Huntington Avenue Grounds was a wooden baseball stadium in Boston, Massachusetts, that served as the first home of the Boston Americans — later renamed the Red Sox — from 1901 to 1911. Built for approximately $35,000 on a former circus lot, the park opened on May 8, 1901, when Boston defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 12–4 before a crowd that filled its 11,500 seats.
During its eleven seasons, the ballpark witnessed two of the most significant moments in early baseball history: the inaugural modern World Series in 1903, in which the Boston Americans defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cy Young’s perfect game on May 5, 1904 — the first perfect game thrown under the rules that govern the sport today. When the Red Sox moved to newly built Fenway Park at the start of the 1912 season, Huntington Avenue Grounds was demolished, and the site became part of Northeastern University’s campus.
Stats at a Glance
- Team(s): Boston Americans / Boston Red Sox (1901–1911)
- Location: Boston, Massachusetts (now Northeastern University campus)
- Opened: May 8, 1901
- Closed: After the 1911 season
- Demolished: 1912
- Capacity: 11,500
- First World Series: 1903 — Boston Americans vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
A Ballpark Full of Quirks
Huntington Avenue Grounds was far from a polished facility. The playing field, laid out on a former circus lot, featured patches of bare sand in the outfield where grass refused to grow. Most famously, a groundskeeper’s tool shed stood in deep center field — well within the field of play — and balls that struck it were considered live. Center field itself stretched an extraordinary 530 feet from home plate at opening, expanded to 635 feet by 1908, one of the most expansive outfields in baseball history. The park’s construction was primarily wood, built cheaply and quickly to meet the demands of the newly formed American League.
Despite its rough edges, the park delivered some of the grandest moments of the Deadball Era. On May 5, 1904, Cy Young retired all 27 Philadelphia Athletics batters he faced in a 3–0 Boston victory — the first perfect game thrown under modern rules. The prior season, the same grounds hosted games of the 1903 World Series, forever cementing the ballpark’s place in baseball lore.
Legacy on Northeastern’s Campus
After the Red Sox departed for Fenway Park, Huntington Avenue Grounds was torn down in 1912 and the land was absorbed into what became the Northeastern University campus in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. The Cabot Physical Education Center now occupies much of the original footprint. In 1993, Northeastern erected a bronze statue of Cy Young near the spot where the pitcher’s mound once stood, and a plaque marks the approximate location of home plate.
The site stands as a quiet reminder that before Fenway Park became a Boston institution, the city’s first American League team played in a ramshackle wooden stadium that nonetheless witnessed the birth of the modern World Series and one of baseball’s rarest achievements.
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Huntington Avenue Grounds FAQs
What teams played at Huntington Avenue Grounds?
The ballpark was home to the Boston Americans from 1901 through 1907. After the team was renamed the Boston Red Sox in 1908, they continued playing there through the end of the 1911 season before moving to Fenway Park.
What made Huntington Avenue Grounds historically significant?
The stadium hosted the first modern World Series in 1903, a best-of-nine series won by the Boston Americans over the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was also the site of Cy Young’s perfect game on May 5, 1904 — the first perfect game pitched under the rules that apply to Major League Baseball today.
What stands at the site of Huntington Avenue Grounds today?
The site is now part of Northeastern University’s campus in Boston. A bronze statue of Cy Young, installed in 1993, marks approximately where the pitcher’s mound once stood, and a commemorative plaque indicates the location of the original home plate.
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Photo: Unknown / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.