They called her,  "The Grand Old Lady of 33rd. Street."  She may have been grand but 51 years is not old, especially for a popular, landmark building.  Built in 1950, at the cost of 6.5 million dollars, the Baltimore Orioles of the International League played the first game at Memorial Stadium on April 20, 1950.  An upper deck and roof were added and seating capacity increased from 20,000 to 47,700 when the Baltimore Colts (NFL) began playing there in 1953.  The St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954 and became the "Baltimore Orioles."  The first major league game at Memorial Stadium was held on April 15, 1954 and remained the home park for the Orioles until they moved to Camden Yards in 1992.

       The Colts played there from 1953 until 1983 - when the Baltimore Colts became the Minneapolis Colts.  Baltimoreans were outraged  (and still are)  when they lost their team, their Colt name, horseshoe logo  (even the shape of Memorial Stadium was a perfect horseshoe), team uniforms and blue and white colours -- in a secretive deal,  in the dead of night.  The only things the owner, Robert Irsay, didn't take were the 160 member Baltimore Colt Marching Band, band member uniforms and the "Baltimore Colt Fight Song."  Like many Baltimore football fans I still want  "our Colt identity" back!  Present Raven's quarterback Joe Flacco's physiognomy,  the way he moves in the backfield - in a Baltimore Colt uniform would be Johnny Unitas reincarnated.

       Memorial Stadium's Art Deco architectural design was powerful,  and when the stadium was viewed from the front one could clearly see an Egyptian influence - a popular component of Art Deco in the 1930's.  The facade was a reddish-brown brick, nearly matching the red clay dirt of the infield.  (The Camden Yards stadium is beautiful - but I still miss that red clay infield of Memorial Stadium).  Under the stylized Art Deco spelling of Memorial Stadium in steel, was the Great Seal of Baltimore, in relief steel, and the inscription dedicating the stadium to Baltimore City's war dead.  (The Great Seal, adopted in 1827, contains the Battle Monument.  The monument, which is also the central design motif for the Baltimore City flag, was built on Calvert Street to commemorate those who died during the War of 1812).

       In 1957 the starting lineup on opening day was:  Gus Triandos, catcher /  George Kell, 1st. base /  Billy Gardner, 2nd. base /  Willy Miranda, shortstop /  Brooks Robinson, 3rd. base /  Carl Powis, right field /  Dick Williams, center field /  Bob Nieman, left field /  and Hal Brown, starting pitcher.  Paul Richards managed the team from 1954 through 1961.  Billy Hitchcock,  Hank Bauer,  Earl Weaver,  and Joe Altobelli managed the Orioles from 1962 through 1985.  The Orioles experienced their greatest success from 1964 - 1983,  winning seven Division Championships,  six pennants  and  three World Series Championships (1966, 1970, and 1983).

       Like many East Baltimore lads I was consumed by baseball,  as was my best friend,   Bobby Rohrer.  We listened to every game on the radio,  knew every player and their statistics, and often watched televised games together in Bobby's basement.  We both had huge collections of baseball cards -- and tooth cavities which were no doubt caused by the sugary pink bubble gum which came in every baseball card package.  When the Orioles played at home we attended many games,  sitting in General Admission for $2.50.  We always walked to the stadium, about 5 or 6 miles from our neighborhood to save money to buy a second coke or a bag of roasted peanuts.  For $5. bucks we were gone for 6 hours doing the best thing young boys can do on a summer's day,  i.e.,  watching a major league baseball game in a beautiful major league ballpark!  I still remember the smell of Memorial Stadium,  a blend of sweet tobacco smoke,  hot dogs,  roasted peanuts  and later in the 60's,  crab cakes.  Memorial Stadium was the first ballpark to offer crab cakes at the concession stands.

       Our favorite place to watch the game was in the left field bleachers, very near the foul ball pole, 309 feet from home plate and 14-15 feet above the outfield and one of our favorite players, Bob Nieman.  We sat on those heavy wooden benches there and also in the upper deck.  The Gunther Brewery scoreboard (with the Longines clock) in right field was said to be the largest scoreboard in the world.  The attached bottle of beer near the top was as large as a school bus and written on the scoreboard was the Gunther motto:  "Gunther, the happiest hit in beer."  When the Orioles were doing well we would often hear radio and TV commentator,  Chuck Thompson say, ... "ain't the beer cold."

       Later in the 1960's Milt Pappas,  Chuck Estrada,  Steve Barber,  Jim Palmer,  Wes Stock,  Billy O'Dell  and knuckle ball champ,  Hoyt Wilhelm would join the pitching staff.  Other ball players included Ron Hansen,  Boog Powell,  Paul Blair,  Mark Belanger, and  Andy Etchebarren.  In the 70's and 80's  Scott McGregor,  Mike Flanigan,  Eddie Murray,  Cal Ripkin  and  Rick Dempsey would join the Orioles.

       Rick Dempsey, whose father was a Vaudeville star and whose mother was a Broadway actress was himself touched with "theatre" - as well as "a bountiful dose of the blarney."  His hilarious "rain delay performances" in Memorial Stadium as well as other stadiums had many baseball fans praying for rain.  In Boston's Fenway Park he actually got the crowd to sing, "Raindrops keep falling on my head."  During a rain delay, when the infield was covered by a wet tarpaulin,  Dempsey would often emerge from the dugout, stockinged footed and begin his performance.  His pantomime began with an exaggerated walk to home plate where he would point to the outfield seats,  then hit an invisible pitch.  His inside-the-park home run continued as he circled the bases sliding head first on the wet tarp to each base.  The home run would climax with a long belly slide to home plate.  The stadium would roar with laughter throughout the entire performance. 

       Memorial Stadium was a warm,  friendly place,  even the ticket takers greeted you with a smile and an "enjoy the game."  Bobby and I spent hundreds of hours at Memorial Stadium watching major league baseball games - and never observed any inappropriate behavior, altercations or drunkedness.  Even though we were "on our own", without adult supervision and protection, we never felt threatened or had any problems in the stadium or walking to and from the stadium.  Memorial Stadium was indeed  "The Grand Old Lady of 33rd. Street."  The Orioles last game at Memorial Stadium was on October 6, 1991.  The Colts played their last game there on December 18, 1983.  The Ravens played two seasons there but after that the stadium remained vacant until demolition began,  starting in February, 2001.

       As young boys we never fully understood the "Memorial" part of Memorial Stadium until 5 or 6 years later when one of our friends,  Todd Mannion,  was killed in Viet Nam.

       The Memorial Dedication:  "Dedicated as a memorial to all who so valiantly fought in the World Wars - with eternal gratitude to those who made the supreme sacrifice to preserve equality and freedom throughout the world --time will not dim the glory of their deeds."

       Christopher Wm. Newman                   May 18, 2012