Before Nat Bailey Stadium became a beloved part of baseball in Vancouver, the biggest, shiniest diamond in the city was located near West 6th Avenue and Hemlock Street.
Athletic Park was home to the Vancouver Beavers, and numerous amateur teams.
Kaye Kamanishi, the last surviving member of the famed Asahi baseball team comprised of Japanese-Canadians, remembers going to games where the stands at Athletic Park, which had a capacity of around 6,000, were packed.
“It was a good diamond,” Kamanishi said. “A big outfield so not too many homers.”
BC Sports Hall of Fame member John Haar also has fond memories of the ballpark.
“I remember the smell when you went in was hot dogs — hot dogs and peanuts,” he said.
“It was an old stadium and probably not very beautiful, but it was certainly beautiful for young kids that came in. I couldn’t wait to get there.”
The biggest game ever played at Athletic Park took place in October 1934 when Babe Ruth and New York Yankees teammate Lou Gehrig came to town as part of an all-star team that was on their way to tour Japan.
They played a local Vancouver team on what proved to be a rainy night. Oddly enough, no one can find photos of the game, despite the presence of baseball legends.
“They didn’t play a full nine innings,” baseball historian Kit Krieger said.
“They may have played five innings. Ruth didn’t do much. He didn’t hit a home run. I think the story is he did, but he didn’t.”
Athletic Park burned down twice — in 1925 and 1945 — and was rebuilt both times. It was finally demolished in 1951 when the land was needed to refurbish the Granville Street Bridge and its onramps.
Part of the old ballpark made its way to the current home of the Vancouver Canadians, Nat Bailey Stadium, which was originally named Capilano Stadium.
“They took the soil from the ballpark and put it at Nat Bailey,” Krieger said. “That’s the DNA left from the ballpark.”
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