Former baseball and football stadium in Buffalo, New York
Offermann Stadium was an outdoor
baseball and
football
stadium in
Buffalo, New York . Opened in 1924 as Bison Stadium , it was home to the
Buffalo Bisons (
IL ),
Buffalo Bisons/Rangers (
NFL ) and
Indianapolis Clowns (
NAL ).
The stadium hosted notable events including the
Little World Series (1927) and
Junior World Series (1933, 1936 and 1957). The venue also hosted summer
boxing cards, most famously the 1930 bout between future
International Boxing Hall of Fame members
Jimmy Slattery and
Maxie Rosenbloom .
The venue was demolished in 1961 and is now the site of
Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts .
History
Planning and construction
Bison Stadium was built on the former site of
Buffalo Baseball Park for $265,000.
[2]
[3] The wooden grandstands from the prior venue, designed by famed architect
Louise Blanchard Bethune , were preserved and incorporated into the new steel and concrete facility.
The ballpark was built in the middle of a residential neighborhood on a rectangular block, and was known as a
hitter's park because of its small dimensions.
National Baseball Hall of Fame member
Tommy Lasorda described how the small dimensions of the venue were unfavorable to pitchers like himself in a May 1997 interview:
I used to curse Offermann Stadium. I'd look over my shoulder and the left-field wall was right behind me.
[4]
Homeowners on Masten Avenue behind left field and Woodlawn Avenue behind right field erected wildcat
bleachers on their rooftops, charging fans admission to watch games.
[5]
Opening and reception
Ollie Carnegie
The first event at the venue was a baseball game between the
Buffalo Bisons and
Baltimore Orioles on April 30, 1924.
[6] John H. Meahl, commissioner of the Buffalo Parks Department, threw out the
ceremonial first pitch .
The 1927 Bisons were recognized as one of
The National Baseball Association's top 100 minor league teams of all time after amassing a 112–56 record, winning the
International League championship, and appearing in the
Little World Series .
[7]
The
Buffalo Bisons/Rangers of the
National Football League called the stadium home from 1924 to 1927, and again in 1929 before ceasing operations.
During a June 1930
boxing card at the venue, reigning
NBA Light Heavyweight Champion
Maxie Rosenbloom upset
Jimmy Slattery to become undisputed champion, winning the
NYSAC Light Heavyweight Title and vacant
The Ring Light Heavyweight Title .
[8]
The first
night game in
International League history took place at the venue in July 1930, and saw the
Montreal Royals defeat the Buffalo Bisons 5–4.
[9]
The Buffalo Bisons defeated the
Rochester Red Wings in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series to win the
International League championship before a record crowd of 23,386 at the venue in September 1933.
[10]
Luke Easter in
Yankee Stadium
The venue was renamed to Offermann Stadium in 1935 following the death of Bisons owner Frank J. Offermann.
[11]
Alf Landon drew a record crowd of 25,000 for a
political rally in August 1936 to promote his candidacy in the
1936 United States presidential election .
[12]
Ollie Carnegie of the Buffalo Bisons led the
International League in home runs in 1938 and 1939, and was named league MVP for the 1938 season.
[13]
The
Indianapolis Clowns of the
Negro American League played at Offermann Stadium from 1951 to 1955.
Hank Aaron was discovered while playing for the Clowns in 1952, and his contract was bought out by the
Boston Braves for $10,000.
[14]
Toni Stone signed with the Clowns in 1953 for $12,000, becoming the first woman to sign a professional baseball contract.
[15]
Luke Easter of the Bisons became the first player to hit a home run over the venue's center field scoreboard on June 14, 1957.
[16] The Bisons would win the
International League championship that season, and Easter was named league MVP.
The inaugural Buffalo Jazz Festival was held at the venue over two nights in August 1960, headlined by
Louis Armstrong ,
Duke Ellington ,
Dave Brubeck and
Count Basie .
[17]
[18]
The venue's final event was an
International League playoff game between the Buffalo Bisons and
Toronto Maple Leafs on September 17, 1960. The Bisons lost Game 4 of their best-of-seven series and were eliminated from the playoffs.
[19]
Closing and demolition
Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts
In January 1960, the City of Buffalo condemned Offermann Stadium and ordered its demolition.
[20]
[21] The stadium was demolished in 1961. Woodlawn Junior High School was built in its place, later becoming
Buffalo Traditional School in 1977 and
Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts in 2007.
