The Cincinnati Red Stockings were, of
course, baseball's first professional team from 1869 to 1870. They played their
home games at Union Grounds which was located where the fountain at Union
Terminal now stands. These grounds were being used by the Union Cricket Club,
and in the winter would be flooded and used as an ice skating rink. This park served as the home of the Cincinnati Baseball
Club from 1867 to 1870. This park is where fans, for the first time, paid to see
a baseball game. Tickets were 25 cents and 50 cents. Silver coins were scarce and the fans paid their way into the
park with "shinplasters," 10-15-25-and 50 cent paper currency. It was
thrown into a barrel at the gate and took several hours to count. The park had a
seating capacity, in 1869, of 4,000.
In the spring of 1866, Harry Wright left New York City for
Cincinnati to take a job as a cricket professional for $1,200 a year for the
Union Cricket Club. Shortly after arriving,
Wright discovered that Ohio fans were more interested in baseball than the
English game so he promptly organized a ball club and called it the "Red
Stockings." Wright himself pitched, played center field and managed the
team. Another local nine, the "Buckeyes," were also fielding a strong
team by 1868 so Wright imported three good players from the East, promising them
better jobs in Cincinnati. The idea worked so well that Wright decided to
assemble an entire team of good players in 1869 by offering them salaries
ranging from $600 to $1,400 to play. Albert T. Goshorn and Aaron T. Champion
were the "money men". Champion, an attorney in Cincinnati, was the
President.
1868 Cincinnati Junior League
In 1867 Dr. John Draper organized what was then known as the Cincinnati Juniors. The postcard above, made by the famous baseball photographer George Brace in the early 1950's, was made from the original photograph taken in 1868. Ranging in age from 15 to 20 they would wear the same uniform as the Cincinnati Baseball Club and would often play on the same grounds. The Junior Club was composed of 25 to 30 boys who were divided into two teams. One team of the older boys and the other consisting of the younger lads. The younger nine, seen in the card above, played together continuously for 3 years and won over 75 games. In 1869 they played all the clubs of boys in Hamilton County, Ohio, and Kenton and Campbell Counties in Kentucky and never lost a game.
The Red Stockings started their first year on the road playing the Mansfield Independents. On May 31, they recorded the first rainout in professional baseball history at Antioch. The next day, June 1, 1869, the first official game was played, as the Red Stockings defeated the Mansfield Independents, 48-14.
The 1869 Red Stockings team consisted of:
Harry Wright 35 Jeweler Center Field $1,200
Asa Brainard 25 Insurance Pitcher $1,100
Douglas Allison 22 Marble Cutter Catcher $ 800
Charles H. Gould 21 Bookkeeper First Base $ 800
Charles J. Sweasy 21 Hatter Second Base $ 800
Fred A. Waterman 23 Insurance Third Base $1,000
George Wright 22 Engraver Shortstop $1,400
Andrew J. Leonard 23 Hatter Left Field $ 800
Calvin A. McVey 20 Piano Maker Right Field $ 600
Richard Hurley 20 None Substitute $ 600
Harry Wright's brother George was such a
celebrated shortstop that small boys used to say, "I'd rather be Wright
than President."
The Red Stockings won a total of 130 straight games,
including all their games in 1869. They began the 1870 season in the same
manner, winning games with scores like 79 to 6, 94 to 7, and 100 to 2. It ended
on the afternoon of June 14, 1870. Playing the Atlantics in Brooklyn at the
Capitoline Grounds the score was tied 5 to 5 after nine innings and the
Atlantics wanted to call it a draw but the Reds insisted on playing extra
innings. The Reds scored twice in the eleventh inning, but the Atlantics scored
3 runs after a Brooklyn fan jumped on the back of right fielder Cal McVey as he
was attempting to field the ball. Talk about fan interference!
The team played from Maine to California wherever a team
could be found. They traveled nearly 12,000 miles by rail and boat, appearing
before more than 200,000 spectators, and scored 2,395 runs to 575 for their
opponents.
