly visible. Wrigley Field was well known for it's short power alley. During it's one year of MLB service, a new single season home run record was established, that stood for over 30 years.
After spending three seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Dodgers moved into their new ballpark located at Chavez Ravine. Dodger Stadium has stood the test of time, and is still considered one of the nicer facilities in the major leagues. The program from the first game depicts one of the faithful enjoying another Dodger tradition, a Dodger Dog. As was the O'Malley edict since the move from Brooklyn, a well groomed fan replaced the "Bum".
The National League expanded to 10 teams in 1962. Joining the fray were the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45's. The Colt .45's played in Colt Stadium which was designed as a temporary facility until the Harris County Domed Stadium could be completed. As such, the emphasis of the program was on the team and it's famous namesake. 25,271 fans came to watch the Cubs get shot by a final score of 11 - 2.
Baseball had returned to New York in 1962 with the New York Mets playing their home games in the Polo Grounds. The Polo Grounds was to only serve the team for two seasons as a new ball park was being constructed in Flushing Meadows Park out in Queens. There was no special final program for the last game in the Polo Grounds ( a 5 - 1 Phillies victory over the Mets), just the standard version that had been used all season.
The stadium in Flushing Meadows Park was to become Shea Stadium, named after William Shea, a lawyer instrumental in having gotten National League baseball to come back to New York City. The program to the left was sold at Shea for the Mets home opener loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. As ballparks were moving away from the cities, out to the suburbs, a large parking lot was considered essential. As the program depicts, there was (and is) a large parking lot at Shea Stadium. As can also be seen on the program, the World's Fair was also in full swing in 1964.
Baseball again expanded it's roster in 1969 with the addition of 4 ball clubs. One of them was the Seattle Pilots. The Pilots suffered from a number of issues, and lasted only one season before the franchises was sold, relocated to Milwaukee, and rechristened as the Brewers. The first program now seems ironic in that it depicts a domed stadium (which looks more like the Metrodome than the Kingdome) that the Pilots would never play in. only 3,611 fans went to the game.
3 days later, regular season major league baseball was played in Canada for the first time. Jarry Park / Parc Jarry hosted the event with Les Expos losing to the St. Louis Cardinals 8 -7. In contrast to Seattle, a capacity crowd of 29,194 showed up for the contest.
Baseball was about to enter the cookie cutter era in full force in the early 1970's as Three Rivers Stadium opened it's gates on July 16, 1970 ( a couple of weeks after Riverfront Stadium). Due to delays in construction, the ballpark was a mid season replacement of Forbes Field. As such, the program at the opening was not specific to the date. The Pirates hosted the Reds (who would also be the opponent for the opening of PNC Park), and were gracious enough to lose 3 -2. Though the ballpark was well situated, no one inside could appreciate the view except in the top rows of the upper deck.
Baseball left the nations capital for the sunny plains of Texas. Since their departure after the 1971, there has always been talk of a new Washington Senators franchise returning to The Show, and playing at RFK Stadium (The original cookie cutter stadium.) until a new facility can be constructed. If and when that ever happens, the program pictured to the left will be removed as an example of the final baseball season of MLB at RFK.
Well, it has happened, and in 2005 baseball did return to RFK. We will keep the final Senator's program on our page, and look for the new Nationals program furhter down the page.
Veterans Stadium was opened for business on April 10, 1971. It was the last of the cookie cutter stadiums to open. While at the time they were hailed for their utilitarian service to municipalities, fans soon realized that the game was better played on real grass on a non symmetrical field. Nevertheless, the 55,352 fans in attendance was the largest at the opening of a new ballpark since 1932. The Expos were gracious visitors losing by a score of 4 - 1.
Baseball returned to Seattle in 1977 when the American League added two new franchises. One was placed in Seattle to settle a local lawsuit after the departure of the Pilots to Milwaukee. The program from the first series may lead you to think that the team needed assistance from the fans during a conference on the mound. As the Mariners lost the first game to the Angels by a score of 7 - 0, it seems that the cover was accurate.
The second team to make their home in Canada was the Toronto Blue Jays. Opening day at Exhibition Stadium brought 44,649 fans out to watch a 9 - 5 Blue Jays victory over the White Sox on a snow covered playing field. Unlike the green grass on the cover of the first program, Exhibition Stadium was a converted football arena, with an astroturf field.
