Long before Camden Yards or M&T Bank Stadium existed, one address defined sports in Baltimore: 900 East 33rd Street. For 47 years, Memorial Stadium was the horseshoe-shaped, double-decked house where Johnny Unitas found Raymond Berry, Brooks Robinson robbed hitters at third base, and fans screamed loud enough to earn the place a legendary nickname.
The stadium is gone now, torn down more than two decades ago, but it remains one of the most searched-for lost venues in American sports history. Here’s everything worth knowing about where it stood, what happened there, why it closed, and what occupies the site today.
Quick Answer
Memorial Stadium stood at 900 East 33rd Street in Baltimore’s Waverly neighborhood. It opened April 20, 1950, hosted the Baltimore Colts (1953–1983) and Baltimore Orioles (1954–1991), briefly housed the CFL’s Baltimore Stallions (1994–1995) and the expansion Baltimore Ravens (1996–1997), then closed December 14, 1997, and was demolished between April 2001 and February 2002. The site today holds the Weinberg Y YMCA, senior housing, and the Cal Ripken Sr. Youth Development Park, whose home plate sits on the exact spot as the stadium’s original home plate.
Where Was Memorial Stadium Located?
Memorial Stadium was built at 900 East 33rd Street in Baltimore, Maryland, in the residential neighborhood of Waverly, just north of the city’s Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus. Unlike most modern stadiums, it sat directly among rowhouses and city streets rather than in a parking-lot campus, which is a big part of why longtime Baltimoreans remember it as intimate and neighborhood-woven rather than a suburban arena.
Nothing of the original structure remains standing. The address is still active, however — it’s now home to the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Family Center Y at Stadium Place.
From Municipal Stadium to Memorial Stadium: The Origin Story
A wooden stadium first opened on this site in 1922 as Baltimore Municipal Stadium, built for football and track. Minor-league baseball’s International League Orioles moved in during 1944, and by the late 1940s the city decided to rebuild the aging facility into a modern, permanent, double-deck home for professional sports.
The rebuilt stadium opened April 20, 1950, and was formally dedicated as a memorial to Baltimore’s fallen soldiers of both World Wars. The inscription above the home-plate entrance closed with a line borrowed from General John J. Pershing: ‘Time Will Not Dim The Glory Of Their Deeds.’ Architects Hall, Border, and Donaldson designed the horseshoe-shaped venue at a cost of roughly $6.5 million — about $87 million in today’s dollars.
Stadium Facts: Capacity, Dimensions, and Design
Capacity grew in stages as Baltimore’s teams became bigger draws. The stadium opened with about 31,000 seats, expanded past 47,000 in the mid-1950s after an upper deck was added, and eventually reached 60,586 for football through the 1980s and early 1990s. For its final two NFL seasons (1996–1997) with the Ravens, football capacity peaked at 65,248, while baseball capacity topped out around 53,371.
The baseball field’s dimensions shifted over the decades too. It opened with symmetrical 309-foot foul lines and a cavernous 445–446-foot power alleys and center field. Baltimore later moved in temporary fences to shrink those alleys, eventually settling around 378 feet down the alleys and 405 feet to dead center by 1980 — numbers far friendlier to power hitters than the original 1954 layout.
The Colts Era: Unitas, Berry, and the ‘Greatest Game’ Aftermath
The Baltimore Colts played 31 NFL seasons at Memorial Stadium, from 1953 through 1983. Quarterback Johnny Unitas and receiver Raymond Berry turned the stadium into the epicenter of the era’s most exciting offense, and at the peak of Colts mania the team sold out 56 consecutive home games.
While the famous 1958 NFL Championship — often called ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played’ — was actually contested at Yankee Stadium, Memorial Stadium got its own title game the very next year: on December 27, 1959, the Colts beat the New York Giants 31–16 to repeat as champions, in what remains the only NFL championship game ever played in Baltimore. The stadium also hosted the 1971 AFC Championship Game, where the Colts beat the Oakland Raiders 27–17 en route to their Super Bowl V victory. The Colts played their final home game here on December 18, 1983, and were controversially moved to Indianapolis by owner Robert Irsay in March 1984, leaving Baltimore without an NFL team for 12 years.
