page_title: Baker Bowl
section_title: Philadelphia Phillies
hierarchical_section_title: Baker Bowl / Philadelphia Phillies
caption_attribution_description: English: Smith (announcer) &amp; Umpires Charles "Cy" Rigler, Bill Klem, Francis "Silk" O'Laughlin, and Billy Evans at the Baker Bowl during the 1915 World Series.
context_page_description: Baker Bowl is the best-known popular name of a baseball park that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its formal name, painted on its outer wall, was National League Park. It was also initially known as Philadelphia Park or Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds / Park.
  Baker Bowl was located on a small city block bounded by N. Broad St., W. Huntingdon St., N. 15th St. and W. Lehigh Avenue.
  The ballpark was built in 1887. It was constructed by Phillies owners AJ Reach and John Rogers. The ballpark cost $80,000 and had a capacity of 12,500. At that time the media praised it as state of the art. In the dead-ball era, the outfield was enclosed by a relatively low wall all around. Centerfield was fairly close, with the railroad tracks running behind it. Later, the tracks were lowered and the field was extended over them. Bleachers were built in leftfield, and various extensions were added to the originally low right field wall, resulting in the famous 60-foot fence.
  The ballpark's second incarnation opened in 1895.
context_section_description: During the 51½ seasons the Phillies played there, they managed only one pennant (1915). The 1915 World Series was significant in that it was the first time a sitting president attended a World Series game when President Wilson attended and threw out the first pitch prior to Game 2. The Series was also the first post-season appearance by Babe Ruth, and the last to be played in a venue whose structure predated the modern World Series.
  While they were occasionally at least respectable in the dead-ball era, once the lively ball was introduced the Phillies nearly always finished in last place, substantially helping them towards the 10,000-loss "milestone" they reached on July 15, 2007. During its last two decades, the ballpark became heaven for batters (both home and visiting), whereas having to play half their games there every year became hell for the Phillies' pitching staff. For a number of years, a huge advertising sign on the right field wall read "The Phillies Use Lifebuoy", a popular brand of soap. This led to the oft-reported quip that appended "... and they still stink!" In 1936, a vandal sneaked into Baker Bowl one night and actually wrote that phrase on the Lifebuoy ad. Conventional wisdom ties their failures to Baker Bowl, but they remained cellar-dwellers in Shibe Park as well.
  On June 9, 1914, Honus Wagner hit his 3,000th career hit in the stadium. Babe Ruth played his last major league baseball game in Baker Bowl on May 30, 1935.
  The ballpark was abandoned during the middle of the 1938 season, as the Phillies chose to move 5 blocks west on Lehigh Avenue to rent the newer and more spacious Shibe Park from the A's rather than remain at the Baker Bowl. Phils president Gerald Nugent cited the move as an opportunity for the Phillies to cut expenses as stadium upkeep would be split between two clubs. The final game was played on June 30, when a crowd of only 1,500 spectators watched the Phillies lose to the New York Giants, 14–1.
  At Baker Bowl, the Phillies finished with a 30–38–1 record against the A's in City Series exhibition games.
caption: The umpires lined up before a game of the 1915 World Series at the Baker Bowl.
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