League Park I (Cincinnati)
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| Former names | American Park (1884–1890) |
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| Location | Findlay St. & McLean Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Coordinates | 39°7′1″N 84°32′12″W / 39.11694°N 84.53667°WCoordinates: 39°7′1″N 84°32′12″W / 39.11694°N 84.53667°W |
| Capacity | 3,000 |
| Field size | Left Field – 253 ft (77 m) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1884 |
| Opened | May 1, 1884 |
| Renovated | April 20, 1894 |
| Closed | October 2, 1901 |
| Demolished | 1901 |
| Tenants | |
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Cincinnati Reds (AA) (1884–1889) Cincinnati Reds (MLB) (1890–1901) |
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League Park was a Major League baseball park located in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was the home of the Cincinnati Reds from 1884 through 1901. The ballpark was on an asymmetrical block bounded by Findlay Street (south), Western Avenue (northeast, angling), York Street (north) and McLean Avenue (west).
The "Findlay and Western" intersection was the home field of the Reds from 1884 through June 24, 1970, when the team moved to Riverfront Stadium. The location of the diamond and consequently the main grandstand seating area was shifted several times during the 86½ seasons the Reds played on the site. League Park was actually the first of three parks to stand on the site:
During the Cincinnati Reds' first two seasons, the club played at the Bank Street Grounds. Following the 1883 season, the Reds were forced to abandon the park, because the lease had been bought out from under them by the new Cincinnati entry in the one-year wonder called the Union Association.
The Reds had to find a new location, and they found one less than a mile away from their old park, a few blocks to the southeast on Western Avenue, at the northwest corner of where Findlay Street intersected Western. Thus the Reds remained in the West End, and fans had only to traverse Western Avenue to see the team of their choice.
The new facility was variously called Cincinnati Base Ball Grounds (or Park), Western Avenue Grounds, American Park (while in the AA), and then its most enduring pre-1912 name, League Park (beginning 1890). The small grandstand for the new park was built in the southeast corner of the block, tucked into the acute angle made by the intersection. Although the diamond would be moved back and forth between the southeast and the southwest corners several times, the little 1884 structure would be retained for 28 seasons, and would come in handy. However, it got off to a bad start. It was constructed hastily, and during the opening day game a portion of the stand collapsed, killing one spectator and injuring several others.
The park was also very short to right field, with balls hit over the right field fence counting only as a double, until additional land was acquired a few weeks into the season. This increased the distance to right by 50 feet and made the field regulation-sized.
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