Baseball was last played in Metropolitan Stadium on Sept 30, 1981. The host Twins lost to the Kansas City Royals by a score of 5 - 2. Only 15,900 fans braved the cold in Bloomington to witness the event. The ballpark would eventually be torn down to make way for the Mall of America. The final program was the standard issue of the season, without a tip of the cap to the old Met.
Baseball again came in from the cold at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The 4th fully enclosed facility used by MLB at the time. Twins management was content that fans now knew for certain that games would be played despite frigid weather outside. 52, 279 fans watched in climate controlled comfort as the Twin lost to the Seattle Mariners 11 - 7.
"Let There Be Light" may have biblical overtones, but to the fans of the Chicago Cubs these words have only one true meaning- night games at Wrigley Field. August 8. 1988 ushered in a new era for the "Friendly Confines". Unfortunately, the first night game versus the Phillies was rained out, so Chicago fans had to wait a little longer until the Mets came to town.
For only the second time in the decade, a new ballpark opened it's gates. If the addition of lights ushered in a new era in Chicago, SkyDome realized the dream of a retractable roof that was never successfully implemented in Montreal. Blue Jay fans would did not have to worry about the weather outside anymore, as SkyDome would be closed to the elements during inclement weather, and open for sunshine. 48,378 fans accepted the invitation like program to see the sun shine on the Brewers in a 5 - 3 victory over the Blue Jays.
Comiskey Park hosted it's last ball game on September 30, 1990. The White Sox sent 42,849 fans home happy with a 2 - 0 shutout of the Seattle Mariners. The cover of the final game program featured some of the ghosts of Comiskey, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, who looked to play one more along side the then current Sox.
New Comiskey Park opened on April 18, 1991 and 42,191 fans saw the most lopsided score in an inaugural game at a ballpark. The Tigers spoiled the opening by romping to a 16 - 0 victory. At least it did not snow in Chicago that day.
The sun is about to set on the Old Gray Lady of 33rd Street. The field is still vibrant and time will not diminish her, nor the fallen that she honored. The last game took place on a rather late season finale date of October 6, 1991. The Orioles lost to the Tigers 7 - 1 in front of 50,700 fans. There may be some artistic license with the parking lot being depicted a little roomier than it actually was, but who cares. The stadium would last another decade before she was finally torn down. This particular program was autographed by Cal Ripken Jr.
The first game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards ushers in a new age in ball park design and construction. While evoking the "cozier" feel of the past, the new breed of parks still had seats in the upper decks that were higher and farther away from the fields that they sought to imitate. Intimacy was achieved by shrinking the foul territory. Nevertheless, the design style was tweaked over the next decade as new baseball only facilities replaced multi use stadiums. Even the use of the word stadium has fallen out of favor. The ballpark opened with the Orioles beating the Indians 2 - 0 in front of 44,568 fans.
For the first time since 1977, baseball expanded it's roster with the addition of two new franchises- the Florida Marlins and the Colorado Rockies joined the National League. The Marlins opened at home on April 5, 1993 with a 6 - 3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rockies began the season on the road and then came home to Denver to play the New York Mets in Mile High Stadium. Though primarily known and specialized for football, Mile High Stadium started as a minor league baseball park. On April 9, 1993 in front of a record breaking (for largest attendance for the first game in a ballpark) crowd of 80,227, the Rockies defeated the Montreal Expos 11 - 4.
As Mile High Stadium was only a temporary facility for the Rockies, no mention of it is made on the opening day program from the game. Meanwhile, in Florida, Joe Robbie Stadium would soon change it's name to Pro Player Stadium. It also marked the first time that a football facility was retro fitted as a permanent home of a baseball team.
The program from the final series (versus the Chicago White Sox) at Cleveland Stadium from October 1, 2 & 3 1993. The programs were individually numbered (160,000 printed). There was no specific last game program. While there is the final season at Cleveland Stadium logo in the lower right hand corner, the overall scheme of the program has more of an Old Timers Day feel, rather than the closing of the stadium, as does the White Sox final Comiskey program shown above.
