Long before Coors Field was built, Denver was home to another famous baseball field. Merchants Field saw many of baseball's legendary players when they visited Denver including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The park was constructed in 1922 and was near the city's former Montgomery Ward building. In 1930, Merchants Field became the first ballpark in the Rocky Mountains to have lights which led to larger crowds attending games on weeknights. Lights also aided the nightly radio broadcasts.Many legendary players made appearances here. In an era before today's lucrative contracts, the end of the regular baseball season led to barnstorming teams who were anchored by some of the legends of the game. This allowed Major League players and others a chance to make extra money, with the wining team getting the majority of the ticket sales. White and Black players came to Merchants Field in an era of segregation with Babe Ruth and James “Cool Papa” Bell both appearing on teams that featured the best players in baseball. Rogers Hornsby, Buck Leonard, Johnny Mize, Satchel Paige, Lou Gehrig, Josh Gibson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Oscar Charleston, and Bob Feller all played at Merchants Park.The field was also used for the annual Denver Post Tournament which was held each year between non-major league teams. In 1936 an all negro league won the tournament. It was also home to the Denver Bears of the Western League. By 1947 Merchants Park was abandoned due to limited capacity. The park was officially closed in 1948.

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Completed in 1922, Merchants Park is an important chapter in Denver's baseball history. The park was home to the city's first professional team, the Denver Bears. Merchants Park was an improved facility for the team and ample enough to attract barnstorming teams and players like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The park also was home to the prestigious Denver Post Tournament, held each year between non-major league teams. 

Former Site of Merchants Park (1922-1948)

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This short drive through downtown Denver includes two museums and several current and historic ballparks that have been home to Denver's professional teams.

The Colorado Hall of Fame was actually founded in 1964, but the permanent museum opened in 2001, after Broncos stadium was completed.&nbsp;The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Museum showcases key moments and important sports figures in Colorado's state history. The museum offers a wide variety of exhibits, including a Denver Broncos exhibit and another exhibit&nbsp;where children can try on uniforms and equipment from Colorado's sports teams.&nbsp; The first class that was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame was in April of 1965.&nbsp;More than 200 sports figures have been inducted since. They not only include professional and college athletes, but also high school. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Museum partnered with local academic institutions in order to involve students in the project.&nbsp; Colorado's finest athletes, coaches, and industry leaders are inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame every year. These people have demonstrated characteristics of sportsmanship, leadership, courage, sacrifice, endurance, and power. Exhibits include: A Snapshot of Women in Sports, The Denver Broncos Franchise, Gallery of Legends, Kid's Zone, and Salute to the Inductees.

The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Museum opened in August of 2001. The museum exists to honor those individuals who merit recognition and distinction for their exploits, accomplishments, and leadership in sports and athletic endeavors in Colorado. It is located on the west side of Sports Authority Field at Mile High and exposes visitors to Colorado sports history. There is a fee for tours, but museum admission is free. 

Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Museum

In the parking lot of Empower Field, one can find the outline of Bears Stadium's home plate as well as a miniature replica of Mile High Stadium. Both serve as a reminder of the work of Bob Howsam in bringing big-league sports to Denver. Howsam purchased the minor league Denver Bears in 1947 and envisioned Denver supporting a major league team by filling a modern stadium. He chose this site which had once been a landfill at 20th &amp; Clay Streets. The opening game at Bears Stadium took place on August 14th, 1948. The stadium held 16,000 seats, and the 11,000 attendees were far larger than most minor league games. Howsam's dream of bringing a major league team to Denver would not be realized for 30 years. In the meantime, his stadium was far too large for a minor league franchise, so he looked towards the increasingly popular sport of professional football. In 1959, Howsam was awarded an American Football League franchise and expanded the stadium once more, still hopefully of bringing MLB to Denver. This pre-merger AFL consisted of the New York Titans, Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Texans, and the Denver Broncos. The Broncos shared Bears Stadium and seating was added to the field for Bronco Games. With portable bleachers, stadium capacity increased to 34,000 seats.In 1968 Bears Stadium was purchased by the City of Denver and the name was changed to Mile High Stadium to advertise the city's new brand. Permanent stands were added on the north and west sides. In 1977 the east stands were revamped with a hydraulic system. This allowed the seats to extend for football and retract for baseball games. This also brought the max capacity to 80,000 seats.The Bears were renamed The Zephyrs in 1985 and played at Mile High until 1992. In 1993, Denver welcomed their new MLB team, The Rockies who played at Mile High Stadium for their first two years until 1995 when Coors Field was complete. The Broncos continued to play at Mile High Stadium and were joined by the Colorado Rapids soccer team in 1996. In 2002, the historic stadium was demolished and the Broncos and Rapids moved to the adjacent Invesco Field.

