Memorial Stadium ( Baltimore ) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore , Maryland , that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over - sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue ( west ) , 36th Street ( north ) , and Ednor Road ( east ) . Two different stadiums were located here , a 1922 version known as Baltimore Stadium , Municipal Stadium , and Venable Stadium and the stadium that , when finally completed in 1950 , would become known as Memorial Stadium , and for a time , Babe Ruth Stadium in reference to the then - recently departed Baltimore native . The stadium was also known as " The Old Gray Lady of 33rd Street " , and also ( for Colts games at least ) as " The World ' s Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum . " This pair of structures hosted the following teams over the years : History . Baltimore Stadium . Memorial Stadium started out in life as Baltimore Stadium , also known as Municipal Stadium , and as Venable Stadium . Designed by Pleasants Pennington and Albert W . Lewis , it was built in 1922 , in a previously undeveloped area called Venable Park . It was primarily a football stadium , a large horseshoe with an earthen - mound exterior and its open end facing " south " . In its early years it hosted various college - level games , including the occasional Army – Navy Game . In mid - summer 1944 it was pressed into service as a baseball park by the Baltimore Orioles of the International League , when their previous home , Oriole Park , was destroyed by fire . The minor league Orioles rose from the ashes , in heroic fashion , going on to win the International League championship that year , and also the Junior World Series over Louisville of the American Association . The large post - season crowds at Municipal Stadium , which would not have been possible at Oriole Park , and which easily surpassed the attendance at major league baseball ' s own World Series that year ( in which the St . Louis Cardinals defeated their in - town rivals , the St . Louis Browns ) , caught the attention of the major leagues , and Baltimore suddenly became a viable option for teams looking to move . Memorial Stadium . Spurred by the Orioles ' success , and also by the presence of professional football , the city chose to rebuild the stadium as a facility of major league caliber , which they renamed Memorial Stadium in honor of the dead of World War I and World War II . It was also known for a time as " Babe Ruth Stadium " , after the then - recently deceased Hall of Fame r and Baltimore native . The reconstruction began in 1949 and was done in stages , slowly obliterating the old Municipal Stadium stands , even as the Orioles continued playing on their makeshift diamond . Memorial Stadium was completed in 1950 at a cost of $ 6 . 5 million . Seating 31 , 000 at the time , the stadium consisted of a single , horseshoe - shaped deck , with the open end facing " north " , and was designed to host football as well as baseball . A roofless upper deck was added in 1954 when the St . Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and became the major league version of the Baltimore Orioles . On April 15 , 1954 , thousands of Baltimoreans jammed city streets as the new Orioles paraded from downtown to their new home at Memorial Stadium . During the 90 - minute parade , the new " Birds " signed autographs , handed out pictures and threw styrofoam balls to crowd as the throng marched down East 33rd Street . Inside , more than 46 , 000 watched the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox , 3 – 1 , to win their home opener and move into first place in the American League . Both the Orioles and the Colts had some great successes over the next few decades , winning several championships . Among the Orioles who played here were pitcher Jim Palmer , first baseman John ( Boog ) Powell , shortstop Cal Ripken Jr . , third baseman Brooks Robinson and outfielder Frank Robinson . Among the Colts ' greats were quarterback John Unitas , wide receiver Raymond Berry , and running backs Alan Ameche and Lenny Moore as well as tightend John Mackey . The 1959 NFL championship game , which the Colts won , was played at the stadium . It was the enthusiasm of Colts fans in particular that led to the stadium being dubbed " The World ' s Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum " by Cooper Rollow , the " Chicago Tribune " ' s head NFL writer at the time . Airplane crash . One highly unusual incident was the crash of an airplane on the stadium premises . This occurred on December 19 , 1976 , just minutes after the conclusion of an NFL playoff game with the Pittsburgh Steelers . A small private plane , a Piper Cherokee , buzzed the stadium , and then crashed into the upper deck overlooking the south end zone . Fortunately for the spectators in that area , the Steelers had won the game handily ( 40 – 14 ) , and most of the fans had already exited the stadium by the time the game ended . There were no serious injuries , and the pilot was arrested for violating plane safety regulations . Later years . Hard times for the ballpark began when the Colts ' fortunes sagged and they transferred to Indianapolis in a notorious move where moving vans trucked the club ' s equipment in the middle of the snowy early morning of March 29 , 1984 . This event dramatically shifted the political establishment ' s view on how best to address the stadium upgrade needs of the Orioles , the only remaining tenant . Until that time , then Mayor William Donald Schaefer supported only renovation of the venerable ballpark . After the Colts moved — and despite the public ' s continued opposition to new construction — the Mayor reversed his position and supported establishment of a new stadium for the Orioles . Like many other teams of the time , the Orioles never had to " demand " a new stadium . But their options were clear , as populated areas competed to steal teams from long - established locations . Economic considerations aside , this did result in the Orioles obtaining the first and arguably the best of the 1990s retro - ballparks , Oriole Park at Camden Yards . The Orioles ' final season at Memorial Stadium was in 1991 . Community reaction . When the decision to abandon Memorial Stadium ( in favor of the new downtown ballpark ) became imminent , various citizen groups began to organize opposition to the decision . In particular , the neighborhoods surrounding Memorial Stadium became anxious about the impact on their area of an abandoned " white elephant " : there simply wasn ' t any other use that would generate the funds to properly maintain the site . And there were no funds for demolition and redevelopment . While the stadium events may have created periodic disruptions to local life , it did provide easy access to major league sports and special attention from the city for maintenance of the area . No one in the local community was optimistic about the future of the neighborhoods . The mayor and other power brokers , of course , knew of strong general public opposition to subsidizing a new ballpark . City - wide , as well as local , community leaders also knew of this potential , but there was also a shortage of leaders willing to take on this task ( although this was never stated , and may not have been known by the Mayor ) . During this pivotal period , local community leaders decided to " bargain away the petition drive " for certain considerations . To do this , area groups formed the Stadium Neighborhoods Coalition ( SNC ) and negotiated the following : ( 1 ) Establishment of an official Memorial Redevelopment Stadium Task Force with public meetings and minutes ; and , ( 2 ) a written pledge by then Mayor Schaefer to provide upfront funding for any demolition and redevelopment resulting from this community process . For the next decade , while the community input process lumbered on , Memorial Stadium was relegated to temporary - home status for several sports teams . During the CFL ' s two seasons in Baltimore , the stadium became noted for being one of the few American facilities with a playing surface large enough to accommodate a regulation Canadian football field - this likely contributed to the Stallions ' success both on and off the field . The Stallions were replaced as tenants by the Ravens in 1996 , who used the stadium until the end of the 1997 NFL regular season . It was bid farewell in style by both the Orioles ( in a field - encircling ceremony staged by many former Oriole players and hosted by Hall of Fame announcer Ernie Harwell , who began his announcing career here ) and the Ravens ( who had many former Colts assemble for a final play , run by Unitas ) . Through all of this , the official Redevelopment Task Force met off and on , depending on prospects for long - term use . The community remained quite sensitized about any inappropriate use of this center - of - the - neighborhood structure . When word leaked that the stadium was being considered for " rock concerts " a group of neighbors organized " People Against Concerts at Memorial Stadum " ( PACAMS ) . As Baltimore was deciding to confirm or deny this story — with no immediate answer — a large public opposition developed . With the resulting outpouring of anger , the City publicly confirmed its decision not to lease the site for rock concerts . In resolving the " rock concert " problem , that process had actually ignited a new spirit of proactive advocacy in the community . In fact , there had been developing a division within established neighborhood groups about the best tactics in securing a good future for the stadium . Should the groups make further use of the direct action tactics of PACAMS , or use quiet lobbying by established groups ? That division was never resolved , as individuals continued to work in different paths . In fact , PACAMS ( after the anti - " rock concerts " success ) , reconstituted itself as " People Advocating a Community Agenda for Memorial Stadium " — continuing with the successful PACAMS acronym . With PACAMS ' public advocacy , and the established groups ' holding fast to more traditional lines of community , there ultimately resulted in a large , and well attended , public meeting where several redevelopment proposals were presented . The resulting community preference for a mixed used development led to the successful development now on site . Demolition and redevelopment . The City of Baltimore solicited proposals for development of the site . Most proposals preserved some or all of the stadium , including the memorial to World War II veterans and words on the facade , one proposal even had a school occupying the former offices of Memorial Stadium and the field used as a recreational facility for the school . Mayor Martin J . O ' Malley , however , favored the proposal that resulted in the total razing of the stadium , an act that many fought and protested . Former mayor and governor William Donald Schaefer protested that the stadium was razed for political reasons . The venerable and historic stadium was demolished over a ten - month period beginning in April 2001 . Much of the stadium remnants were used to build an artificial reef in Chesapeake Bay As of 2005 , the former site of Memorial Stadium housed Maryland ' s largest YMCA facility and the developing vision of " Stadium Place " , a mixed income community for seniors in Baltimore City . Currently there are four senior apartment complexes up and running on site . All of this , the political wranglings , the sports history and the city ' s attachment to a doomed landmark was captured in a documentary , " The Last Season , The Life and Demolition of Memorial Stadium . " New Field . In 2010 , work started on developing a new recreational baseball / football field on the site , with home plate being in the same exact location as it was when Memorial Stadium existed . The field was completed in December 2010 . A ribbon - cutting ceremony on December 7 was attended by Billy and Cal Ripken , and Governor Martin O ' Malley . Layout . The general layout of Memorial Stadium resembled a somewhat scaled - down version of Cleveland Stadium ( then home of the MLB Indians . ) Due to the need to fit a football field on the premises , the playing area was initially quite large , especially in center field and foul territory . The construction of inner fences after 1958 , however , reduced the size of the outfield . The addition of several rows of box seats also reduced the foul ground , ultimately making the stadium much more of a hitters ' park than it was originally . It did host the Major League Baseball All - Star Game that year . Memorial Stadium was one of the nation ' s few venues to host a World Series , an MLB All - Star Game , and an NFL Championship game . " Here " . The only home run ball ever hit completely out of Memorial Stadium was slugged by Frank Robinson on Mother ' s Day in 1966 , off Cleveland Indians pitcher Luis Tiant . It cleared the left field single - deck portion of the grandstand . A flag was later erected near the spot the ball cleared the back wall , with simply the word " HERE " upon it . The flag is now in the Baltimore Orioles museum . Memorial Wall . The exterior wall of the stadium behind home plate was dominated by the following text , spanning most of the stadium ' s height facing 33 Street , as a memorial to those killed in the two world wars : A miniature recreation of the stadium wall now sits outside Oriole Park at Camden Yards , the Orioles ' current stadium . Tenants . Memorial Stadium also hosted several University of Maryland home football games against such opponents as Clemson and Penn State . In 1988 , the stadium served as Navy ' s " home " venue for their annual football game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish . The ballpark also served as the home venue for Baltimore ' s two North American Soccer League teams , the Bays ( 1967 – 1968 ) and the Comets ( 1974 ) . Unlike the football gridiron which was situated from home plate to center field , the soccer pitch was laid out with the right field foul line doubling as an end line , the other one in deep left field and the pitching mound out of bounds .