The 1869 Team
The two real photo postcards below were made by the famous baseball photographer George Brace in the early 1950's using photographs of the 1869 team. Many of the postcards in the Players section were taken by him.
After the 1870 season the team was disbanded due
to economic reasons. Local businessmen could not compete with the salaries
being given in other cities, sounds familiar doesn't it? Players'
salaries ate up the teams profits. In 1870 the gate receipts were $29,726.26 but
expenses were $29,724.87 for a net profit of $1.39. After the 1870 season
the team reverted back to amateur status. This team played at the Union Grounds
until 1875.
The following year saw the formation of the National
Association of Professional Baseball Clubs. it included 13 teams. Harry Wright
the captain of the Red Stockings took many of the players with him to Boston and
started up a team there. He also took the name Red Stockings with him. Now you
know why the Boston team is called the Boston Red Sox. (By the way they won the
association championship four straight years).
By 1875 this association also folded, and out of its
demise was founded, in 1876, the National League in which a new Cincinnati Red
Stockings
team was formed. This team did not have the great success ,to say the least, as
the first Red Stockings team did. That first season their record was a dismal 9
wins & 54 losses. They played from 1876 to 1879 in an area just north of Hopple
St. at Spring Grove Avenue, next to the Mill Creek (not too far from where the
Cincinnati Workhouse was) just north of the stock yards. The area now contains Kahn's and Hillshire Farms. It
was called Avenue Grounds and Brighton Park. The club owners were meat packers
George and Josiah Keck. Admission was 50 cents with 10 cent seats after the
fifth inning. This park is notable for being the first park to have a Ladies Day
(1876).
The Reds then moved to the Bank Street Grounds at Bank and
Western. They played here from 1880 to 1883. This location was where the circus
and wild west shows were staged and is now the parking
lot of SORTA/Queen City Metro. Admission 50 cents; 25 cents in 1882-83. The club
owner was clothing merchant Aaron Stern.
The Reds played in the National League in 1880 but were
expelled before the 1881 season because they refused to cease selling beer on
Sundays. The Reds joined the American Association in 1882 and continued to sell
liquor in the park (they also came in first in 1882). The Red Stockings played in the American Association
during the entire 1880s.
The players seen above left to right are: Top Row- Harry McCormick-Pitcher, Phil Powers-Utility, Ecky Stearns-1B, Bid McPhee-2B, Middle Row-Hick Carpenter-3B, Manager & Catcher Pop Snyder, Will White-Pitcher, Chick Fulmer-SS, Joe Sommer-OF, Bottom Row-Jimmy Macullor-OF, Harry Wheeler-OF.
From 1884 to 1901 the Reds played in League Park At
Findlay and Western at the site of an abandoned brickyard. The first image below
show the very first grandstand and playing field. Western Avenue is behind the
left grandstands and Findlay Street is behind the right grandstands. Taken in
1884 just after the greatest flood in Cincinnati history until 1937 with a crest
of 71'. The playing field had not yet been sodded. You are looking at what would
be the right field corner in later years. The 3rd image is of a game being
played. To the left you can see the building that was used by the groundskeeper
and on top of the building is a primitive scoreboard. The large building on the
other side of Western Avenue was Hulbert Hall who was the previous owner of the
ballpark site. The reds used the first floor as their headquarters and locker
room after the fire in 1900 destroyed their clubhouse.
The very first
opening day at this park turned out to be a rather exciting event. After the
game ended part of the grandstand
collapsed injuring several. There were stories written that one person was
killed but this proved to be untrue. There was no grass in
the infield, it was all dirt. The first ball park wedding would be held here,
(the reds contributed $60.00 and the visiting Baltimore team collected $40.00
for the couple. The event attracted the largest Monday crowd of the season,
2,201. This would be the site of the team for the next 86 years.