This unique monument is a small replica of the former Mile High Stadium which stood from 1948 to 2001. The stadium opened as the home of the Denver Bears baseball team. The stadium was expanded when Denver was awarded an NFL franchise and the Broncos began playing here in 1960. When the city acquired the park in 1968, it was renamed Mile High Stadium. This field remained the home of the Bears (renamed the Zephyrs in 1985) until 1992. Starting in 1993, the Colorado Rockies called Mile High their home field and played at the park their first two seasons, leaving for Coors Field in 1995. The Colorado Rapids also played at the stadium in 1996. In 2002, the stadium was demolished, and the Broncos and the Rapids moved to Empower Field (aka Invesco Field at Mile High)

Former Site of Bears Baseball Stadium and Mile High Stadium

Bruce B. Hellerstein is the creator of B's Ballpark Museum. He first learned about baseball when he was in the second grade during a show and tell assignment thanks to one of his fellow classmates. Quickly after learning, he asked his parents to take him to a game. Thereafter, Bruce was a baseball player. He was a member of every type of league you could possibly name! From little league to the semi pros, he thoroughly contributed to the game as a pitcher. Bruce graduated from the University of Denver with an accounting degree. Once he graduated, Bruce decided to lean into EGT taxation and planning. He chose to join his love for baseball with his career; therefore, creating B's Ballpark Museum. The museum is a non-profit organization which launched in July of 2010. There are several ways to contribute to this non-profit organization.How does a non-profit organization thrive, such as B's Ballpark Museum? Volunteers are considered as crucial for any non-profit organization. In addition, donations are accepted for B's Ballpark Museum. Planned giving is another way B's Ballpark Museum grows on a daily basis. This consists of any collectables that may be valuable to the museum itself. These are several ways that B's Ballpark Museum expands as an organization. To have a better understanding about the museum itself, let's go over what one may witness when stepping into B's Ballpark Museum. You can schedule tours to view the museum. There are tons of cool things you may see; for example, there are flags of certain teams. In addition, you will come across some baseball cards. Also, old jerseys can be seen here as well. If you love baseball and it's history,&nbsp;then this is the place for you. Swing by to view historical items from stadiums, such as old stadium seats. One can see just about everything related to baseball at B's.

The National Ballpark Museum is commonly recognized as B's Ballpark Museum. It is an amazing tribute to baseball stadiums around the nation! The museum relies less on the game and more on where the game takes place, inside of the park! Once you walk in, it is like one unique stadium that has an accumulation of keepsakes from different ballparks! You can expect to see bricks from old ballparks, books, photos, jerseys, and even stadium seats! Located in Downtown Denver, it is perfect for all ages who love the game or anyone who is interested in learning about baseball! Tickets range from being free to being $10. You are welcome to tour the museum every Tuesday through Saturday; although, sometimes business hours vary due to B's accounting career. 

B's  Ballpark Museum

Coors Field is located right
off Interstate 95 in Denver Colorado, and is home to the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball. The owners of Coors Field bought the rights from Coors
Brewery so they could use the Coors name.&nbsp;
While the field was being built, the Rockies played their first two
seasons in the Mile High Stadium from 1993-1994 before Coors Field opened up in 1995.&nbsp;Today, Coors Field has a
microbrewery and restaurant known as The Sandlot. The Sandlot offers a wide
range of food such as <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi">sushi</a>,
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_oysters">Rocky Mountain oysters</a>, Rockie dogs,
Denver dogs, Tucson dogs, vegetarian dogs and burgers, plus normal ball park
meals. Many visitors to Coors Field greatly enjoy the view of the Rocky Mountain from the first-base and right-field seats.

