The location of the original home ballpark of the Boston Red Stockings, the franchise now known as the Atlanta Braves. The Red Stockings (who used a variety of nicknames in its early days) were formed from some of the roster of the original Cincinnati Reds, after the Reds' financial backers decided not to back a team for the 1871 season. The Red Stockings played at the South End Grounds from the team's formation in 1871 to 1914. The site was bounded roughly by the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad tracks, Ruggles Street, and Berlin Street (which no longer exists).
There were actually three different ballfields and structures at the South End Grounds, as explained below.
South End Grounds I[]
The original structure was primitive by today's standards. There was bleacher seating for maybe 3,000 spectators. There was no press box, and originally, no concessions. Bounded by an almost-rectangular property, with houses and apartment buildings along the right side, the field was deep to center but had very short foul lines. (Wags commented that there was no left field or right field, just a center field.) The batter faced northeast.
The Braves inaugurated this ballpark on May 16, 1871, with a game against the Troy Haymakers. In a not-atypical score for that era, the Red Stockings lost the game 29-14. But the Braves went on to win the championship of the National Association of Professional Base Ball (sic) Players four consecutive years, from 1872 to 1875, the final year of the NAPBPP's existence. After the National League's formation, the Braves won three NL pennants in this ballpark.
The Red Stockings played their final game in South End Grounds I on September 10, 1887, playing the remainder of their season on the road. Shortly after the last game, the existing structures were razed to make way for the fancier and higher-capacity South End Grounds II.
South End Grounds II[]
The second version of the South End Grounds eclipsed the first in comfort, capacity and stylishness. The high point (literally) was a roofed double-deck "grand pavilion", with box seats, a proper press box, and other features. The roof's profile, resembling a circus tent, and the "witch's hat" peaks, were quite trendy in the day. Bleacher seats extended down both foul lines, giving the ballpark a capacity of about 9,000, one of the largest ballparks of the day. The grandstand was the only true double-deck one ever built in Boston. (The Red Sox' second deck at Fenway Park is actually a completely separate structure, that overhangs the original grandstand.)
The Red Stockings, after starting the 1888 season with 27 road games to allow finishing touches to be applied, inaugurated the second version of the South End Grounds on May 25. As in the case of the original structure, they lost this first game, by a 4-1 score to the Philadelphia Phillies. However the team (now christened the "Beaneaters":) would go on to win three straight pennants in this ballpark, from 1891-1893.
Unfortunately, South End Grounds II was destined to have a short life, with a very unhappy ending. During a game on May 15, 1894, at the end of the third inning, Beaneaters right fielder Jimmy Bannon is heading back to the dugout, when he spots smoke coming from the right-field bleachers. A fire has started in trash underneath the structure. (Historians differ on how the fire started.) Bannon, along with several spectators, tries to fight the fire, but high winds that day cause it to spread rapidly. Soon, all of the ballpark structures (which are made entirely of wood) are on fire. The fire then spreads to the south and west, burning homes and businesses, with part of it jumping Tremont Street before firefighters manage to stop it. Over 200 structures, including the ballpark, are destroyed. The event is known to Boston historians today as the Great Roxbury Fire. Incredibly, considering how quickly the fire spread, there were no casualties.
South End Grounds III[]
After the first, the Beaneaters take up temporary residence at the then-abandoned Congress Street Grounds, while the South End Grounds is rebuilt in two months. Unfortunately, due to time and financial pressures, the final version of the ballpark will not be as nice or have as many seats as the previous one. In particular, the double-decker grandstand is not rebuilt. However, some improvements are made. Since all of the structures there are destroyed, Berlin Street is eliminated, and the team is able to purchase the properties that were on the other side of it, adding width to the right side of the property. The diamond is rotated slightly so that the batter faces east, and home plate is pushed towards the southwest corner of the property, extending the foul lines and adding area to left and right field.
The Beaneaters will honor the South End Grounds with two more NL pennants, in 1897-98. They play their final game at the South End Grounds on August 11, 1914. That game, against the Cincinnati Reds, is called for darkness after 13 innings, ending in a 0-0 tie. Right after that game, the property is sold and demolition begins. The team, by now known as the Braves, plays the remainder of their home games at Fenway that season (including their 1914 World Series games), and the first half of the 1915 season. Braves Field opens on August 18, 1915.
The Property Today[]
Nothing remains of the ballpark today. The Northeastern University's Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) currently stands where the infield was, and the former outfield is now occupied by the Columbus Avenue parking garage. A plaque within the Ruggles Street train station commemorates the ballpark.