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MLB Power Rankings: Top 30 stadiums of all time

By Joshua Sadlock

Aug 14, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; The sun sets over Wrigley Field during the game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 14, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; The sun sets over Wrigley Field during the game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 7, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The Phillie Phanatic cheers on in front of an opening day field graphic before action between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The Phillie Phanatic cheers on in front of an opening day field graphic before action between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

16. Baker Bowl

  • Year Opened: 1887
  • Year Demolished: 1950
  • Capacity: 18,800
  • Defining Features: The Baker Wall, steel and brick construction, wide foul ground

The Baker Bowl may have been the original band box stadium. It was a tiny stadium built onto a single city block in North Philly. At the time of its construction, the Baker Bowl was a state-of-the-art facility, and the first stadium to use steel and brick for most of its construction. It was also the first sports stadium to use a cantilevered upper deck.

Philly’s Baker Bowl had the original Green Monster, and Boston’s wall pales in comparison to the 60-foot wall that rose in right field of the Baker Bowl. Only 280 feet down the line, the wall saved more than a few pitchers’ ERAs, as did the 60-foot wide foul territory, which was unheard of at the time the stadium was constructed. Fans typically had been allowed to press in as close as possible in that day and age.

The Baker Bowl was not without its fair share of structural issues, as was the case of most stadiums built before modern civil engineering practices. A fire wiped out most of the original bleachers in 1894. In 1903, a fight between a few drunken fans (sound familiar, Philly?), prompted a stampede in left field. The bleachers collapsed, and 12 people were killed. There was another collapse in 1927 when rotting wooden piles caused the right-field grandstand to crumble.

So, while it may seem as though the Baker Bowl was a complete disaster, just as the Phillies were during most of their time in the stadium, it was actually ahead of its time from a structural engineering standpoint, helping to pave the way for future stadiums.

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