1884 photograph
1888 Reds team.
Game 1884-1893
In 1890 the team returned to the National League still selling beer and still playing on Sundays. The only thing they changed was their name, the Red Stockings would now be known as the Reds. The 2 cards and 1 photograph below show East End Park also known as Pendleton Park and Association Park which, as you can see, was located on the banks of the Ohio River in the east end at the foot of Delta Avenue. In 1891 the American Association wanted to place a second team in Cincinnati and they played their home games at this park (Cincinnati had re-entered the National League that year). Called the Cincinnati Kellys after its manager King Kelly. One of its attractions was that the fans would get to the park by steamboat. The steamer Music would depart the foot of Walnut Street every game day at 2: P. M. The Pennsylvania Railroad passed right next to the Main Entrance, and streetcars ran along Eastern Avenue but were slow and overcrowded, and were not considered a very good way to get to the park. The park had a seating capacity of around 5,000. The city had banned Sunday baseball and on April 26 while playing Louisville, every one on both teams were arrested. This happened again on May 4 (playing Philadelphia), and on June 7 (playing Washington). Unfortunately the remoteness of the park was its downfall. It was just too time consuming to go to a game. The team only played about one half of the season before moving to Kansas City. The Schmidt Recreation Complex is now at this location. The 4th image is of a painting done by the artist Mike Boss. It is his interpretation of how Pendleton Park looked during a game. The last two images show the past and present view of the area with approximately the same view.
1894 Reds Team
The Brace postcard above shows the following players: Top Row-Jack McCarthy (Utility), Farmer Vaughn (Utility), Bug Holiday (OF), Morgan Murphy (Cat), Dummy Hoy (OF); Middle Row-Frank Motz (1B), Frank Dwyer (P), Charlie Comiskey (Manager & 1B), Ice Box Chamberlin (P), Arlie Latham (3B); Bottom Row-Lem Cross (P), Tom Parrott (P), Jim Canavan (OF), Bid McPhee (2B), Germany Smith (SS).
1894 SCOREBOOK
Because the original configuration of the playing field had home plate in the southeast corner of the field forcing the batters to look into the sun, and the dimensions of the outfield were extremely lopsided, it was decided, in 1894, to reconfigure the playing field. New iron and wood grandstands were built and home plate was turned around and was now in the southwest corner of the lot. Believe it or not, a game on May 7, 1892 had to be called because of sunshine!
1895 Reds Team
The Brace postcard above shows the following players: Top Row-Bill Phillips (P), Bill Gray (LF), Farmer Vaughn (C), Tom Parrott (P), Billy Rhines (P), Harry Spies (UT); Middle Row-Bug Holliday (OF), Bid McPhee (2B), Bill Merritt (C), Morgan Murphy (C), Buck Ewing (Manager/1B), Dummy Hoy (OF), Dusty Miller (OF), Germany Smith (SS), Frank Dwyer (P); Bottom Row-Icebox Chamberlain (sold before season started DNP), Arlie Latham (3B), Jim Canavan (DNP).
1896 Reds Team
The Brace postcard above shows the following players: Top Row-Heinie Peitz (C), Chauncey Fisher (P), Billy Rhines (P), Farmer Vaughn (UT), Hank Gastright (P), Wiley Davis (P), Red Ehret (P); Middle Row-Billy Gray (UT), Brownie Foreman (P), Frank Dwyer (P), Buck Ewing (Manager/1B), Dusty Miller (OF), Charlie Irwin (3B), Germany Smith (SS), Bid McPhee (2B); Bottom Row-Dummy Hoy (OF), Bug Holliday (OF), Eddie Burke (OF).
