Capitoline Grounds

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Capitoline Grounds was the name of a baseball park in Brooklyn, New York during part of the latter half of the 19th century.

Built on a large block bounded by Halsey Street, and Marcy, Putnam and Nostrand Avenues, the grounds were intended to rival the Union Grounds, the first enclosed ballpark, from which it was not too many blocks distant.

It was the home field for several early professional teams in Brooklyn and New York City from its opening in 1864 until around 1880. Its most prominent occupant was the Atlantic Club of Brooklyn.

Probably the most famous event at the Capitoline Grounds occurred on July 2, 1870, when the Atlantic club of Brooklyn defeated the Cincinnati Red Stockings, ending the Reds lengthy and storied winning streak.

Later that summer, sportswriter Henry Chadwick arranged a public demonstration of the curveball at the Capitoline Grounds. At Chadwick's instigation two stakes were placed twenty feet apart in a line between the pitcher and batter's boxes. A young pitcher named Fred Goldsmith, who would later star with the Chicago White Stockings, threw a ball to the right of the first stake, and to the left of the second. Prior to this demonstration, it had been believed by many that the curveball was merely an optical illusion.

Sources

Green Cathedrals, by Philip J. Lowry, 1986.
Ballparks of North America, by Michael Benson, 1989.

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