Coors Field&nbsp;was opened in
1995 and was the first baseball only park to be built since Dodger Stadium was built in&nbsp;1962. Now the Colorado Rockies were bringing a professional baseball team to Denver to accompany the Denver Broncos of the National Football League and the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association.&nbsp;The first official game played at Coors Field was&nbsp;on April 26, 1995, when the&nbsp;Colorado Rockies squared off against&nbsp;the
New York Mets. The game ended up going to extra innings&nbsp;with the Rockies eventually coming out victorious by a score of 11-9.&nbsp;The first pitch was thrown in the new stadium
by Bill Swift to Brett Butler at 5:38 p.m. Coors Field&nbsp;is leading major league baseball&nbsp;in
home runs scored in a season by one or more occupants at a facility with 303
homeruns. Coors Field is also the place where Barry Bonds hit his final career
762nd home run on September 5, 2007. 

Coors Field averages about 375
feet all the way around making it an extremely home run friendly ballpark for the players and the fans
in the outfield seats. Although that may seem like a long way from home plate for a ball park, Coors Field is located 5,280 (1 mile) above sea level in Denver, Colorado. Because the ball park is located a mile above sea level, the ball will travel much further at Coors Field than somewhere such as Yankee Stadium, located at&nbsp;sea level. Studies have shown that a ball hit 400 feet at Yankee Stadium would travel 440 feet at Coors Field. Not only does hitters have an advantage at Coors Field, but the pitchers have even more of a disadvantage because the extremely thin air a mile above sea level does not give curveballs that 'snap' and will even slow fastballs down up to six miles per hour.&nbsp;This was an aspect&nbsp;that the engineers anticipated when
they were planning the building of the ball park. Overall, it is a completely different atmosphere when coming to Coors Field compared to going to another ball park, such as Yankee Stadium in New York&nbsp;or Turner Field in Atlanta.Coors Field has seen many historic events happen with many&nbsp;more to come for the young ball park. Coors is considered young because there are many ballparks out there that have stood much longer. Those include Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, and The Coliseum in Oakland.&nbsp;The most well-known event that Coors Field has hosted were two games of the 2007 World Series. The Colorado Rockies had won the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies&nbsp;and won the National League pennant in the Championship Series by defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks. Unfortunately, the Rockies could not pull out the World Series victory against the Boston Red Sox, as they were swept in four games, two of them at Boston's memorable Fenway Park and the final two at Coors Field. Coors Field just recently opened up a Hall of History in honor of the Colorado Rockies 20th season, featuring more than 8,000 artifacts, but not a World Series trophy yet.

Coors Field is home to Major League Baseball's own Colorado Rockies. The field is known to be home run friendly and for it being the field where Barry Bonds hit his final career home run (762nd). Coors was built in 1995 and named after the Coors Brewery located in Golden, Colorado. The field has been played on for 20 seasons this year and will be home to many more home runs with its thin air.

Coors Field

Denver’s RTD Civic Center Station is located at the cross streets of Broadway and Colfax. Buses pull in and out as people start/end their travel at this central hub. However, it used to be a makeshift baseball field, home to the town's first-ever games. Just a mere block from the Capitol, America’s favorite pastime was enjoyed. Many people dubbed this field the “Walter Scott Cheesman’s million-dollar cow pasture”. Cheesman was an acclaimed Denver businessman who made his fortune in drug stores. Legend has it he used this field as a “pasture” for one single cow. The cow was evidence that the area should be taxed as agricultural land. On April 26,1862, the city hosted its first formally-organized game following an announcement in the city paper calling on interested players to present themselves for the organization of a baseball club. Colorado’s first truly organized club team, the Denver Brown Stockings, played their games in the 1880s, but before that time, amateur teams and individuals met here to play the game of "Base Ball", as it became known at the time. In 1885 and 1886, the town was home to a team known as "The Denvers" who were part of the Western League. By that time, this former baseball field would transition from a part-time baseball field/pasture to becoming a downtown commerce center.

