Cincinnati's Crosley Field: The Illustrated History of a Classic Ballpark

by Greg Rhodes, John Erardi, Joe Nuxhall (Introduction)

Overview

Delve into the history of this storied baseball field, which served as home to the Cincinnati Reds for more than 50 years!

The Cincinnati Reds played at Crosley Field from 1912 through 1970. The ballpark remains an iconic part of the city’s history and is still beloved throughout Reds Country. Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, by Greg Rhodes and John Erardi, presents the field through text and over 150 vintage photographs. A favorite ballpark in all of Major League Baseball, Crosley Field hosted the first night game, the first of Johnny Vander Meer’s back-to-back no-hitters, two all-star games, and four World Series. From the outfield terrace to the “Moon Deck,” from Lombardi’s “snooze” to Big Klu’s biceps, from Blackwell’s “whip” to Rose’s belly-flop slides, from the Redlegs to the Big Red Machine, Cincinnati’s Crosley Field has all the memories covered in words and pictures.

The authors also present the great Negro Leagues (baseball leagues formed by Black baseball players after they were excluded from the Major Leagues due to systemic racism) teams that played at Crosley, as well as the field’s many colorful characters, such as longtime announcer Waite Hoyt and the top-hatted vendor known as Peanut Jim. This wonderful coffee-table book is a must-have for any baseball fan in Ohio—and beyond.

“What a book! The photographs bring Crosley Field back to life and put you right back in your seat at the old ballpark. If you care about great ballparks and what made them special, this is the book for you. An inside-the-park home run!”
—Joe Nuxhall, Cincinnati Reds legend

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781578603848
Publisher:	Clerisy Press
Publication date:	04/28/2009
Pages:	220
Sales rank:	1,102,979
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

In the Crosley era, Greg Rhodes played shortstop for the Crosley Management Indians of Richmond, Indiana. (Powel Crosley’s refrigerators and automobiles were manufactured in Richmond in the 1950s.) He attended his first major league game at Crosley Field in the mid-1950s. Rhodes served as the first director of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened at Great American Ball Park in 2004. He's currently the Cincinnati Reds team historian. He has resided in Cincinnati since 1985, with his wife, Sally Westheimer. Growing up in Syracuse, New York, John Erardi was touted as “the next Frank McCormick.” The touter was Erardi’s Irish mother, who has a 12-year-old girl was captivated by McCormick's glorious 1937 season for Cincinnati's top farm club of Syracuse. Unlike McCormick, Erardi never made it to Crosley Field, but eventually made it to first base, scooping up throws for the Syracuse Moose All-Stars, Christian Brothers Academy, and later at Annapolis and Murray State University. The “Enquirer” reporter and columnist is a three-time Ohio Sports Writer of the Year, and has won the Associated Press award for best sports feature paper story in the country, and the state AP award for best feature in an Ohio newspaper (:Cincinnati and the Negroe Leagues”). He's the No. 5 starter in a family rotation of wife, Barb, son, Chris, daughter, Gina, and dog, Milkshake.

Read an Excerpt

The Reds on Radio

Powel Crosley became a part of the Cincinnati baseball when he purchased the Reds in 1934, but even before that, Crosley had made his presence felt at the corner of Findlay and Western.

Crosley, one of the great American entrepreneurs of the 20th century, began his broadcasting ventures in 1921 when he opened his radio manufacturing plant. In 1922, he put WLW on the air, and later acquired WSAI. On April 15, 1924, WLW broadcast the Opening Day game, the first time a Cincinnati station carried a Reds game. The newspaper did not identify the announcers of this historic broadcast, but noted that they “gave all the play-by-play details,” and thousands at home “heard” the game on radio. The newspaper reporter put quotes around “heard,” apparently unsure of how to describe this novel experience.

Crosley himself moved behind the mic for at least three Opening Day contests in 1926, ’27, and ’28 when he broadcast play-by-play from the roof of the grandstand. In 1927 and 1928, the second microphone at a table on the field handled player interviews. Crosley arrange to have the players and managers say a “few reassuring words” reported the Enquirer. 1928, Crosley put together an “All-Star” pregame lineup featuring commissioner Kennesaw Landis, Reds presidents C.J. McDiamid, Cubs owner William Wrigley, Jr., and the governor of Ohio, A.V. Donahey.

On at least one occasion, Crosley had partners on his broadcasting team, although apparently he did not bring them in for their baseball knowledge. In 1927, he was assisted by a vaudeville team of Ford and Glenn and his orchestra conductor, William Stace.

Although Crosley was a visionary and a marketing genius, these Opening Day games did not cause him to plunge into baseball broadcasting. The Opening Day broadcasts in the 1920s were the only games carried all season. Further, Crosley did not try to develop any exclusive arrangement with the Reds. In fact, in 1928, four Cincinnati stations carried the game, including WLW, WSAI, WFBE, and WKRC. It wasn't until 1920 that Crosley had WSAI devote more time to baseball, carrying a few additional games each season, called by Bob Burdette, and it wasn't until the mid-1930s, with the arrival of Walter “Red” Barber, that Crosley finally realized the full potential of baseball and radio.

Table of Contents

Pregame

The First: More Than a Ballgame

The Second, 1884–1911: Wooden Stands and a Palace

The Third, 1912–1919: Redland Rises

The Fourth, 1920–1929: Radio, Rixey, and the Babe

The Fifth, 1930–1939: What a Decade!

The Sixth, 1940–1949: Champions on the Eve of War

The Seventh, 1950–1959: Glory Days

The Eighth, 1960–1969: Shadows Fall

The Ninth, 1970 and Beyond: Long Live Crosley

Extra Innings

Editorial Reviews

“...it really brought back lots of warm memories.” – Jamie H. Vaught, Middlesboro Daily News.

From the Publisher