1897 Reds Team
Mis-Printed Postcard
The Brace postcard above shows the following players: Top Two Rows-Dummy Hoy (OF), Stub Brown (P), Claude Ritchey (UT), Bug Holliday (UT), Billy Rhines (P), Jake Beckley (1B), Dusty Miller (UT), Heinie Peitz (C), Farmer Vaughn (UT), Pop Schriver (C); Middle Row-Frank Dwyer (P), Bid McPhee (2B), Tommy Corcoran (2B/SS), Buck Ewing (Manager/1B), Charlie Irwin (3B), Ted Breitenstein (P), Red Ehret (P); Bottom Row- Eddie Burke (OF), Mascot (?), Bill Dammann (P). The second Brace postcard is a puzzle. It is titled as being the 1898 Reds team, but as you can plainly see it is copyrighted in 1897 and is, in fact, the same image as the 1897 card. I find it hard to believe that Brace would make such an obvious mistake, so I really have no idea of what happened in the making of this card.
1899 Team
The next Brace postcard above shows the players of the 1899 team. The following players are listed top to bottom-left to right: Frank Dwyer (P), Tommy Corcoran (SS), Pink Hawley (P), Bill Damman (P), Heinie Peitz (C), Jack Taylor (P), Dusty Miller (OF), Ted Breitenstein (P), Bob Wood (C), Buck Ewing (Manager), Farmer Vaughn (1B), Bid McPhee (2B), Noodles Hahn (P), Bill Phillips (P), Jake Beckley (1B), Algie McBride (OF), Kip Selbach (OF), Harry Steinfeldt (3B), Mike Smith (OF), Charlie Irwin (3B).
In 1900 League Park caught on fire and the grandstands that had been built in 1894 were destroyed. When the new stands had been built it was decided not to demolish the old grandstands. This decision allowed the team to continue to play here after the fire. They just returned the playing field to how it was before and used the old bleachers and grandstands until a new stadium could be constructed after the 1901 season. Called the Palace of the Fans, this structure was used at League Park from 1902 to 1911. The diagram below graphically shows these changes in the diamonds position.
The concrete and iron grandstand you see in the cards
below consisted of 19 "fashion boxes" (9 on either side of home plate
extending to first and third bases and one directly behind it). Twenty-two Corinthian
columns with elaborate detailing at the top, supported the roof. Rooters' row
was seating on ground level behind home plate. Parts of the old League Park
remained in the right field. By the way this was still called League Park, not
Palace of the Fans Park. The Palace of the Fans only refered to this portion of
the park.
Beers were 12 for a dollar, whiskey was sold outside of
rooters' row underneath the stands. Rooters' row was protected from foul balls
by chicken wire all along the top of a three food wooden wall in front of the section, this also protected them from
the visiting ballplayers attacking them after one of their verbal assaults. You
could get 12 glasses of beer for a dollar.
From 1891 to 1902 the club owner was John Brush, an Indianapolis clothing store
magnate. August "Garry" Hermann took over ownership from 1902
until 1927.
1905
Team
Opening Day 4-27-1905
(Pittsburgh)
1906
Team
August
Herrmann
The seating capacity of the new Palace grandstand was only 3,000 and this quickly was determined to be to small. If you compare the next two rows of cards with the row above you will see what was done to improve this problem. On top of the concrete and iron Palace was constructed a wooden tier of extra seats. During the Palace years the club also built double-decked stands down the left field line. This was the only double-decked stands to reach the outfield wall until 1939 (not seen in these cards.)
In the 3rd image below you can see the 3 types of seating that was available at the League Park. There were the wooden chairs for the box seats, then 6 rows of folding chairs behind them with benches in the back four rows.
Luxury Boxes
Concession stand beneath the
Palace seating
grandstand in "rooters Row"
not a
postcard
One major drawback for the players was that there were no dressing rooms for the visiting team. They had to put on their uniforms at their hotel and were taken to the park on trolley cars or horse drawn "busses" as shown in the next card.
*
1909 Team
Players not identified
8 Members of 1911 Team
Someone, probably in the 1950's, took pictures of 8 members of the 1911 Reds from a newspaper and made a postcard out of them. It's a postcard so, naturally, I had to have it. The players shown are; left side top to bottom, Dick Hoblitzell-1B, Tommy Clarke-Cat., Eddie Grant-3B and Bob Bescher-OF. Right side; top to bottom, Jimmy Esmond-SS, Mike Mitchell-OF, George Suggs-P and Larry McClean-Cat.
