The Oakland A's are trying to make the Oakland Coliseum a nicer, more friendly place even though it is considered the worst park in major leagues. One thing that they did was turn a place known as the West Side Club into the Shibe Park Tavern. Even though they added more beer and such, the best thing about is that they really tapped into the history of the franchise. The A's started life in Philadelphia in 1901 and moved into Shibe Park in 1909 and played there until they left for Kansas City in 1953. Shibe Park was also home of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1938 to 1970 and Shibe Park was renamed Connie Mack Stadium in 1953 and met the wrecking ball in 1976.
One of the cooler features is that the A's contacted the Philadelphia A's Historical Society and were able to get some artifacts from the team's days in the City of Brotherly Love:
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| Bricks from the original Shibe Park |
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| 1948 ticket stub |
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| 1942 scorecard |
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| 1952 scorecard |
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| 1948 scorecard |
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| Connie Mack-Owner and Manager of the Philadelphia A's from 1901-1950 |
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| 1947 scorecard |
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| 1937 scorecard |
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| 1914 HOFer pitcher Eddie Plank's uniform, with hat on top |
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| 1928 Hofer Jimmie Foxx's jersey |
What a neat place and nice baseball memorabilia to see. I love the art work on those score cards. I wonder how much those tickets were? :)
ReplyDeleteWhat awesome "relics"!
ReplyDeleteI've seen pictures of the 1928 unis (Ty Cobb spent his last two seasons with the Athletics), but it must be a trip to see the real thing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see Connie Mack without the stiff high collar he wore...