Baker Bowl
From BR Bullpen
Home of Philadelphia Phillies, 1895 to 1938
BUILT: 1895
CAPACITY: 18,000 (1895); 20,000 (1929); 18,800 (1930)
LAST GAME: June 30, 1938, vs. New York Giants (Giants 14, Phillies 1)
LARGEST CROWD: 23,377 - August 8, 1908, vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
HIGH SEASON ATTENDANCE: 515,365 (1916)
LOW SEASON ATTENDANCE: 112,066 (1916)
OTHER OCCUPANTS: Frankford Yellow Jackets (NFL), 1931; Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), 1933 to 1935
The Baker Bowl is noted for its highly rectangular shape and its small field area. Because of its small size it was often derided as the "Cigar box" or "band box". The Philadelphia Phillies largely neglected the maintenance of the park, and in 1903 a section of the upper deck collapsed during a game and 11 fans died. Again in 1927, the upper deck collapsed, this time with no fatalities.
Some anomalies of this park include the train tunnel under deep center field that caused a bulge in the field, and the on-again-off-again bleachers in front of the center-field clubhouse.