The closure left Buffalo with only one large stadium,
Civic Stadium , which at the time had been operating as an auto racetrack. A hasty renovation removed the stadium's racetrack and refit the stadium for the Bisons baseball team as well as the incoming
Buffalo Bills of the
American Football League ; with the renovations, the venue became War Memorial Stadium and hosted the Bills until 1972 and the Bisons until 1970 (and again from 1979 until
Pilot Field was finished in 1988).
In August 2012, a historical marker was placed at the school in remembrance of the site's 72-year history of hosting
professional baseball by Buffalo Sports Historian John Boutet of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
[22]
References
^ 1634–1699:
McCusker, J. J. (1997).
How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF) .
American Antiquarian Society . 1700–1799:
McCusker, J. J. (1992).
How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF) .
American Antiquarian Society . 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
"Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024 .
^
"Buffalo Bisons: About" . buffalo.bisons.milb.com . April 13, 2008. Archived from
the original on April 13, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2022 .
^ When Baseball came to Richmond Avenue
richomndavenue.org
Archived 2008-08-28 at the
Wayback Machine accessed 19-APR-2008
^
"Lasorda Personifies The Best Baseball Has To Offer" . Buffalo News.
^
"Torn-Down Tuesday: Offermann Stadium neighbors built 'bootleg bleachers' | History | buffalonews.com" .
^
"Buffalo Courier from Buffalo, New York on April 30, 1924 · 10" .
^
"Top 100 Teams" . MiLB.com. 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2017 .
^
"Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York on June 26, 1930 · Page 21" .
^
MILB History [
dead link ]
^
"HerdChronicles: '33 Bisons amazing playoff run" .
^
"Montreal Gazette" Feb 4, 1935
^
"Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois on August 28, 1936 · Page 10" .
^
"The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search" .
^ Graham, Tim (22 September 2004).
"Class Clowns The Indianapolis Clowns Have A Rich Place In Buffalo Baseball History; For Example, Hank Aaron Was "Discovered" At Offermann Stadium" . The Buffalo News .
^ Richard, A.J.
"Playing With The Boys: Gender, Race, and Baseball in Post-War America" . SABR.org . Society for American Baseball Research.
^
"This Day in Buffalo Sports History, June 14, 1957: Luke Easter hits legendary home run in Offermann Stadium" .
^
"Buffalo in the 60s: Satchmo, Basie, Duke, Brubeck headline Buffalo Jazz festival" .
^
"Aug. 26, 1960: Satchmo, Basie, Duke, Brubeck headline Buffalo jazz festival" .
^
"The Last Game at Offermann Stadium" .
^
"Monroe Morning World Archives, Jan 17, 1960, p. 23" . 17 January 1960.
^ Bailey, Budd (29 January 2011).
"This Day in Buffalo Sports History: The majors in Buffalo?" . The Buffalo News .
^
"Offermann site marked" .
External links
Links to related articles
The franchise Owners Head coaches Stadiums Seasons Lore
Early era:
1920 –
1940
League Park (Akron) (Akron Pros)
Armory Park (Toledo Maroons)
Baker Bowl (Philadelphia Eagles)
Bellevue Park (Green Bay Packers)
Bison Stadium (Buffalo Bison/Rangers)
Borchert Field (Milwaukee Badgers, Green Bay Packers)
Bosse Field (Evansville Crimson Giants)
Braves Field (Boston Braves, Boston Yanks)
Buffalo Baseball Park (Buffalo All-Americans)
League Field (Canton) (Canton Bulldogs)
City Stadium (Green Bay Packers)
Clarkin Field (Hartford Blues)
Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland Rams)
Comiskey Park (Chicago Cardinals)
Commercial Field (New York Brickley Giants)
Crosley Field (Cincinnati Reds)
Cubs Park/Wrigley Field (Chicago Tigers, Hammond Pros, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cardinals)
Cycledrome (Providence Steam Roller)
Dinan Field (Detroit Wolverines, Detroit Lions)
Douglas Park (Rock Island Independents)
Duluth's Athletic Park (Duluth Kelleys/Eskimos)
East Hartford Velodrome (Hartford Blues)