The cover of the final game program from Arlington Stadium features the image of Texas' favorite son, Nolan Ryan, on the exterior of the stadium. The Rangers lost to the Royals 4 - 1 to close out their tenure at Arlington.
There first program from Jacobs Field ushers in the revitalization of the Indians and the city of Cleveland. The ballpark and the city are gleaming for the April 4, 1994 home opener. The Indians beat the Mariners 4 - 3 in front of 41,259 fans. You will also note that The ballpark still had no name at The time of The first game. The naming rights were sold soon thereafter. On The detailed image you can see the original commemorative logo that was later replaced after The ballpark became Jacobs Field.
The opening of The Ballpark in Arlington continued the retro stylings of current ballpark design theory. While some of the more recent ballparks keep attempting to add new twists and wrinkles to bring about a unique flavor (which at times seems forced, and doesn't always work). The Brewers beat the Rangers 4 - 3 at the first official game. It appears that naming rights are currently up for sale so we may have a new name for the ballpark sometime soon.
The Rockies opened Coors Field on April 26, 1995 with an 11 - 9 win over the Mets. The score was an omen of things to come. Though the thin air of Denver was taken into account in the ball park's design, through the deep outfield fences, the ball still flew out of the park at a record setting pace. The success of the Rockies at Mile High Stadium actually caused the plans to be adjusted to accommodate more fans than the original design allowed.
The Braves said goodbye to Atlanta Fulton County Stadium at the end of the 1996 season. The final home game of the regular season was against the Montreal Expos. The ballpark actually hosted several more games in the postseason, and the ballpark remains the only one that closed it's gates after a World Series contest. Now a parking lot for Turner Field, the memories of Hammering Hank linger amidst the cars.
Turner Field first opened it's gates for professional baseball in the spring of 1997. Reconfigured from the Olympic Stadium of the previous summer's Olympiad, "The Ted" hosted 45,044 fans on the regular season's opening day, as the Braves defeated the Cubs on April 7th by a final score of 5 - 4.
Inter league play had been bandied about for many years. Owners felt that the fans wanted to see some natural rivalries played out on the field, rather than in the media, or in meaningless exhibition games. Mets / Yankees, Cubs / White Sox, Dodgers / Angels, Giants / Athletics, Astros / Rangers, Cardinals / Royals, Expos / Blue Jays, Reds / Indians and to a lesser extent Braves / Brewers (then still A L), Cardinals / Orioles, Braves / Red Sox, or Phillies / Athletics would have made for a more interesting first Inter league series than Rangers / Giants.
June 12, 1997 was the date at the Ballpark in Arlington. It wasn't until 2001 that the Rangers finally got to play the Astros in the Battle of Texas.
March 31, 1998 ushered in two new franchises, and ball parks into the show. Tropicana Field, (located in St. Petersburg, built to lure either the Giants or White Sox, and originally named the Sun Dome), home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, saw the Tigers beat the Devil Rays 11 - 6. Later the same day, on the other side of the country Bank One Ballpark brought regular season major league baseball to Arizona. The Diamondbacks suffered the same fate at their new cousins in Florida, losing to the Colorado Rockies 9 - 2.
It is noteworthy that the Devil Rays program mentions and pictures Tropicana Field, while the Diamondback program pictures a seemingly endless row of seats, without any mention of the ballpark itself, such is life in the desert.
The tidal wave of new ballparks at the end of the century was about to come into full force as the Mariners moved into Safeco Field on July 15, 1999. The ballpark, built only a few short blocks from the Kingdome was an immediate hit and has the distinction of being the only ballpark, to date, that featured an inter league game in it's inaugural. Playing in front of 44, 607 fans, the Mariners lost to the San Diego Padres by a 3 - 2 score.
The final game at Tiger Stadium took place on September 27, 1999. The Tigers mauled the Royals 8 - 2 in front of 43,356 fans. Ernie Harwell hosted the closing ceremonies with many all time Tigers returning for one last dance at "The Corner". It is fitting that the cover photo of the final program is taken from Michigan & Trumbull at dusk with one last set of rockets going off in the stadium.
The last series at Candlestick Park featured the Giants against their old rivals- the Dodgers. Though officially renamed 3Com Park in deference to the monetary end of the business. The photo on the cover of the program dates back to the ballpark's original configuration, prior to encircling the stands around the field. Also of note is the large parking lot as opposed to the lack of parking facilities in the old Polo Grounds.
