Hilltop Park was the nickname of a baseball stadium that
formerly stood in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. It
was the home of the New York American League Major League Baseball club
during 1903-1912.
New
York Yankees (AL, 1903-1912)
New York Giants (NL, 1911)
Seating
capacity
15,000
Dimensions
Left
Field - 365 ft
Center Field - 542 ft
Right Field - 400 ft
Backstop - 91.5 ft
It was also the temporary home of the New York Giants during a
two-month period in 1911 while the Polo
Grounds was being rebuilt after a fire. The ballpark's formal name was
American League Park, just as the formal name of the team was
simply the Americans. Because the park was located on The
Hilltop of Manhattan Island, it came to be known as Hilltop Park,
and its team was often called the New York Highlanders as wellas the Americans
or the Yankees.
This "Highland" connection contrasted with their intra-city
rivals, the Giants, whose Polo Grounds was just a few blocks away, in the
bottomland under Coogan's Bluff. Hilltop Park sat on the block bounded by
Broadway, 165th St, Fort Washington Ave and 168th St. The structure
consisted of a covered grandstand stretching from first base to third base
and uncovered bleacher sections down the right and left field lines. The
bleachers were covered in 1911, and additional bleachers were built in
1912 in center field. Originally built in just six weeks, the park sat
16,000, with standing room for an additional 15,000 or so.
Fly
to the site of Hilltop Park!
If you have Google
Earth installed, click here
to be "flown" to the site of Hilltop Park. Of course the
stadium is no longer there, but you can see the old neighborhood.
(If you do not have it installed, get
it from Google. It allows you to view virtually anywhere on
Earth in 3D using satellite imagery.)
The field was initially huge by modern standards - 365 ft. to left field,
542 ft. to center field and 400 ft. to right field. An inner fence was
soon constructed to keep things better balanced (see Baseball Almanac
link). Both the park and the nickname "Highlanders" were
abandoned when the American Leaguers left, at the beginning of the 1913
season, to rent the Polo Grounds from the Giants. The Polo Grounds had a
far larger seating capacity, and by that time was made of concrete due to
the 1911 fire. Hilltop Park was demolished in 1914.
Hilltop Park!
A pair of panoramas
of Hilltop Park from June 8, 1910.
Photo
by DO
FIRSTS
at HILLTOP PARK
Game
04/30/1903
Senators 2, Highlanders (Yankees) 6
Umpires
Bob Caruthers, Tommy Connolly
Managers
Clark Griffith, Highlanders
Tom Loftus, Senators
Starting Pitchers
Jack Chesbro, Highlanders
Happy Townsend, Senators
Ceremonial Pitch
American League President Ban
Johnson
Attendance
16,243
Batting
Batter
Rabbit Robinson (double)
Hit
Rabbit Robinson (double)
Run
Willie Keeler
RBI
Jimmy Williams
Single
Willie Keeler
Double
Rabbit Robinson
Triple
Jimmy Ryan (05/01/1903)
Home Run
Buck Freeman (06/01/1903)
Grand Slam
Freddy Parent (07/08/1904)
IPHR
Lou Criger (06/02/1903)
Stolen Base
Jack O'Connor
Sacrifice Hit
Ernie Courtney
Sacrifice Fly
Red Kleinow (05/03/1909)
Cycle
Otis Clymer (10/02/1908)
Pitching
Win
Jack Chesbro
Loss
Happy Townsend
Shutout
Bill Dineen (06/02/1903)
Save
N/A
Hit by Pitch
Happy Townsend hit John Ganzel
Wild Pitch
Al Orth (05/01/1903)
Balk
John Deering (06/13/1903)
No-Hitter
Cy Young (06/30/1908)
Primary
research by Jim Herdman & David Vincent
Courtesy of Retrosheet.
Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, a major hospital, now stands on
the site. The hospital's name was in the news in September 2004 and March
2005, when former President Bill Clinton underwent a pair of serious
heart-related surgeries there.
In recent years a plaque has been placed on the hospital grounds by the
New York Yankees to mark the former location of home plate in Hilltop
Park.
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