Lake Front Park

Lake Front Park was the home of the Chicago White Stockings (the ancestors of today's Chicago Cubs) from 1878 to 1884.

It is infamous for its left field fence, which was located only 180 feet from home plate. Originally, balls hit over the fence were considered to be doubles, according to the ground rules, but in 1884, White Stockings player/manager Cap Anson decided unilaterally that such balls would be considered home runs. That led to aberrant numbers for that season, including a total of 142 homers hit by Chicago, after they had hit 13 the year before, with 90 percent of these coming at home. The team total would not be topped until the 1927 New York Yankees, while Ned Williamson (27), Fred Pfeffer (25), Abner Dalrymple (22) and Anson (21) all topped 20 homers.

Chicago's pitchers were also hurt by the rule, as they gave up 83 homers - almost twice as many as the next worst team, the Buffalo Bisons, who gave up 46. Larry Corcoran led the league with 35 homers allowed, while Tom Lee set a franchise record on June 28th by giving up six in a single game; that would not be matched until 2022, by Matt Swarmer.

Opposing teams protested the rule change, and after the season, the National League adopted a rule that fences would need to be at least 210 feet from home plate.

In 1880, the White Stockings had a home winning streak of 21 games playing at the park; this remains the franchise record.

The controversy became moot when the White Stockings moved into a new ballpark, West Side Park, in 1885, but the statistics accumulated have remained part of the official record.