Following the 1911 season League Park was completely demolished and construction began on Redland Field, the first truly modern park at this location. This was the ballpark that would eventually become Crosley Field in 1934. The next four non-postcard images show the razing of League Park, in the first three photos, and the construction of Redland Field in the last one. The 2nd & 3rd images show the railroad that was temporarily built to bring in supplies and remove the debris.
The postcard above shows the entrance to Redland Field.
The first non-postcard image below is a rare aerial view of Opening Day 4-06-12. The seating capacity of the Palace of the fans was only 6,000, which was the smallest in the majors, so Redland Field was built with a seating capacity of 20,000. This was the site of the infamous World Series of 1919 won by the Reds and "thrown" by the Chicago "Black" Sox. It was during the 1919 World Series that bleachers were constructed along the left field fence which added another 3,000 seats. This was the only time these bleachers were ever used. You can see these seats in the 2nd non-postcard image below.
*
1912 Reds Team
*
1913 Reds Team
The players shown in the Brace postcard are: Top Row; Bill Kellogg (1B), Bob Ingersoll (P), Phil Douglas (P), Rube Benton (P), Dave Davenport (P), Earl Yingling (P), Johnny Rawlings (LF): 2nd Row; Ed Kippert (OF), Doc Miller (OF), Chief Johnson (P), Jack Rowan (P), Tommy Clarke (C), Fritz Von Kolnitz (UT), Maury Uhler (OF): 3rd Row; Karl Adams (P), King Lear (P), Bert Niehoff (3B), Mullaney (?), Barhan (?), Marty Berghammer (SS), Heinie Groh (2B): Bottom Row; Dick Hoblitzell (1B), Red Ames (P), Mike Gonzalez (C), Buck Herzog (Manager), Herbie Moran (OF), Armando Marsans (OF), Johnny Bates (OF): On Ground; Brownie Burke (Mascot/BB).
The 1919 Reds players shown in the Brace postcard above are: Top Row; Sherry Magee (OF), Edd Roush (OF), Morrie Rath (2B), Hod Eller (P), Slim Sallee (P), Ed Gerner (P), Ray Fisher (P), Jimmy Ring (P), Heinie Groh (3B): Middle Row; Jake Daubert (1B), Charlie See (OF), Dutch Ruether (P), Pat Moran (Manager), Bill Rariden (C), Nick Allen (C), Ivey Wingo (C), Greasy Neale (OF), Rube Bressler (OF): Bottom Row; Jimmy Smith (UT), Dolf Luque (P), Pat Duncan (OF), Larry Kopf (SS), Roy Mitchell (P), Batboy.
Redland Field was so large it took nine years before a home run was hit over the fence. It was in 1921 that John Beckwith, a shortstop for the Chicago Giants of the Negro Leagues, hit a ball 370' over the left field wall. 19 year old Beckwith collected quite a large sum of money in coins that was thrown down to him from fans in appreciation of his feat (see center image below). Pat Duncan an outfielder for the Reds also hit one over the fence that year. Two teams actually played here, besides the Reds there was the Cuban Stars of the Negro National League in 1921. The Stars were formed in Havana Cuba in 1920, they then moved to Cincinnati the next year. The Cuban Stars leased the ballpark from the Reds to use when the Reds were out of town. The Stars moved on to New York in 1922.
these are not postcards.
John Beckwith in
center
Redland Field
*
*
Doublecards
Opening Day 4-11-1912
Same image-different wording and
sky.
The is a reproduction of a very rare card of Redland Field put out by the Braxton Hotel.
1932 was the first year that numbers were put on uniforms.
CROSLEY FIELD
Finally we come to Crosley Field the most famous Cincinnati ball park of them all. In existence from 1934 to 1970 it was owned by the multifaceted Powell Crosley whose manufacturing plant was only a few blocks away. The famous left field terrace was a natural feature of the site. Before the first ball park was built here it was the way people got from York St. to the brickyard that had been in business here.
