🏛 Historic Stadium
Baker Bowl — officially National League Park — stood at North Broad and Lehigh in Philadelphia from 1887 to 1938, serving as the home of the Philadelphia Phillies for more than half a century. After the original wooden structure was nearly destroyed by fire in August 1894, the park was rebuilt in steel and brick, making it the first ballpark of its kind in America and earning it a place in construction history for its pioneering cantilevered upper deck.
Fans and sportswriters nicknamed it the ‘Cigar Box’ for its cramped, quirky dimensions — most notoriously, a right field foul pole just 280 feet from home plate, backed by a towering wall that reached roughly 60 feet in its final form. The park was also home to the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team from 1933 to 1935, hosted the 1915 World Series, and witnessed Babe Ruth’s final major league game on May 30, 1935. By the late 1930s the stadium had fallen into serious disrepair, and the Phillies departed after the season ended on June 30, 1938. The structure stood vacant for over a decade before being demolished in 1950.
Stats at a Glance
- Team(s): Philadelphia Phillies (1887–1938); Philadelphia Eagles NFL (1933–1935)
- Location: North Broad & Lehigh Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Opened: April 30, 1887 (rebuilt May 2, 1895)
- Closed: June 30, 1938
- Demolished: 1950
- Peak Capacity: About 20,000 (1929)
- Right Field Wall: About 280 ft from home plate; roughly 60 ft tall
- Notable First: First major American ballpark built of steel and brick; first cantilevered upper deck
The Cigar Box and Its Infamous Wall
Baker Bowl’s right field was unlike anything else in baseball. At roughly 280 feet from home plate to the foul pole, the distance was so short that the Phillies erected a wall that eventually climbed to about 60 feet — an early version of the kind of compensating barrier Fenway Park’s Green Monster would later make famous. The wall eventually bore an enormous Lifebuoy soap advertisement, which prompted the mordant press quip that ‘the Phillies use Lifebuoy and still finish last.’ Left field stretched a more respectable 341 feet, and center field reached 408 feet, giving the park a lopsided feel that influenced how pitchers and outfielders strategized every game.
The cramped footprint was a product of the urban lot the club acquired in the 1880s, hemmed in on all sides by Philadelphia row houses and streets. The club compensated for the tight right field line with the high wall, but power hitters still relished the short poke, and the park consistently produced some of the highest-scoring games in the National League during its era.
Decline, Departure, and Lasting Legacy
By the 1930s Baker Bowl was visibly crumbling. A section of the upper deck collapsed in 1927, injuring dozens of fans, and the park was never modernized with electric lights — a significant handicap as night baseball grew in popularity across the league. With the grandstand continuing to deteriorate and attendance dwindling, the Phillies negotiated a sharing arrangement with the Philadelphia Athletics at nearby Shibe Park, departing Baker Bowl for good after June 30, 1938.
The empty ballpark sat unused for more than a decade until it was finally demolished in 1950. A gas station and light industrial buildings eventually occupied the site. Today a historical marker near North Broad and Lehigh commemorates the ground where the Phillies played for 51 seasons, and the park endures as a touchstone in the history of stadium design — the steel-and-brick standard it set after the 1894 fire shaped every major league ballpark that followed.
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Baker Bowl FAQs
Why was Baker Bowl called the ‘Cigar Box’?
The nickname referred to the park’s notoriously cramped dimensions, particularly the right field foul pole that sat only about 280 feet from home plate — making the playing area feel squeezed tight, like the inside of a cigar box.
When did the Philadelphia Phillies leave Baker Bowl?
The Phillies played their last game at Baker Bowl on June 30, 1938, then relocated to Shibe Park, which they shared with the Philadelphia Athletics. Baker Bowl was demolished in 1950.
What made Baker Bowl historically significant in stadium design?
After a devastating fire destroyed most of the original wooden structure in 1894, Baker Bowl was rebuilt in steel and brick, making it the first major American ballpark constructed primarily of those materials. It also featured the first cantilevered upper deck in a sports stadium, an engineering innovation that influenced ballpark construction for decades.
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Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.