Forbes Field History | Baseball Almanac

FORBES FIELD

The History of Forbes Field

Forbes Field was home to the National League Pittsburgh Pirates for sixty-one years. The park was named after General John Forbes who was the British general during the French and Indian War that captured Fort Pitt from the French Army in 1758.

"Pittsburg can now boast of the world's finest baseball park. It is a marvel of which people in other cities can have no adequate conception until they come here and see it." - Fred Clarke in 1909

Forbes Field Major League Occupant(s)
The History of Forbes Field
	First Game	06-30-1909
	First Loss	06-30-1909
	First Win	07-02-1909
	First Shutout	07-05-1909
	First All-Star Game	07-11-1944
	First Night Game	06-04-1940
	Last Game	06-28-1970
Forbes Field Famous Firsts
Forbes Field Ballpark Capacity
Forbes Field Seating Capacity History
Capacity Changes (Yearly Attendance)	1909	23,000
	1915	25,000
	1925	41,000
	1938	40,000
	1939	33,537
	1942	33,467
	1947	33,730
	1953	34,249
	1960	35,000
Forbes Field Seating Capacity History
Forbes Field Ballpark Dimensions
Forbes Field Historical Dimensions
Backstop	1909	110'
	1938	84'
	1947	80'
	1954	84'
	1959	75'
Left Field	1909	360'
	1921	356.5'
	1922	356'
	1926	360'
	1930	365'
	1947	335'
	1954	365'
Left Center	1942	406'
	1947	355'
	1954	406'
Left Center (Flagpole)	1909	462'
Left Center (Flagpole)	1930	'457
Center Field	1926	422'
Center Field	1930	435'
Right Center	1942	408'
Right Field	1909	376'
	1921	376.5'
	1922	376'
	1925	300'
Fenway Park Historical Dimensions
Forbes Field Miscellaneous Items of Interest
Forbes Field Miscellaneous Items of Interest
Architect	Osborn Engineering
Construction	Nicole Construction Company
Cost (in 1909)	$1,000,000.00
Field Surface	Grass (Hard)
Highest Attendance	44,932	09-23-1956
Walls	1909-1945	Wood
Walls	1946-1970	Brick & Ivy
Forbes Field Miscellaneous Items of Interest
Forbes Field History \| Research by Baseball Almanac

On May 25, 1935, Babe Ruth hit the last home run of his Major League career in Forbes Field. The blast cleared the right-field wall, then cleared the screen and finally cleared the doubledeck grandstands. The historic shot (a first of that distance in Forbes Field) was approximately eighty-six feet high and at least three-hundred feet away from home plate.

Did you know that the first ballpark elevator was installed here, and during the 1950s, the first outfield wall "crash pads" were installed?

More than four-thousand Major League ballgames were played at Forbes Field and a no-hitter was never thrown by any pitcher from any ballclub ever in its history.