On April 5, 1913, Ebbets Field opened its doors for the first time as the Brooklyn Dodgers hosted the New York Yankees in an exhibition game.
More than 25,000 fans were in attendance for the first game at Ebbets Field, with another 7,000 watching from outside of the ballpark. It was reported that 10,000 additional fans had to be turned away due to the stadium reaching full capacity.
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Dodgers owner Charles Ebbets’ sister, Genevieve, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Nap Rucker took the mound for Brooklyn and fired a strike to the Yankees’ Bert Daniels to begin the game.
Brooklyn took an early 2-0 lead behind Casey Stengel’s inside-the-park home run. That score held until the ninth inning, when New York tied the game on a throwing error from reliever Frank Allen.
However, Red Smith sent the fans home happy with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth that gave the Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Yankees.
Brooklyn also went on to lose their first regular-season game to the Philadelphia Phillies by a final score of 1-0 on April 9.
The Dodgers finished the 1913 season with a record of 65-84-3, which was good for sixth place in the National League.
Ebbets Field served as the home of the Dodgers through the 1957 season, the team’s final year in Brooklyn before relocating to Los Angeles the following year.
Ebbets Field after Dodgers move to L.A.
After the Dodgers left for the West Coast, Ebbets Field continued hosting other sporting events until it was demolished on Feb. 23, 1960.
It was replaced by the Ebbets Fields Apartments, which opened in 1962 and still stands today under the same name.
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