Bennett Park
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Bennett Park was a baseball park, named after Charlie Bennett, that formerly existed in Detroit, Michigan, at Michigan and Trumbull. It was home to the Detroit Tigers. The ballclub began play here in the minor Western League in 1896. That league was renamed the American League in 1900 but was still officially a minor league. The AL declared itself a major league starting in 1901.
The ballpark sat 5,000 when opened in 1896 and was gradually expanded to 14,000 by the time that it was closed after the 1911 season. That did not count the "wildcat" bleachers that were built on the rooftops of houses behind the left field fence.
This small ballpark enjoyed some big success, as the Tigers and their young sensation Ty Cobb won three consecutive pennants during 1907-1909. Unfortunately, their success ran out in the post-season on each occasion, losing to stronger National League teams in the World Series. This ballpark is hallowed ground to fans of the Chicago Cubs, as it was on this site that the Cubs clinched their last World Series championship, as of the 2004 season.
Between the 1911 and 1912 seasons, the Tigers acquired the rest of the block, demolished both the wildcat bleachers and Bennett Park, and built Navin Field on the same site, though the new stadium was shifted by 90 degrees, with home plate where the left field corner had formerly been.
External links
- Baseball-Almanac.com (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/stadium/st_bp.shtml)