The Orioles Era: Six World Series and Three Championships
The Orioles called Memorial Stadium home for 38 MLB seasons, from 1954 through 1991, and turned it into one of the most decorated ballparks of its generation. The team reached the World Series six times while playing here — 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, and 1983 — winning it all in 1966, 1970, and 1983. Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, and Jim Palmer, along with manager Earl Weaver, defined the era. The stadium also hosted the 1958 MLB All-Star Game.
The Orioles set their single-season home attendance record here in 1991, drawing over 2.55 million fans in the stadium’s farewell year before moving downtown to Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1992.
Notable Moments and Incidents
Not every memory tied to Memorial Stadium was a celebration. On May 2, 1964, a stadium escalator accident during a ‘Safety Patrol Day’ event killed a 14-year-old girl and injured 46 other children. On December 19, 1976, a small plane crashed into the upper deck shortly after an NFL playoff game had ended between the Colts and Steelers; because most fans had already left, no one on the ground was seriously hurt.
On a lighter note, the stadium earned its enduring nickname — ‘The World’s Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum’ — from the deafening, standing-room crowds that packed the horseshoe during Colts and Orioles playoff runs. Sportswriters occasionally called it ‘Lonely Acres’ during leaner, less-attended seasons.
Closure, Demolition, and What Happened to the Memorial Wall
After the Orioles left for Camden Yards in 1992, the stadium entered a quieter final chapter. The CFL’s Baltimore Stallions played there in 1994 and 1995, and the expansion Baltimore Ravens used it as a temporary home for their first two NFL seasons, 1996 and 1997, while M&T Bank Stadium was under construction. Memorial Stadium closed permanently on December 14, 1997.
Demolition ran from April 2001 to February 2002. In a compromise brokered by then-Mayor Martin O’Malley, the original war memorial wall and urn were preserved rather than destroyed, reinforced and relocated at a cost of about $750,000. They now stand in a plaza at Camden Yards, alongside the Babe Ruth commemorative plaque and one of Memorial Stadium’s original foul poles — so a physical piece of the old stadium is still visible in Baltimore today, just not at 33rd Street.
What’s on the Site Today
The former stadium footprint is now known as Stadium Place, a mixed-use redevelopment combining senior housing with community recreation space. The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Y occupies part of the grounds, offering fitness, aquatics, and youth programming to the Waverly neighborhood — check its site for current hours and membership details.
Adjacent to the Y sits the Cal Ripken Sr. Youth Development Park, a youth baseball and football complex built with home plate placed on the exact spot where Memorial Stadium’s original home plate once stood — a deliberate nod letting visitors stand on hallowed ground even though the grandstands are long gone.
Memorial Stadium Baltimore FAQs
Where was Memorial Stadium in Baltimore located?
It stood at 900 East 33rd Street in the Waverly neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, just north of the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus.
When did Memorial Stadium open and close?
The rebuilt stadium opened on April 20, 1950, and closed permanently on December 14, 1997, after 47 years of use.
When was Memorial Stadium demolished?
Demolition began in April 2001 and was completed by February 2002.
Which teams played at Memorial Stadium?
The Baltimore Orioles (MLB, 1954–1991), Baltimore Colts (NFL, 1953–1983), Baltimore Stallions (CFL, 1994–1995), and Baltimore Ravens (NFL, 1996–1997) all called it home.
How many World Series did Memorial Stadium host?
Six: 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, and 1983. The Orioles won in 1966, 1970, and 1983.
Did Memorial Stadium host an NFL championship game?
Yes. On December 27, 1959, the Colts beat the New York Giants 31–16 there to win the NFL title — the only NFL championship game ever played in Baltimore. It also hosted the 1971 AFC Championship Game.
What is at the site of Memorial Stadium now?
The former footprint is now Stadium Place, home to the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Y, senior housing, and the Cal Ripken Sr. Youth Development Park, whose home plate marks the original diamond’s exact location.
Is anything from the original Memorial Stadium still standing?
The stadium itself is gone, but its war memorial wall, urn, and one original foul pole were preserved and now stand in a plaza at Camden Yards in downtown Baltimore.
What was Memorial Stadium’s nickname?
Fans and sportswriters called it ‘The World’s Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum’ for its deafening, packed-house atmosphere during big games.
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