This was the location of the first recorded baseball game in Denver history, which occurred in April of 1862. Locals named this field the "Walter Scott Cheesman's million-dollar cow pasture." This nickname was in response to reports of a single cow who would roam the field. During the 1870s, the city was home to a variety of makeshift amateur teams, such as the Young Bachelors' Baseball Club. The city would not be home to a formal stadium until 1885 when one was constructed at Thirty-Second and Larimer Street. 

Denver's First Baseball Game (1862)

This was the location of Denver's early baseball field, which was referred to at the time as either the Broadway Park or Broadway Baseball Park. The wooden grandstands and field replaced the Denver Wheelman's Club which was built in 1893 and hosted bicycle races, college football, coursing, and other sports until the venue was destroyed by fire in 1899. Denver’s lack of a substantial ballpark limited the town's prospects for fielding a leading team until 1900 when Broadway Park, a complex containing 2500 seats, was constructed. In contrast to today's complicated seating and pricing plans, admission to games included any seat with the exception of the shaded grandstand seats which were available at a premium. Broadway Park became the new home of the Denver Bears. The Denver Bears became part of the Western League in 1886. Due to a lack of funding for small market teams like the Bears, many of the team's best players were recruited to play for some of the Major League teams out east. However, in their first year at Broadway Park, the Bears went on to win the Western League Championship, staking their claim in the region as serious contenders. Famous players on the team included Tim Raines Sr., Barry Larkin, Joe Tinker, Randy Bass, and Greg Vaughn. The park also hosted amateur and local league baseball games. Additionally, local high school football events took place at the field. Many merchants and neighborhood groups sponsored the teams. The Neighborhood House, a nearby charitable organization speaks about times at the park: <blockquote>“The summer of 1913 exploded with Baseball Benefits. The Neighborhood House nine bravely took on other teams of the city such as East Denver, Elitch’s and Sacred Heart. Society women served as usherettes. Musical programs were given before the games and during the intermission.”  </blockquote>

Starting in 1900, this was the location of Denver's Broadway Baseball Park. At the time, this was the premier baseball park for Denver and the home of the Denver Bears, the Western League Champions in the park's inaugural season. This park helped grow baseball's popularity in Denver which helped the city become the host for one of the most important semi-professional baseball tournaments in the early 20th century. From 1901 to 1926 Broadway Park hosted amateur and professional baseball games, as well as local football events. 

Former Site of Broadway Baseball Park

Long before Coors Field was built, Denver was home to another famous baseball field. Merchants Field saw many of baseball's legendary players when they visited Denver including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The park was constructed in 1922 and was near the city's former Montgomery Ward building. In 1930, Merchants Field became the first ballpark in the Rocky Mountains to have lights which led to larger crowds attending games on weeknights. Lights also aided the nightly radio broadcasts. Many legendary players made appearances here. In an era before today's lucrative contracts, the end of the regular baseball season led to barnstorming teams who were anchored by some of the legends of the game. This allowed Major League players and others a chance to make extra money, with the wining team getting the majority of the ticket sales. White and Black players came to Merchants Field in an era of segregation with Babe Ruth and James “Cool Papa” Bell both appearing on teams that featured the best players in baseball. Rogers Hornsby, Buck Leonard, Johnny Mize, Satchel Paige, Lou Gehrig, Josh Gibson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Oscar Charleston, and Bob Feller all played at Merchants Park. The field was also used for the annual Denver Post Tournament which was held each year between non-major league teams. In 1936 an all negro league won the tournament. It was also home to the Denver Bears of the Western League. By 1947 Merchants Park was abandoned due to limited capacity. The park was officially closed in 1948.

Downtown Denver Baseball History Tour

Former Site of Merchants Park (1922-1948)

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information