Doubleday Field

This article is about the stadium in Cooperstown. For the home stadium of Army Black Knights baseball, see Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field. For the home field of the Auburn Doubledays, see Falcon Park.

Doubleday Field is a baseball stadium in Cooperstown, New York named for Abner Doubleday and located two village blocks from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Doubleday Field

Location	Cooperstown, New York
Capacity	9,791
Field size	Left field: 296ft Left-center field: 336ft Center field: 390ft Right-center field: 350ft Right field: 312ft
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	1920
Expanded	1924, 1939
Tenants
MLB Hall of Fame game (1943-2008) Baseball Hall of Fame Classic (2009-present) Cooperstown Hawkeyes (PGCBL) (2010–2013)

The grounds have been used for baseball since 1920, on what was Elihu Phinney's farm. A wooden grandstand was built in 1924, later replaced by a steel and concrete grandstand built in 1939 by the Works Project Administration. Subsequent expansion has increased seating capacity to 9,791 spectators.

Hall of Fame Game

For the successor game, see § Hall of Fame Classic.

Doubleday Field, view from behind home plate.

Each year from 1940 to 2008, Doubleday Field hosted the Hall of Fame Game, an exhibition game between two major league squads. Originally, the game and induction ceremony for new Hall of Fame members were held on the same day, a Monday. Starting in 1979, the induction ceremony was moved to Sunday, with the game played on Monday. Starting in 2003, the game was scheduled in May or June, to better accommodate the participating teams' travel schedules.

As MLB's last remaining in-season exhibition game, its results did not count in the official standings, and substitute players were generally used to avoid injury to starters. The curiosity factor of two teams from different leagues playing each other in this game outside of a charity game, World Series, or spring training situation was eventually removed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play, further reducing the game's cachet. As it was placed in the major league schedule and delaying the game was logistically impossible, several times the game was cancelled and not played in a year due to weather or other circumstances, including rain, the 1981 player's strike, and one, year, a plane malfunction. Games going into extra innings stopped with the 1988 edition, with only nine innings played and ties being declared.

On January 29, 2008, Major League Baseball announced that the final Hall of Fame Game would be played on June 16, 2008, between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, citing "the inherent challenges" of scheduling teams in the modern day as the reason for ending the annual contest. The 2008 game was rained out and never rescheduled, making the 2007 matchup between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays the last Hall of Fame Game that was played.

Results

Key to colors

	National League victory over American League
	American League victory over National League