From 1934 to 1937 this park was home to not only the Reds but also to the
Cincinnati Tigers of The Negro League. The postcard above shows the 1937 team
that is considered by many to have
been the best team in town that year (the Reds finished in last place). Some of
the stars on this team were: Neil Robinson one of the best center fielders in Negro League
history and was an eight-time Negro Leagues All-Star; shortstop Howard
Easterling went on to become, probably, the greatest third baseman in the league's
history; right fielder Lloyd Davenport became the leagues' greatest leadoff
hitter and six time All-Star; first baseman Olan "Jelly" Taylor, a
converted pitcher, became a three-time All-Star. The Tigers wore hand-me-down Reds
uniforms from 1935. The concession stands
were not open so the fans (many of which were white) had to bring their own food
to the games. The locker rooms were locked.
The Tigers were an outgrowth of an amateur baseball team founded
and ran here in 1934 by Cincinnati native William DeHart Hubbard. Hubbard was
the first black athlete to win a gold medal in an individual sport at the 1924
Olympics in Paris (running long jump). One of the team's backers was Henry
Ferguson who was, in addition to a cab company, part owner in the Sterling
Hotel and its Cotton Club nightclub (see Entertainment Section).
The players lived in a two-story boarding house in the 500 block of
Richmond Street in the West End. The players had 3-by-5 cards that were punched
at a nearby restaurant for meals which the ball club paid.
With attendance ranging from 10,000 to
15,000 people, these games were more heavily attended than the Reds games.
The reason the team disbanded after the 1937 season has been lost
to history, but their legacy continued. Many of their players were absorbed into
the Memphis Red Sox organization and went on to lead
other Negro League teams to championships.
During the war years there were two other Negro League teams
playing at Crosley Field. In 1942 the Cincinnati Buckeyes were formed and the
following year moved to Cleveland, Ohio. In 1943 the extremely popular Clowns
came to Cincinnati from Miami after they promised to play the game straight
during the game. They played in both Cincinnati and Indianapolis until 1946 when they
moved permanently to Indianapolis. They only played at Crosley four or five
times each season because they were always on the road barnstorming, playing all
comers. This team drew up to 20,000 fans per game
with pre game activities like food races and greased pig contests. They had a
special group of players that were a precursor to The Harlem Globetrotters,
including a catcher who sat in a rocking chair. One of the players who played
for them in the early 50's was someone you might have heard about, Hank Aaron.
Willie Mays who played for the Birmingham Black Barons says he learned to play
shadowball (playing with an imaginary ball) watching the Clowns. Future Harlem
Globetrotter Reece "Goose" Tatum played for the Clowns, as did Sam
Hairston, grandfather of future Reds player Jerry Hairston. Other players were
Henry "Speed" Merchant who was so fast he held on-field races against
Olympic track champion Jesse Owens. Merchant, a Cincinnati native, ran a
100-yard dash while Owens ran the hurdles. The manager of the Cincinnati Tigers
(see above) Ted "Double duty" Radcliffe played for the Clowns along
with his brother Alec Radcliffe. Leroy Cromartie, father of the Montreal Expos
Warren Cromartie, was the star quarterback at Florida A&M University during
the fall was the backup 2nd baseman.
Jackie Robinson, who played for the Kansas City Monarchs, was in
Cincinnati for a doubleheader against the Clowns on August 19, 1945. He is
thought to have been injured and did not play but it was nine days later on
August 28 that he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the rest is history.
Of course this is the park where the first night game
was played on May 23, 1935. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used a telegraph key
that sent a signal to folks standing by at Crosley Field. They then hit the
switch that turned on all 632 1,500-watt incandescent lights at once. The visual
explosion of all the lights coming on at once in the near dark conditions
completely awed the crowd of 20,422 spectators that were there. Pitching ace
Paul Derringer pitched a complete game beating the
Phillies 2-1. The newspaper article below tells about this game. It is from a
out of state newspaper.
