St. George Cricket Grounds or St. George Grounds is a former

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

venue located on

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and ...

. St. George was the home park for the

New York Metropolitans The Metropolitan Club (New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th-century professional baseball team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887. (The ''New York Metropolitan Baseball Club'' was the name chosen in 1961 for the New York ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

for the and seasons. The grounds were also a part-time home to the New York Giants of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

in . The Cricket Grounds were also known as Mutrie's Dump or Mutrie's Dumping Grounds, referring to Jim Mutrie, manager of the Metropolitans and the Giants. The stadium, which was built in the style of a typical horse

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

grandstand, was first used as a baseball field in 1853, with the first game between the

New York Knickerbockers The New York Knickerbockers were one of the first organized baseball teams which played under a set of rules similar to the game today. Founded as the "Knickerbocker Base Ball Club" by Alexander Cartwright in 1845, the team remained active unti ...

and the Washington Club. The site later became part of the development of the then-new community of

St. George, Staten Island St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, along the waterfront where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of th ...

in 1886, by

Erastus Wiman Erastus Wiman (21 April 1834 – 9 February 1904) was a Canadian journalist and businessman who later moved to the United States. He is best known as a developer in the New York City borough of Staten Island. Biography Wiman was born in Churc ...

. Fans were able to watch games while watching the construction of the Statue of Liberty. Although the community and the ferry were successful, baseball was not. The Giants were a strong team through the latter part of the 1880s, and the Metropolitans folded after the 1887 season. The Giants played some games there from April 29 – June 14, 1889, while awaiting construction of the Polo Grounds; their move to Manhattan ended professional baseball at St. George. The parking lot of the current Richmond County Bank Ballpark was the location of the former Cricket Grounds.

References

External links

New York Metropolitans Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors page on baseball-reference.com
St. George, Staten Island Sports venues in Staten Island Defunct baseball venues in the United States Lacrosse venues in New York City Former sports venues in New York City Demolished sports venues in New York (state) Demolished buildings and structures in Staten Island Cricket grounds in New York City Baseball venues in New York City {{NYC-sport-stub

See also

References

External links