aka Sportsman’s Park
Year opened: 1909
Capacity: 30,500, up from 17,600 at opening
Names:
Sportsman’s Park, 1909-53
Busch Stadium, 1953-66
Pro football tenants:
St. Louis All-Stars (NFL), 1923
St. Louis Gunners (NFL), 1934
St. Louis Cardinals (NFL), 1960-65
Postseason games hosted:
None
Other tenants of note:
St. Louis Browns (MLB – AL), 1909-53
St. Louis Cardinals (MLB – NL), 1920-66
Notes: Replaced earlier wooden ballpark, also called Sportsman’s Park, that stood from 1902-08. Owned by St. Louis Browns until bought by Cardinals and renamed in 1953. At the time, Cardinals wanted to name the ballpark Budweiser Stadium, but MLB Commissioner Ford Frick disallowed it, at which point owner August A. “Gussie” Busch named it Busch Stadium. Was used for football by St. Louis University. Also used occasionally for soccer (most notably as one of two sites utilized by the St. Louis Soccer League, 1935-36).
Fate: Structure demolished in 1966, although the baseball diamond remained for use by the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club.