The Astrodome closed it's doors for baseball after the 1999 postseason with a Braves victory over the hometown Astros by a 7 - 5 score. The final regular season opponent was the Los Angeles Dodgers. When the Astrodome opened in 1965, it was hailed as the 8th wonder of the world. For all that was wrong (Astroturf), it did allow for games to be played regardless of the weather. As was the case with Arlington Stadium, an image of Nolan Ryan graces the cover, as he walks of the field. The cover mixes the old and new scoreboards, as well as tipping off a sign of thing to come with the truncated Enron logo on the right. The program cover actually folds out for a panoramic view of the dome.
The first official regular season game in Enron Field took place on April 7, 2000, with the Astros losing the contest to the Phillies 4 - 1. The Phillies also defeated the Astros in the first official game in the Astrodome some 35 years earlier. Hopefully, the retractable roof of this generation does not become the dome of the previous generation. The images on the cover are from an exhibition game played prior to the start of the season versus the Yankees, the same opening exhibition opponent in the Astrodome, only this time Mickey Mantle was not there to hit a home run.
In contrast to the beautiful clear blue twilight Detroit sky at Tiger Stadium. The cover photo of the Comerica Park program is gray and foreboding. It is never a good sign for the ballpark lights to be on for a day game, but that was the case for the dreary opener of April 11, 2000. At least the Tigers beat the Mariners 5 - 2, in front of 39,268 cold, wet fans.
Pacific Bell Park opened on April 11, 2000 with a Giants loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. As was the case with Candlestick, the Park is adjacent to the water, only this time the ballpark open up to the bay, rather than having it's back to it, and with out the parking lot buffer zone. Also missing are the winds and fog. The initial reviews of PacBell have been unanimous in their praise of the ballpark. With locations like McCovey Cove, how can on really go wrong anyway?
The first regular season Major League baseball game to be played outside of North America was contested in Tokyo on March 29, 2000. The Chicago Cubs defeated New York Mets 5 - 3. The Mets won the next day 5 - 1, to split the "series", as each team was home for a game in Tokyo Dome. Nicknamed the Big Egg, because of it's shape, Tokyo Dome is a typical domed facility.
The commemorative program is entirely in Japanese except for the player names, and "official program" across the top.
The Milwaukee Brewers played the final baseball game at County Stadium on September 28, 2000. Other than the Polo Grounds, County Stadium is the only ballpark to serve as the home field for three different teams.The Braves left Boston in 1953 and made County Stadium their home for the next 13 seasons; the White Sox played 20 home games in County Stadium in 1968 & 1969; and the Brewers started playing their games at County in 1970 until her demise. The cover of the final game day programs shows the darkened stadium at the sunset of life. As with the program for the last game at the Astrodome, the program cover folds out for a panoramic view.
The Pirates closed down Three Rivers Stadium, (for baseball) with one last series with the Chicago Cubs on September 29th, 30th, and October 1st 2000. There were 100,000 individually numbered programs to that last series. Three Rivers would be home to the Steelers for the 2000 NFL season, before the stadium was imploded early in 2001.
2001 saw the season start outside continental North America. Baseball sought to get in touch with its Latino fans by staging the first game of the season at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 1st.
19,891 fans came out to see the Blue Jays down the Rangers by a score of 8 - 1 with two teams with many prominent Latino players.
It's Miller Time in Milwaukee, as Miller Park opened on April 6, 2001 with the Brewers facing the Reds, the same team that they played in County's last game. 42.024 fans watched in climate controlled comfort as the Brewers won the inaugural contest.
"Buc"king the recent trend, the first program sold at PNC Park was neither commemorative for that date, April 9, 2001, nor was the ballpark the cover feature, it was the new manager, Lloyd McClendon. The Reds came to town, after opening up Miller Park, and spoiled the day for the fans by winning 8 - 2.
The Reds said goodbye to Riverfront Stadium / Cinergy Field on Sept 22, 2002 with a 4 - 3 loss to the Phillies. The cover of the last program shows Barry Larkin in Kentucky, with his double "C" captain's uniform, and the ballpark in the background. From this perspective, the new ballpark is immediately to the right of Riverfront, and is fittingly not in the picture, as she will have her days in the sun in the future.
