Jefferson Street Grounds

The ballpark was home to three different professional teams:

• Athletic Club of Philadelphia (also known as the Philadelphia Athletics) from 1871 to 1876. The team competed in the National Association until 1875, and in the National League of Base Ball Clubs in 1876.
• Philadelphia Base Ball Club (also known as the Philadelphia White Stockings) from 1873 to 1875, when they shared the venue with the Athletics. The White Stockings competed in the National Association.
• Philadelphia Athletics from 1883 to 1890. This franchise competed in the American Association.

The grounds were located on a large block bounded by Jefferson Street (north); 25th Street (east); Master Street (south); and 27th Street (west). Across the street to the south was the Spring Garden Reservoir, which has since been filled in. Although typically listed as one ballpark, the 1870s diamond was located in the opposite corner of the block from the 1880s diamond. The facility opened to professional league baseball during 1871,[1][2] as early as May 15. The club's first official National Association home game was played on June 3. The seating capacity was meager, only 5,000 seats. The inaugural National League game was played there, on Saturday, April 22, 1876, between Athletic and Boston;[1][3] the Bostons won, 6–5.[4][5] By a quirk of fate, it was the only National League game played that day, all others being rained out. This game is often pointed to as the beginning of Major League Baseball.[4]

Baseball had first been played on the site in 1864. Several local clubs held their games there, including the historic Olympic Ball Club of Philadelphia, which had begun playing various varieties of town ball starting in the early 1830s and had adopted the "New York game" by 1860. When they began playing at the Jefferson site, the diamond was situated at the southeast corner, at 25th (first base) and Master (third base). The Olympics built a clubhouse along Master. Jefferson was behind right field. Local newspapers typically gave the ballfield location as "25th and Jefferson".

After an early Athletics franchise was expelled from the National League following the 1876 season, the field fell into disuse. The city cut 26th Street through, allowing the eastern half of the large block to be developed. The western half remained vacant. A new American Association team, also called the Athletics, decided to move from Oakdale Park after their inaugural 1882 season. The club leased the western half of the Jefferson lot and put a new diamond and stands at the northwest corner. Local newspapers then referred to the ballfield location as "26th and Jefferson", where there was an entrance gate. Also by this time, the venue was being called Athletic Grounds or Athletic Park.

The last major league game played in the park was October 11, 1890.[1][6] The ball field still exists in a revised form. The ballpark site is currently occupied by various structures including Daniel Boone Public School, also known as Camelot Academy, at 1435 N 26th St, and the Athletic Recreation Center and its ball fields. The field at the northwest corner of the lot approximates the location of the 1883–1890 diamond.

The "Athletics" teams that played at the Jefferson Street Grounds do not have any direct lineage to the Philadelphia Athletics franchise that was an inaugural member of the American League in 1901, and exists today as the Oakland Athletics.

• SABR article on Jefferson Street ballparks
• SABR article on early Philadelphia ballparks

• Photos of current site