Date	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Score	Notes	Series
June 13, 1940	Chicago Cubs	10	Boston Red Sox	9	7 innings-rain	NL, 1–0
June 13, 1941	Cleveland Indians	2	Cincinnati Reds	1	6 innings-rain	Tied, 1–1
August 3, 1942	St. Louis Cardinals	5	Philadelphia Athletics	2		NL, 2–1
July 19, 1943	Brooklyn Dodgers	7	Chicago White Sox	5		NL, 3–1
July 10, 1944	Detroit Tigers vs. New York Giants				canceled-rain
1945					canceled-war restrictions
June 13, 1946	New York Giants	9	Detroit Tigers	5		NL, 4–1
July 21, 1947	Boston Braves	4	New York Yankees	3	10 innings	NL, 5–1
July 12, 1948	St. Louis Browns	7	Philadelphia Phillies	5		NL, 5–2
June 13, 1949	Washington Senators	8	Pittsburgh Pirates	7		NL, 5–3
July 24, 1950	Boston Red Sox	8	New York Giants	5		NL, 5–4
July 23, 1951	Brooklyn Dodgers	9	Philadelphia Athletics	4		NL, 6–4
July 21, 1952	Cleveland Indians	4	Chicago Cubs	2		NL, 6–5
July 27, 1953	Cincinnati Reds	16	Chicago White Sox	6		NL, 7–5
August 9, 1954	New York Yankees	10	Cincinnati Reds	9		NL, 7–6
July 25, 1955	Boston Red Sox	4	Milwaukee Braves	2		Tied, 7–7
July 23, 1956	New York Giants	11	Detroit Tigers	10	12 innings	NL, 8–7
July 22, 1957	Chicago White Sox	13	St. Louis Cardinals	4		Tied, 8–8
August 4, 1958	Washington Senators	5	Philadelphia Phillies	4		AL, 9–8
July 20, 1959	Kansas City Athletics 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 5				6 innings-rain (tie game)	AL, 9–8–1
June 27, 1960	Chicago Cubs	5	Cleveland Indians	0		Tied, 9–9–1
July 24, 1961	Los Angeles Dodgers	6	Baltimore Orioles	2		NL, 10–9–1
July 23, 1962	Milwaukee Braves vs. New York Yankees				cancelled-rain
August 5, 1963	Boston Red Sox	7	Milwaukee Braves	3		Tied, 10–10–1
July 27, 1964	Washington Senators	6	New York Mets	4		AL, 11–10–1
July 26, 1965	New York Yankees	7	Philadelphia Phillies	4		AL, 12–10–1
July 25, 1966	St. Louis Cardinals	7	Minnesota Twins	5		AL, 12–11–1
July 24, 1967	Baltimore Orioles	3	Cincinnati Reds	0		AL, 13–11–1
July 22, 1968	Detroit Tigers	10	Pittsburgh Pirates	1		AL, 14–11–1
July 28, 1969	Minnesota Twins	7	Houston Astros	2	5 innings-rain	AL, 15–11–1
July 27, 1970	Montreal Expos	10	Chicago White Sox	6		AL, 15–12–1
August 9, 1971	Cleveland Indians	13	Chicago Cubs	5		AL, 16–12–1
August 7, 1972	New York Yankees	8	Los Angeles Dodgers	3		AL, 17–12–1
August 6, 1973	Texas Rangers	6	Pittsburgh Pirates	4		AL, 18–12–1
August 12, 1974	Atlanta Braves	12	Chicago White Sox	9		AL, 18–13–1
August 18, 1975	Boston Red Sox	11	San Francisco Giants	5		AL, 19–13–1
August 9, 1976	Milwaukee Brewers	9	New York Mets	3		AL, 20–13–1
August 8, 1977	Minnesota Twins	8	Philadelphia Phillies	5		AL, 21–13–1
August 7, 1978	Detroit Tigers 4, New York Mets 4				6½ innings-rain (tie game)	AL, 21–13–2
August 6, 1979	Texas Rangers	12	San Diego Padres	5		AL, 22–13–2
August 4, 1980	Pittsburgh Pirates	11	Chicago White Sox	8		AL, 22–14–2
August 3, 1981	Cincinnati Reds vs. Oakland Athletics †				canceled-players' strike
August 2, 1982	Chicago White Sox 4, New York Mets 4				8 innings-rain (tie game)	AL, 22–14–3
August 1, 1983	St. Louis Cardinals	4	Baltimore Orioles	1		AL, 22–15–3
August 13, 1984	Detroit Tigers	7	Atlanta Braves	5		AL, 23–15–3
July 29, 1985	Houston Astros	5	Boston Red Sox	3	10 innings	AL, 23–16–3
August 4, 1986	Texas Rangers	11	Kansas City Royals	4		AL, 24–16–3
July 27, 1987	New York Yankees	3	Atlanta Braves	0		AL, 25–16–3
August 1, 1988	Chicago Cubs 1, Cleveland Indians 1				9 innings (tie game)	AL, 25–16–4
July 24, 1989	Boston Red Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds ‡				canceled-plane malfunction
August 6, 1990	Baltimore Orioles vs. Montreal Expos				canceled-rain
July 22, 1991	Minnesota Twins	6	San Francisco Giants	4		AL, 26–16–4
August 3, 1992	New York Mets	3	Chicago White Sox	0		AL, 26–17–4
August 2, 1993	Cleveland Indians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers				canceled-rain
August 1, 1994	Seattle Mariners	4	Philadelphia Phillies	3		AL, 27–17–4
July 31, 1995	Chicago Cubs	8	Detroit Tigers	6		AL, 27–18–4
August 5, 1996	California Angels 6, Montreal Expos 6				9 innings (tie game)	AL, 27–18–5
August 4, 1997	Los Angeles Dodgers	16	San Diego Padres	8		@
July 27, 1998	Baltimore Orioles	7	Toronto Blue Jays	1		@
July 26, 1999	Texas Rangers	11	Kansas City Royals	9	8 innings-rain	@
July 24, 2000	Arizona Diamondbacks	12	Cleveland Indians	7		AL, 27–19–5
August 6, 2001	Milwaukee Brewers	6	Florida Marlins	2		@
July 29, 2002	Colorado Rockies	18	Chicago White Sox	10		AL, 27–20–5
June 16, 2003	Philadelphia Phillies	7	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	5		AL, 27–21–5
June 14, 2004	Atlanta Braves	10	Minnesota Twins	7		AL, 27–22–5
May 23, 2005	Detroit Tigers	6	Boston Red Sox	4		@
May 15, 2006	Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates				canceled after 2½ innings-rain
May 21, 2007	Baltimore Orioles	13	Toronto Blue Jays	7		@
June 16, 2008	Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres				canceled-rain

