Toronto Baseball Grounds (Sunlight Park) Commemorative Plaque, 2015
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Resource ID
5176
Access
Open
Address
653 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 1G4
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2015
Historical Themes
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
Caption
Toronto Baseball Grounds (Sunlight Park) Commemorative Plaque, 2015
Description
The Toronto Baseball Grounds was the home field of the city’s first professional baseball team, the “Torontos” of the International League. The field included entrances on present-day Broadview and Eastern Avenues, and two wooden grandstands with cushioned seating for 3, 000 fans. At the opening game on May 18, 1886, between Toronto and Rochester, Lieutenant-Governor John Beverley Robinson threw the ceremonial first ball.
In 1887, the addition of star pitcher Edward “Cannonball” Crane helped the Torontos achieve a remarkable 15-game winning streak. That September the team clinched the city’s first baseball championship with back-to-back home victories over Scranton. The Torontos moved to Hanlan’s Point Stadium in 1897. Their old baseball field then became popular with amateur teams who called it “Sunlight Park” after a nearby soap factory. The field was closed and the grandstands demolished in 1913.
Marker lat / long: 43.658326, -79.351893 (WGS84)