On This Day in History, April 5: Opening Day At Ebbets

April 5, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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Ebbets Field opened for its first game ever on April 5, 1913. It was an exhibition game against the New York Giants and the Dodgers won the game, 3-2.

Many exciting games took place there in the years that followed, until the Dodgers moved to L.A. for the 1958 season. The stadium was torn down in 1960 to make way for a large housing complex.

An aerial view of Ebbets Field in 1942. AP Ebbets Field was the creation of Charles H. Ebbets. It was the realization of a dream that began when his son Charles Jr. was born in 1878. Ebbets wanted to build a baseball stadium that his son could inherit. The team to play in the stadium was called the Brooklyn Superbas, then the Brooklyn Robins, and it wasn’t until 1932 that they were called the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The scoreboard at Ebbets Field during a 1954 game against the Cincinnati Redlegs. Notice the Dodgers are up an astounding 20-5. AP

Some friends advised Ebbets against building the stadium but he said, “I’m building this new ball park for my son. Mark my words, some day Ebbets Field will be in the heart of Brooklyn and thousands of fans will come to see the team play baseball. Some day, the Brooklyn club will be so famous that Ebbets Field will be too small to handle the crowds!” His prediction was more true than he could have imagined.

Whatâ€™s a baseball game without a hotdog? Dodgers fans are seen here buying hot dogs from a busy vendor while waiting for the gates to open for World Series Game 2 between the Dodgers (then known as the Robins) and Cleveland Indians at Ebbets Field on Oct. 6, 1920. AP/Library of Congress