Roosevelt Stadium

Jersey City, NJ

Team: Los Angeles (Brooklyn) Dodgers (NL 1956-57, some games)	Dimensions: LF 330 CF 411 RF 330
Capacity: 20,000 (1937) 30,000 (1939) 24,500 (1957)	Opening Day: April 23, 1937
Cost: $1.5 million	Architect: Christian H. Ziegler

Memorable Moment:

April 18, 1946: Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier.

This park was originally a landfill for dirt excavated during the construction of the Holland Tunnel. It was built in 1937 as Works Project Administration (WPA) and named after President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Willie Mays was the only player to ever hit a ball completely out of the park.

This park was surrounded by a large stone wall with a gate in straight away center and a large single decked grandstand. All of the light towers and the 40 foot hand operated scoreboard all stood inside the wall.

Carmela Karnoutsos, in an article titled Roosevelt Stadium, writes, "Considered the best minor league baseball park of the time, it was constructed of steel and concrete. The bowl-shaped stadium was surrounded by a concrete wall. The grandstand consisted of terraced seating of 35 rows and bleachers. The roof was sixty feet from the ground with multiple ramps for easy access to the seats."

Current day site.