Брэйвс Филд: История бейсбольного стадиона в Бостоне

American baseball park
the current stadium of the Atlanta Braves
the minor league ballpark in Boise, Idaho

Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the Braves' move to Milwaukee in 1953. The stadium hosted the 1936 Major League Baseball All Star Game and Braves home games during the 1948 World Series. The Boston Red Sox used Braves Field for their home games in the 1915 and 1916 World Series since the stadium had a larger seating capacity than Fenway Park. Braves Field was the site of Babe Ruth's final season, playing for the Braves in 1935. From 1929 to 1932, the Boston Red Sox played select regular season games periodically at Braves Field. On May 1, 1920, Braves Field hosted the longest major league baseball game in history: 26 innings, which eventually ended in a 1–1 tie. Braves Field was also home to multiple professional football teams between 1929 and 1948, including the first home of the National Football League (NFL) franchise that became the Washington Commanders. The pro football Braves played at the ballpark in their inaugural season of 1932, then were at Fenway Park for four seasons as the Boston Redskins before the move south in 1937 to Griffith Stadium in Washington, D. C. After the stadium was purchased, Boston University leased it to the new American Football League's Boston Patriots for the 1960–1962 seasons, before, like the Redskins, the team relocated to Fenway Park. Located on Commonwealth Avenue at Babcock Street, the baseball field was aligned northeast, much as Fenway Park has been since it opened in April 1912. Most of the stadium was demolished in 1955, but significant portions of the original structure still stand and make up part of the Nickerson Field sports complex on the campus of Boston University.

While built for baseball and having a rich baseball history, Braves Field briefly served as host for football teams. Braves Field was one of two homes (with Fenway Park) of the Boston Bulldogs of the first American Football League (in 1926) and the Boston Shamrocks of the second AFL (in 1936 and 1937). The National Football League's Pottsville Maroons were sold and relocated to Braves Field in 1929 as the Boston Bulldogs. In 1932, Braves Field became home of the football Boston Braves, a National Football League expansion franchise, owned by George Preston Marshall. The next year, after a 4–4–2 season, the Boston Braves Football franchise moved to Fenway Park and changed its name to the Redskins. In 1937 the franchise relocated and eventually became today's Washington Commanders. Later, the Boston Yanks played a few games at Braves Field when Fenway Park was unavailable.

Before the Braves became the first modern era franchise to relocate, in 1952, the Boston Braves franchise had been in Boston since 1871. Before Braves Field, the franchise had played at South End Grounds, with play at Congress Street Grounds in 1894 while South End Grounds was rebuilt following the May 15, 1894 Roxbury Fire. Shortly after the Boston Red Sox opened Fenway Park in 1912, Braves owner James Gaffney purchased the former Allston Golf Club, one mile west of Fenway Park to build a new park for the Braves. Construction of the $600,000 Braves Field began on March 20, 1915, and was completed before the end of the 1915 season. The park was constructed entirely of steel (approx 750 tons) and an estimated of concrete. Braves Field officially opened on August 18, 1915, with 46,000 in attendance to see the Braves defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 3–1. In his Opening Day coverage, J. C. O'Leary of The Boston Globe described brand new Braves Field as "the finest ballpark in the world. There is not another like it anywhere, and the probability is that it will stand preeminent for the next 25 years." Braves Park was the largest stadium built in that era, with 40,000 capacity and a trolley system leading to the park. The only possible target in the outfield was a small bleacher section, which came to be known as The Jury Box after a sportswriter noticed during one slow mid week game that there were only twelve individuals sitting in the 2,000 seat stand. Ty Cobb visited the park and commented, "Nobody will ever hit a ball out of this park."

After purchasing the Braves from Bob Quinn in 1945, owner Lou Perini, citing low attendance, moved the Braves to Milwaukee just prior to the 1953 season, leaving Braves Field vacant. The Braves had drawn fewer than 300,000 fans in 1952, after drawing over 1 million in 1947, 1948, and 1949. Milwaukee had been the home of a Braves Minor League team called the Brewers since 1902, and the Braves had earlier blocked an attempt by the St. Louis Browns to return to Milwaukee, the Browns' original home. With the Braves gone, Boston University quickly purchased Braves Field on July 30, 1953, renaming it Boston University Field and utilizing it for their student athletes, a usage that remains today. The remaining scoreboard was sold and was moved to Kansas City Municipal Stadium. The old ballpark was used as is until 1955, when Boston University reconfigured the stands and the grounds. The remodel replaced all but the pavilion grandstand at the end of the right field line, which was retained as the seating core of a football, soccer, field hockey, and track and field stadium. The stadium was initially called "Boston University Field" and later renamed Nickerson Field. Along with the pavilion, the original outer wall was retained, though a portion of that wall along what is now Harry Agganis Way was replaced with wrought iron fencing in 2008. The stadium's ticket office was converted into the Boston University police station. The rest of the stadium structure was replaced by dormitories covering the former main grandstand; and the Case Physical Education Center, which houses Walter Brown Arena and Case Gym in the vicinity of what was the left field pavilion along Babcock Street. Of the demolished Jewel Box ballparks, Braves Field has the largest proportion of visible remnants still standing, as no other former ballpark has any portion of its seating still in use.