Ebbets Field (New York Brickley Giants, Brooklyn Lions, Brooklyn Dodgers)
Eclipse Park (Louisville Breckenridges)
Fenway Park (Boston Braves, Boston Yanks)
Forbes Field (Pittsburgh Pirates/Steelers)
Frankford Stadium (Frankford Yellow Jackets)
Griffith Stadium (Washington)
Hagemeister Park (Green Bay Packers)
Horlick Field (Racine Legion, Racine Tornadoes)
Kinsley Park (Providence Steam Roller)
Knights of Columbus Stadium (Orange Tornadoes)
Lakeside Park (Canton Bulldogs)
League Park (Cleveland Tigers, Indians/Bulldogs, Rams)
Lexington Park (Minneapolis Marines)
Luna Park (Cleveland Panthers)
Minersville Park (Pottsville Maroons)
Muehlebach Field (Kansas City Blues/Cowboys)
Nash Field (Kenosha Maroons)
Navin Field/Briggs Stadium (Detroit Heralds/Tigers, Panthers, Lions)
Neil Park (Columbus Wagner Pirates)
Newark Schools Stadium (Newark Tornadoes)
Newark Velodrome (Newark Tornadoes)
Nickerson Field (Boston Braves)
Nicollet Park (Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets)
Normal Park (Chicago Cardinals)
Parkway Field (Louisville Brecks)
Philadelphia Municipal Stadium (Philadelphia Eagles)
Polo Grounds (New York Giants, New York Brickley Giants)
Shaw Stadium (Cleveland Rams)
Shibe Park (Philadelphia Eagles)
Spartan Municipal Stadium (Portsmouth Spartans)
Sportsman's Park (St. Louis All-Stars, St. Louis Gunners)
Staley Field (Decatur Staleys)
Star Park (possible , Syracuse Pros)
Swayne Field (Toledo Maroons)
Thompson Stadium (Staten Islands Stapletons)
Triangle Park (Dayton Triangles)
Wisconsin State Fair Park (Green Bay Packers)
Yankee Stadium I (New York Yankees, New York Giants)
Post-War and Pre-Merger era:
1941 –
1969
Alumni Stadium (Boston Patriots)
Astrodome (Houston Oilers)
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium (Atlanta Falcons)
Balboa Stadium (San Diego Chargers)
Baltimore Memorial Stadium (Baltimore Colts)
Bears Stadium/Mile High Stadium (Denver Broncos)
Briggs Stadium/Tiger Stadium (Detroit Lions)
Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)
Busch Memorial Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)
Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland Browns)
Comiskey Park (Chicago Cardinals, Card-Pitt)
Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium (Philadelphia Eagles, Phil-Pitt Steagles)
Cotton Bowl (Dallas Texans, Dallas Cowboys)
District of Columbia Stadium/RFK Memorial Stadium (Washington Redskins)
Dyche Stadium (Chicago Bears)
Ebbets Field (Brooklyn Dodgers/Tigers)
Fenway Park (Boston Yanks, Boston Patriots)
Forbes Field (Pittsburgh Steelers, Phil-Pitt Steagles, Card-Pitt)
Frank Youell Field (Oakland Raiders)
Franklin Field (Philadelphia Eagles)
Griffith Stadium (Washington Redskins)
Harvard Stadium (Boston Patriots)
Jeppesen Stadium (Houston Oilers)
Kansas City Municipal Stadium (Kansas City Chiefs)
Kezar Stadium (San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders)
League Park (Cleveland Rams)
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers)
Metropolitan Stadium (Minnesota Vikings)
Miami Orange Bowl (Miami Dolphins)
Milwaukee County Stadium (Green Bay Packers)
Nickerson Field (Boston Patriots)
Nippert Stadium (Cincinnati Bengals)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland Raiders)
Philadelphia Municipal Stadium (Philadelphia Eagles)
Pitt Stadium (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Polo Grounds (New York Giants, New York Bulldogs, New York Titans/Jets)
Rice Stadium (Houston Oilers)
Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati Bengals)
San Diego Stadium (San Diego Chargers)
Shea Stadium (New York Jets)
Tulane Stadium (New Orleans Saints)
War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo Bills)
Wisconsin State Fair Park (Green Bay Packers)
Wrigley Field (Chicago Bears, Chicago Cardinals)
Yankee Stadium I (New York Yanks, New York Giants)
Current era:
1970 –present Stadiums used by NFL teams temporarily
†= Team's stadium under construction or refurbishment at time 1 = A team used the stadium when their permanent stadium was unable to be used as a result of damage.