Dexter Park (Chicago)
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Dexter Park, a horse race track in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, was constructed after the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Named after a
gelding A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...
and a trotter who set world records for the mile, it inspired the naming of several towns, including
Dexter, Missouri Dexter is a city in Stoddard County, Missouri, United States, founded in 1873. The population was 7,927 at the 2020 census. History Dexter was platted in 1873. Mr. Dex, an early settler, gave the community the name of his horse, Dexter. Dexte ...
, and Dexter, Texas. The track officially opened in July 1867. That July, early baseball games at Dexter Park featured a series staged for the touring
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
. The Nationals had remained undefeated until they faced the Forest City (Rockford) club, which defeated them 29–23. This loss generated excitement for the next day’s game against the Chicago champions, the Excelsior club. The Nationals, however, beat the Excelsiors 49–4. Some Chicago fans and local newspapers accused the Nationals of being “blacklegs,” implying that they had lost to Forest City intentionally to boost interest in the Excelsior match and the accompanying wagering. The Nationals protested, and the newspapers retracted their accusations. Dexter Park served as the home field of the Chicago White Stockings, one of the oldest professional baseball clubs in existence. In 1870, Chicago’s sporting businessmen formed the White Stockings to represent Chicago as the Red Stockings had done for Cincinnati in 1869. The ball field was established within the track’s oval and featured its own small set of bleachers encircling the field. When the
National Association of Professional Base Ball Players The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), often known simply as the National Association (NA), was the first fully- professional sports league in baseball. The NA was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 se ...
formed in 1871, the White Stockings joined the new league and relocated to the lakefront, at
Union Base-Ball Grounds Union Base-Ball Grounds was a baseball park located in Chicago. The park was "very visibly downtown", its small block bounded on the west by Michigan Avenue, on the north by Randolph Street, and on the east by railroad tracks and the lake shor ...
. That move proved ill-fated, as it put the team's home field in the path of the
Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...
; the club did not field another professional team for two years while it nursed its financial position. Dexter Park was situated on the west side of Halsted Street, between 47th Street to the south and the imaginary line of 42nd Street to the north. This property was owned by, and adjacent to, the
Union Stock Yards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was formed by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a vast cen ...
. The "bird's-eye view" of the stockyards, from ca. 1878, shows part of the race track at the left edge. The track had ceased to be a working race track by 1880. By then it had been cut through by several of the Stock Yards' local roads and railroad spurs. hicago ''Inter Ocean'', May 22, 1880, p.7Its main usage had become conventions and cattle auctions. The last "race" mentioned in the local newspapers came in December 1881, a 100 yard dash contested (for betting) by two Stock Yards employees "on the old Dexter Park race track". hicago ''Inter Ocean'', December 5, 1881, p.6 Dexter Park Pavilion is first mentioned in local newspapers in 1884. hicago ''Inter Ocean'', May 22, 1884, p.15The Pavilion was the site of the famous wrestling bout contested between
George Hackenschmidt Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt (1 August 1877 – 19 February 1968) was an Estonian Strongman (strength athlete), strongman, wrestling, amateur and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, writer, and Philosophy of sport, sports philoso ...
and
Frank Gotch Frank Alvin Gotch (April 27, 1878 – December 17, 1917) was an American professional wrestler. Gotch was the first American professional wrestler to win the World Heavyweight Championship in catch wrestling, and he is credited for popularizin ...
in 1908, in what was considered professional wrestling's first true world championship bout. By 1909, the Pavilion had been renamed the International Amphitheater (I), but the two names were used synonymously in local papers. A marathon was staged between Olympic runners
Dorando Pietri Dorando Pietri (; often wrongly spelt Petri; 16 October 1885 – 7 February 1942) was an Italian long-distance runner. He finished first in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London but was subsequently disqualified. Biography Early ...
and Albert Corey. hicago ''Tribune'', January 22, 1909, p.6 The Pavilion / Amphitheater was used for various exhibitions until May 19, 1934, hicago ''Tribune'', May 20, 1934, pp.1&5ref> when it was destroyed by fire. A new arena, the
International Amphitheater The International Amphitheatre was an indoor arena located in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1934 and was demolished in 1999. It was located on the west side of Halsted Street, at 42nd Street, on the city's south side, in the Canaryville nei ...
(II) was built on its site. The racetrack was commemorated by a road to the west of the arena, called Dexter Park Avenue.


References


External links

*Jack Bales,
Ballparks,"WrigleyIvy.com
*Jack Bales
''Before They Were the Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team''.
Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2019.


Early Chicago racetracks

Library of Congress map of Chicago showing Dexter Park, supposed to be 1892

Sanborn map showing Dexter Park Horse Exchange and Exposition Building, 1901

Detailed info including the 1867 games
{{coord, 41, 48, 36, N, 87, 38, 47, W, display=title Baseball venues in Chicago Wrestling venues in Chicago Sports venues in Chicago 1934 disestablishments in Illinois Defunct horse racing venues in Illinois