A Diamond In The Rough ... of Cleveland.

Photo from 'The League Park Society'

When people hear about East 66th Street in Cleveland, the neighborhood typically has negative connotations. However, there is a terrific historical site located just seven miles from the John Carroll University campus.

Even today, 65 years after hosting its last professional game, remains of League Park sit at the corner of Lexington and East 66th Street. It's a place where baseball geeks ... such as myself ... can go and be in the same spot where New York Yankee slugger Babe Ruth clubbed his 500th career home run (The Plain Dealer / Click here to see front page from August 12, 1929 - a big deal in Cleveland). It's the same place where the only un-assisted triple play in World Series history took place. In a city that starves for championships, this diamond is the location where the Indians won their first World Series in franchise history back in 1920 (The League Park Society).

The diamond opened on May 1, 1891 and could hold a crowd of 9,000 before being renovated in 1910 so it could hold 21,414 fans - a far cry from today where Progressive Field holds 43,545. It was the home field for the Cleveland Spiders (National League), the Cleveland Indians (American League) and the Cleveland Buckeyes (Nergo League) - and all games had to be played during the day because League Park didn't have lights. In fact, it was the last Major League Baseball stadium never to install permanent lights. Records do show that at least one night game was played in 1931 when the Kansas City Monarchs lent the stadium their portable lights (The League Park Society).

When one looks at pictures of the stadium, its shaped much differently than ballparks we're accustomed to now. Many credit that to the need to fit the stadium into Cleveland's unique street grid. To see the unique layout, click here.