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Borchert Field
Borchert Field, known at various times as Athletic Park and Borchert's Orchard, was a baseball park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The home field for several professional baseball clubs from 1888 through 1952, it also hosted two football teams: the Milwaukee Badgers from 1922 to 1926 and the Green Bay Packers in 1933. The stadium became obsolete after the construction of County Stadium in 1953 and was demolished later that year. After serving as a recreational area for a decade, Interstate 43 was built on top of it.
The park was built on a rectangular block bounded by North 7th, North 8th, West Chambers, and West Burleigh Streets. Home plate was at the south end (Chambers), with the outfield bounded by the outer fence, making fair territory home-plate-shaped, with short fields in left and right and very deep power alleys, a configuration used by a number of ballparks of the era that were constrained by a narrow block.
Borchert Park, known when it opened as Athletic Park, was constructed in 1888 at a cost of $40,000 ($1.4 million in 2024). The site was located in a residential area, situated on a rectangular block bounded by four streets. The shape of the property created unique conditions in the outfield: the fences in field and right field were located only 266 feet from home plate, while dead center was 395 feet. However, the fences in left-center and right-center were 435 feet from home plate, creating deep "power alleys".[citation needed] The park was dedicated on May 19, 1888, with a game between clubs from Milwaukee and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The ballfield replaced the Wright Street Grounds.(Podoll, p. 46) Although designed as a baseball stadium, the park was also used as an ice hockey rink,[citation needed], as well as hosting rodeos, wrestling, and civic assemblies.
Athletic Park / Brewer Field was officially renamed Borchert Field at the start of the 1928 season in honor of previous owner Otto Borchert, who had died the previous year at a baseball dinner that was being broadcast live on the radio (Podoll, p. 218). During the 1920s, the ballpark had been unofficially dubbed "Borchert's Orchard" by the media (Podoll, p. 189).
The ballpark suffered weather damage on June 15, 1944. During a game with Columbus, a windstorm pulled off the roof on the right side of the stands, sending debris flying and damaging some houses on 7th Street. The game was immediately stopped, ending in a tie. There were some serious injuries reported, but no known fatalities. That portion of the stands remained uncovered for the remaining years of the park's existence.
The final game at the ballpark came on September 21, 1952, a Brewers loss to the Kansas City Blues in the American Association playoffs.
Experimental night games had been staged at Borchert from time to time, using portable lighting. The trend, especially in the minor leagues, was toward night games. Permanent lights were installed at Borchert in 1935, with the first Brewers night game being held on June 6. All of the light standards were mounted on the playing field, including a set of double poles near each corner, limiting the view of the field from some box seats.
The left and right field corners were so steep and close to the field that the only observers who could see the entire field were the players themselves, and the fans in the center field bleachers. After Lou Perini bought the Brewers, he had home plate and the infield moved about 20 feet (6.1 m) toward center field. This allowed for placing bullpens in the left and right field corners, each team's pen on the opposite side of the field from their dugout so the coaching staff could watch them. It also had the effect of allowing fans to see more fair territory than they could previously.
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Borchert Field
Borchert Field, known at various times as Athletic Park and Borchert's Orchard, was a baseball park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The home field for several professional baseball clubs from 1888 through 1952, it also hosted two football teams: the Milwaukee Badgers from 1922 to 1926 and the Green Bay Packers in 1933. The stadium became obsolete after the construction of County Stadium in 1953 and was demolished later that year. After serving as a recreational area for a decade, Interstate 43 was built on top of it.
The park was built on a rectangular block bounded by North 7th, North 8th, West Chambers, and West Burleigh Streets. Home plate was at the south end (Chambers), with the outfield bounded by the outer fence, making fair territory home-plate-shaped, with short fields in left and right and very deep power alleys, a configuration used by a number of ballparks of the era that were constrained by a narrow block.
Borchert Park, known when it opened as Athletic Park, was constructed in 1888 at a cost of $40,000 ($1.4 million in 2024). The site was located in a residential area, situated on a rectangular block bounded by four streets. The shape of the property created unique conditions in the outfield: the fences in field and right field were located only 266 feet from home plate, while dead center was 395 feet. However, the fences in left-center and right-center were 435 feet from home plate, creating deep "power alleys".[citation needed] The park was dedicated on May 19, 1888, with a game between clubs from Milwaukee and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The ballfield replaced the Wright Street Grounds.(Podoll, p. 46) Although designed as a baseball stadium, the park was also used as an ice hockey rink,[citation needed], as well as hosting rodeos, wrestling, and civic assemblies.
Athletic Park / Brewer Field was officially renamed Borchert Field at the start of the 1928 season in honor of previous owner Otto Borchert, who had died the previous year at a baseball dinner that was being broadcast live on the radio (Podoll, p. 218). During the 1920s, the ballpark had been unofficially dubbed "Borchert's Orchard" by the media (Podoll, p. 189).
The ballpark suffered weather damage on June 15, 1944. During a game with Columbus, a windstorm pulled off the roof on the right side of the stands, sending debris flying and damaging some houses on 7th Street. The game was immediately stopped, ending in a tie. There were some serious injuries reported, but no known fatalities. That portion of the stands remained uncovered for the remaining years of the park's existence.
The final game at the ballpark came on September 21, 1952, a Brewers loss to the Kansas City Blues in the American Association playoffs.
Experimental night games had been staged at Borchert from time to time, using portable lighting. The trend, especially in the minor leagues, was toward night games. Permanent lights were installed at Borchert in 1935, with the first Brewers night game being held on June 6. All of the light standards were mounted on the playing field, including a set of double poles near each corner, limiting the view of the field from some box seats.
The left and right field corners were so steep and close to the field that the only observers who could see the entire field were the players themselves, and the fans in the center field bleachers. After Lou Perini bought the Brewers, he had home plate and the infield moved about 20 feet (6.1 m) toward center field. This allowed for placing bullpens in the left and right field corners, each team's pen on the opposite side of the field from their dugout so the coaching staff could watch them. It also had the effect of allowing fans to see more fair territory than they could previously.