Epting - Los Angeless Historic Ballparks

The back of this postcard depicting Wrigley Field in the 1930s declares it as Finest on the West Coast. Built in 1925 for $1.3 million at Forty-second Place and Avalon Avenue (about a mile east of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum), Wrigley Field was home to the Los Angles Angels of the PCL from 1925 to 1957, and the American League Los Angeles Angels in 1961. The stadium was originally owned by the Chicago Cubs, and it was designed to be like Cubs Park (which was renamed for owner William Wrigley Jr. the following year). L.A.s Wrigley Field stood until 1969.

Baseball great George Herman Babe Ruth is seen here in a still from the 1932 film Fancy Curves , which was shot in part at Wrigley Field. Wrigley would become a popular location site for future Hollywood baseball movies and television shows. In fact, Babe would return here to play himself in the classic Lou Gehrig biography The Pride of the Yankees.

This is another still from 1932s Fancy Curves , featuring Babe Ruth as he taught a team of female players the skills of baseball. Over the years, dozens of movies and television shows were shot here, including the films It Happens Every Spring , Damn Yankees , Angels in the Outfield , and televisions popular Home Run Derby .

Babe Ruth leaps into home during a 1920s exhibition game at Wrigley Field. Wrigleys distinctive architecture (at left) makes it an easy park to identify, even with such a scant portion of it showing.

Before an Angels-Sacramento Solons game in 1942, Angels president Clarence Rowland tells soldiers the story behind the famed Wrigley Field Memorial Tower, erected to honor soldiers of World War I. Baseball games in the PCL in those years were used to raise money for the Army-Navy baseball equipment fund. From left to right are Carl Moore, Dean Patterson, Cpl. Charles Greenwald, Rowland, Gordon Ogilvie, and Ted Parker. I owe a special thanks to baseball writer Tom Hoffarth for this piece of research.

In this postcard view of Wrigley Field, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis delivers the dedication address as the stadiums renowned memorial tower is dedicated on January 15, 1926.

In this 1930 view, its easy to see the letters spelling out W-R-I-G-L-E-Y F-I-E-L-D on the clock face of the stadiums landmark tower, which was visible for miles round Los Angeles.

A page from the 1956 Los Angeles Angels yearbook details the stadiums history, stats, and amenities.

Here is the cover of the 1956 Los Angeles Angels yearbook. Players on this team included local legend Steve Bilko and Gene Mauch, who would go on to manage four major league teams (including the Angels, twice, in the 1980s).

The back of the 1956 yearbook featured the stadiums food and drink menu, including 25 hot dogs and 25 and 35 beers.

The caption on the back of this postcard reads, Originally a Pacific Coast League park and the site of TVs Home Run Derby , Wrigley hosted the Angels only in 1961. A major league record was set that season for most homers hit in one park (245). Designed in the classic art deco style, the red-roofed white facade of the park resembled many of the parks surrounding homes. Seating just 20,500, Wrigley featured outfield fences that angled slightly toward home plate as they moved away from the foul lines, creating short power alleys and more home runs.

This image comes from a game played at Wrigley on July 21, 1951, against the PCL San Diego Padres. Note the empty upper deck.

This image, also from the July 21, 1951, games versus the Padres, features a broad view of the Wrigley Field grandstand on the third-base side.