Herald Park
| Full name | Herald Park |
|---|---|
| Former names | Houston Base Ball Park |
| Location | 2600 Travis Street Houston, Texas |
| Owner | Houston Electric Company |
| Operator | Houston Baseball Association |
| Field size | LF 310 CF 403 RF 310 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1884 |
| Renovated | 1896, 1898, 1903 |
| Closed | July 2, 1904 |
| Demolished | 1904 |
| Tenants | |
| Houston Nationals (TL) (1884) Houston Heralds (1887) Louisville Colonels (MLB/spring training) (1895) St. Louis Cardinals (MLB/spring training) (1904) Houston Buffaloes (STL, TL) (1888–1904) |
|
Herald Park (also known as Houston Base Ball Park, Fair Ground Park, and League Park) was a baseball park located in Houston, Texas and was the home of the Houston Buffaloes from 1888 until 1904. It also served as the spring training facility for the Louisville Colonels and the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League of Major League Baseball in 1895 and 1904 respectively.
The ballpark existed near the Houston fairgrounds at the intersection of Travis Street and McGowen Street on the eastern edge of Fourth Ward. Today, Houston's Reef restaurant sits on the location of Herald Park. In 2016, the Texas Historical Commission commemorated the ballpark by placing a historical marker on the location.
On July 2, 1884, a meeting was held in the office J. W. Mitchell that decided to issue 120 shares of stock at $10 each for the purpose of preparing a baseball park. Mitchell, along with W. H. Coyle and Colonel Will Childress headed a committee to sell such shares. Built in a largely unpopulated area of prairie land, on the grounds of the State Fair of Texas, fences and a grandstand were erected on the site by 1885.
The ballpark became the home of the semi-professional Houston Heralds club in 1887, and the site became known as "Herald Park". The Heralds were named as such because their owner, William H. Bailey, also owned the local newspaper called the Houston Herald. Although the Heralds team ceased after that season, many continued to refer to the ballpark by this name well into the 20th century.
Two big-league ball clubs barnstormed through Houston in 1887, the New York Giants and the St. Louis Browns, and played at Herald Park. When the Browns played, they faced a team composed of five from the , two from the Pittsburg Alleghenys, and two from . The Red Stockings as a whole returned to Houston the following season, but this time as the opponent of Houston's first fully professional ball club in their first ever game.
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