With a name like Great American Ballpark, (though, to be fair, it is a corporate name of an insurance company, not a reference to the facility itself) good things had to be in store for the Cincinnati Reds. Things did not turn out that way for the inaugural game (the third such opener to be held in March), as the Pirates routed the Reds 10 - 1 in front of a capacity crowd of 42,343 fans.
The Vet in Philly joined the procession of cookie cutter / multi purpose ballparks to call it quits. As the cover of the final program points out. The Vet is outta here. Expectations were high in the 2003 season for a post season appearance by the Phillies, but it was not to be. The Braves played spoiler in the last game at the Vet by trumping the Phillies 5 -2 in front of 56,554 fans. As opposed to the other ballparks of it's time, the naming rights to the Vet were never sold.
A few hours later in San Diego, Padre fans were saying their goodbyes to the Murph. Qualcomm, as Candlestick before her, saw her last baseball game, and would now only cater to football fans. 60,988 fans paid their respects, unfortunately, the Colorado Rockies did not, as the defeated the hometown nine 10 - 8.
A new San Diego baseball era was ushered in at PETCO Park on April 8, 2004 with the Padres defeating the San Francisco Giants 4 - 3. The first program sold at the ballpark featured star closer Trevor Hoffman and manager Bruce Bochy on the dugout steps of the new facility. Like the Pirates three years earlier, the program cover does highlights the team over the ballpark.
Philadelphia ushered in it's new ballpark on April 12, 2004. The baseball only facility is much more intimate than the Vet, as 15,000 less fans were able to witness the 1st game at Citizens Bank Park, than the last one at the Vet. Given that we are talking about Philly, it may not be such a bad thing for the Home town Phillies, as they lost to the Reds 4 - 1. The cover image of the ballpark seems to have been taken from the former site of The Vet.
Olympic Stadium hosted its last game on Sept. 29, 2004. 31,395 fans saw the Marlins triumph by a score of 9 - 1. As this was the end of the Expos franchise in Montreal, the closing was a wake instead of a celebration. The final program capsulized the manner in which the Expos were run. The cover highlights an article on Orlando Cabrera, who had been traded earlier in the season to the Boston Red Sox.
RFK had not hosted a MLB team since Nixon was in the White House, and Ted Williams was in the dugout. That all changed on April 14, 2005 when 45,596 fans filled the ballpark, as the Nationals defeated the Diamondbacks 5 - 3. Rather than having an older franchise serve as the opponent (say the Cubs or Cardinals), or a division rival (Braves, Phillies, etc.), MLB selected the newest team in the National League as the visitors.
Busch Stadium hosted it's final regular season game on October 2, 2005. The Cardinals defeated the Reds by a score of 7 - 5. 50,434 fans enjoyed the Cardinals 100th win of the season, and the two plus hours closing ceremony. Unfortunately, the last game at the ballpark was in the playoffs against the Astros, and the result was somewhat less satisfying for Cardinal fans.
The Nationals opened their self named ballpark on Sunday (night), March 30, 2008 with a dramatic 9th inning 3 - 2 win over the Atlanta Braves before an enthusiastic crowd of 39,389. Economics again dictated the decision to open the ballpark at night, in March as the game was nationally televised by ESPN. The team was unable to sell the naming rights to the ballpark, thus the Nationals moniker. The programs sold at the ballpark are marked with the ballpark logo sticker on the lower right hand side of the cover.
The Yankees closed Yankee Stadium with a final 7 - 3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles with another sellout crowd of 54,610 fans in attendance. As the game was again broadcast by ESPN on Sunday September 21, at night; closing ceremonies were held before the game. The ghosts of Yankees past (Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Stengel, et. al) again walked the field for a final curtain call. "If you knock it down, they will come."
A week later, on September 28 2008, the Mets bid farewell to Shea Stadium with a disappointing 4 - 2 loss to the Florida Marlins with a packed house of 56,059 booing the team off the field after another September collapse. Those who stayed for the closing ceremonies seemed to bury those feelings as Met greats came out to Shea Goodbye. A final week program was also sold at the ballpark that day.