Another thing happened in 1935, on July 31, 1935 Miss Kitty Burke became the only woman to ever bat in the major leagues. The Reds were playing the world champion St. Louis Cardinals. Miss Burke was sitting in a box seat when Joe "Ducky" Medwick scored to give the Cardinals a two-run lead over the Reds. Miss Burke yelled "Yah, Medwick, you can't hit anything." Medwick replied: "Yah, you can't hit anything yourself." That was all it took, Kitty headed to the on-deck circle where Babe Herman was getting ready to hit. He recalled: "This blonde says to me, 'Babe, give me your bat.' " Babe gave it to her and she strode to the batter's box. The umpire yelled "Play ball" but the Cardinals pitcher was reluctant until Kitty called him a "hick" and asked him why he didn't go home and milk the cows. The pitch was easy and Miss Burke hit it toward first base and she took off for 1st. The pitcher got the ball and was waiting for her on 1st. Kitty headed back to the stands saying later, "If he wanted me, he'd have to chase me." The out did not count despite a Cardinals protest and Babe took his regular at bat. Miss Burke was a nightclub entertainer and when she was given a Reds uniform she used it in her act, touring the burlesque circuit as the only woman to bat in the major leagues.
1936 Reds Team
Going left to right the players shown are, top row: John McDonald (Traveling Secretary), Billy Meyers (SS), Alex Kampouris (2B), Gilly Campbell (C), Tony Freitas (P), Dr. Rohde (team doctor), Kiki Cuyler (OF), Hub Walker (OF), Gene Schott (P), Whitey Hilcher (P). Middle row: Don Brennan (P), Samuel Byrd (OF), Ivey Wingo (coach), Tommy Thevenow (INF), Ival Goodman (OF), Ernie Lombardi (C), Les Scarsella (1B), Benny Frey (P), Babe Herman (OF). Bottom row: Don Brennan (P), Paul Derringer (P), Tom Sheehan (Coach), Chuck Dressen (Manager), George Kelly (Coach), Lee Stine (P), Lew Riggs (3B), Al Hollingsworth (P).
The top-left person in the postcard above is John McDonald who was the traveling secretary for the Reds. One of the most iconic images of the 1937 flood was taken when McDonald and pitcher Lee Grissom rowed into the center of Crosley Field during the peak of the flood. Going left to right the players shown are, top row: McDonald, Bill Hallahan (P), Paul Derringer (P), Roy "Peaches" Davis (P), Jimmy Outlaw (3B), Alex Kampouris (2B), Gus Brittain (C), Chick Hafey (OF), Dr. Rohde (team doctor). Middle row: Don Brennan (P), Ernie Lombardi (C), Dee Moore (C), Charlie Gelbert (SS), Kiki Cuyler (OF), Les Scarsella (1B), Ival Goodman (OF), Johnny Vander Meer (P), Gene Schott (P), Al Hollingsworth (P). Bottom row: Phil Weintraub (OF), Lew Riggs (3B), Lee Grissom (P), Billy Meyers (SS), George Kelly (Coach), Chuck Dressen (Manager), Tom Sheehan (Coach), Hub Walker (OF), Virgil "Spud" Davis (C), Buck Jordan (1B).
The famous 58 foot high scoreboard was erected in 1957 replacing the large earlier art-deco scoreboard built in 1934. 1939 was the year the Reds increased the seating capacity at the park by 3,000 with the addition of upper decks. In front of the right field bleachers (known as the Sun Deck) seating known as the "Goat Run" was added in the 1940's and 50's.
This over-large postcard has been researched by one of the visitors to this site (Ron Martin). By closely examining the scoreboard he was able to determine that this game was played on June 8, 1940 with the Reds at bat in the 2nd inning. The Reds went on to win the game 23-2 against the Dodgers. The shortstop is Leo Durocher of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the batter is Ernie "the schnozz" Lombardi of the Reds.
FOR MORE
SPORTS 