Notes:

† A New York–Penn League game between the Elmira Pioneers and Oneonta Yankees was played in 1981.

‡ The Boston Red Sox played an intra-squad game in 1989.

@ Denotes games played between teams in the same league.

With the participation of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2003, every MLB franchise had participated in a Hall of Fame game.

Hall of Fame Classic

In November 2008, the Hall of Fame and the MLB Players Alumni Association announced the creation of the Hall of Fame Classic, an exhibition game involving Hall of Famers and other retired MLB players to be played on Father's Day weekend, and in recent years on the Saturday before Memorial Day. The inaugural Hall of Fame Classic was played on Sunday, June 21, 2009. The Hall of Fame game lasts seven innings or two hours, whichever comes first. In addition to the game, there is a parade and a home run derby beforehand. The game has been played annually since 2011, except in 2020 and 2021 when it was canceled "in accordance with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and government officials to limit opportunities for large gatherings and the further spread of the COVID-19 virus."

In 2024, the Hall of Fame game was the "East-West Classic", celebrating the Negro League's All Star Game.

Cooperstown Classic

The Cooperstown Classic was an International League regular season game played in honor of the 125th anniversary of the league in 2008. The game was held on a Sunday afternoon in May between the Rochester Red Wings and the Syracuse Chiefs. The game was the third of a four-game series in which the Chiefs were the home team. The crowd for the game was very respectable and Major League Hall of Fame member Carlton Fisk threw out the first pitch. The game was postponed after the second inning after a rain delay in which Syracuse led 1-0 and went on to win the following day in its completion at Alliance Bank Stadium. In an attempt to give the fans another game, the Cooperstown Classic Two was played on a Sunday in June 2009. This game was played between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the home team Syracuse Chiefs. The game was played in full with the PawSox winning 15-3. This game was not played after that but many have expressed interest in it after the demise of the MLB Hall Of Fame Game in 2008.

Other uses

Doubleday Field is used primarily for amateur and American Legion ball; The Legends of Baseball rents out Doubleday for three weeks over the summer. The Cooperstown Hawkeyes of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League use the field during the summer, while Play at the Plate Baseball and JSB Baseball also has an annual event at Doubleday Field every September.

No professional team has ever called the stadium home, although in 1996 the Northeast League considered placing a franchise in Cooperstown; this idea was rejected because Doubleday Field has no lights, a necessity for a team in a pro league. Also, some felt that Cooperstown should be the home of all baseball, and not just one team. However, the New York–Penn League played an annual regular-season game at Doubleday Field from 1991-2019, with the team based in nearby Oneonta serving as the home team through 2009. (The team was known as the Oneonta Yankees until 1999, when they switched affiliations to become the Oneonta Tigers. The franchise moved to Connecticut in 2010, but continued to host the Cooperstown game.)

On September 16, 2023, the Savannah Bananas would wrap up their 2023 Banana Ball Word Tour at Doubleday Field against their rivals, the Party Animals. In front of a sold out Doubleday Field, the Party Animals would defeat the Bananas 2-1.

External links

• http://www.playattheplate.org
• Legends of Baseball
• Doubleday Field, A Diamond in the Pasture, explains how Elihu Phinney's farm became the famous ball park.
• Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues: Doubleday Field
• Rochester Area Ballparks: Doubleday Field
• Project Ballpark: Doubleday Field
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Rain washes away final Hall of Fame Game