Philadelphia Phillies: Look Back on Past Home Stadiums

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PHILADELPHIA – APRIL 12, 1909. The brand new Shibe Park is shown in a photo from April 12,1909. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images) /

Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium (1938-1970)

Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium was one of the oldest ballparks the Philadelphia Phillies have played in. Then-named the Philadelphia Quakers and Athletics, Philadelphia played in this stadium for 32 years. Initially opening as Shibe Park, the stadium changed its name to Connie Mack Stadium.

The first baseball game played at this stadium was on April 12th, 1909. The stadium reached capacity for the first time in what would turn out to be very few times that the stadium would reach full capacity.

In the very first game at Shibe Park, Philadelphia’s catcher at the time Doc Powers is believed to have suffered severe internal injuries after crashing into a wall to catch a foul pop-up. He would later pass away just two weeks later. While it’s unclear whether or not the incident was linked to his death, it is again believed that the cause of death was in fact linked to the terrible tragic incident that happened during the game.

After seeing a massive spike in the number of home runs that some fans thought was ridiculous, something had to change and something did end up changing. For the 1923 season, Connie Mack moved the infield back an estimated 21 feet. This led to a decrease in the number of home runs.

While only a few amounts of fans who are still living today got to be able to see it and visit Connie Mack Stadium, it was most definitely unique and a must-see.

There is reportedly no known footage from this stadium.