Eclipse Park

Eclipse Park in Louisville, Kentucky, is a name that refers to three successive grounds rather than a single building. All three versions of the stadium were destroyed by fire. The first fell in September 1892, the second in 1899, and the last in November 1922.

The Louisville Colonels, who had played minor league baseball there since 1899, moved to Parkway Field the following year. This move marked the end of professional baseball at this specific location. The capacity of the final ground is recorded at 8,500, a standard size for a minor league venue of that period. The surface was natural grass.

Earlier versions of the stadium were located elsewhere in the city. The original ground at 28th Street and Elliott Avenue opened in 1871 and later became the home of the Louisville Eclipse in the American Association. A subsequent version opened at 28th Street and Broadway in 1893. The second park burned down in 1899, an event that contributed to the collapse of the Louisville Colonels' major league franchise, leading the National League to reduce its membership from 12 to 8 teams.

Each successive stadium was built to replace the ashes of the one before it. The final structure at 7th Street and West Kentucky Street served the local team for twenty years before meeting the same end as its predecessors. The name Eclipse Park remains attached to the location, but only in the historical record.