Maple Leaf Stadium was a jewel box-style baseball stadium in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada, located at the foot of Bathurst Street on the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard (formerly Fleet Street). It was built in 1926 by Lol Solman for his

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

baseball team of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. Previously, the Maple Leafs had played at

Hanlan's Point Stadium Hanlan's Point Stadium was a baseball stadium and lacrosse grounds in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was erected in 1897 at Hanlan's Point on the Toronto Islands for the minor league Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club. It was destroyed by fire twic ...

. It continued to be the home of the Leafs for 42 seasons, until the team left town following the 1967 season. The stadium was demolished in 1968. Fans often referred to the stadium as the "Fleet Street Flats".

History

In 1925, the Maple Leafs acquired land at the foot of Bathurst Street on new land that had been in-filled from the lake by the Toronto Harbour Commission. Maple Leaf Stadium was designed by architects Chapman, Oxley and Bishop. Initial plans were for a 30,000 seat venue for baseball, football, and other sports. Construction was financed by the team and the Commission was to own the stadium. Construction was initially budgeted at $300,000 but was completed for $750,000. The opening game was held on April 29, 1926, with the Maple Leafs rallying to defeat the Reading Keystones in extra innings before a rain-soaked crowd of 12,781. Toronto mayor Thomas Foster threw out the first pitch, caught by former mayor Thomas Church. Games were held only during the day until 1934 when lights for night games were installed. In 1951, the Maple Leafs were sold to Jack Kent Cooke. Cooke spent $57,000 to refurbish the stadium. During the 1950s, attendance at games surged as Cooke promoted the games heavily on his radio station, CKEY, and the team gave away prizes to attendees. Twice, the team had better attendance than major-league teams. On November 8, 1926, Maple Leaf Stadium was the site of the first professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

game to be played outside the United States, a 28-0 victory for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

over the

Los Angeles Wildcats Los Angeles Wildcats is a name shared by several American football teams from Los Angeles: * Los Angeles Wildcats (AFL), a team that played in the American Football League of 1926 * Los Angeles Wildcats (Minor League AFL), a team that played in the ...

, both of the first American Football League. Estimated attendance for the game was 10,000. The

Toronto Rifles The Toronto Rifles were a minor-league professional American football team active between 1964 and 1967. It was based in Toronto, Ontario. The team's home fields were Maple Leaf Stadium (1965) and Varsity Stadium from 1966 to 1967.http://virology-o ...

of the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Fo ...

played at the venue for their first season in 1965. In the early 1960s, Cooke tried to persuade Toronto city council a new stadium was needed to attract a major league team, though the City of Toronto government was unwilling to shoulder the costs. Cooke, who had moved to the United States in 1960, sold the Maple Leafs in 1964. The Maple Leafs were sold again in 1967 and transferred to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. By that time, the stadium was estimated to need $250,000 worth of repairs. The final home game, on September 4, 1967, drew a paid attendance of 802. After the Maple Leafs left, the stadium was considered to be a safety hazard and demolition began within a few months into 1968. The site is currently occupied by apartment buildings. The adjacent

Little Norway Park Little Norway Park is a small park in the Harbourfront area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the southwest corner of Bathurst Street and Queens Quay West. The park is just north of the Western Channel into Toronto Harbour.

includes a ball field. The site was part of the 1976 Toronto Olympic bid, which would have seen a domed stadium built and be part of a larger ‘Harbour City’ concept. Toronto lost out as a candidate city to Montreal in 1968, canceling any plans for a stadium on the site.

International League Governors' Cup Finals at Maple Leaf Stadium

Junior World Series at Maple Leaf Stadium

Photo gallery

File:Maple Leaf Stadium Design.jpg, Original Design File:Baseball action at Maple Leaf Stadium stadium, c.1960.jpg, Third Base Line - 1960 File:Maple Leaf Stadium Toronto circa 1908.JPG, Post Card

References

External links