Great Piece of Baseball and Philadelphia history. 17" long original Milwaukee Count Seat Slat. 3 - 12" long pieces available.
The Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium pen collection consists of a small run of a dozen pens made from seats that were installed in Shibe Park when constructed in 1908 and removed during its demolition in 1976.
Shibe Park, which had been built at a cost of $315,248 on a 5.75-acre site that had been vacant lots, woods, SPCA kennels, and the notorious Philadelphia Hospital for Contagious Diseases, had been home to the Athletics since it opened in 1909. Named after the Athletics principal owner, Benjamin Shibe, and located at 21st Street and Lehigh Avenue, it had originally seated 23,000 (10,000 in the grandstand and 13,000 in the bleachers, plus an additional area in centerfield that was often used for standing-room patrons and could accommodate up to 10,000 standees. When first opened, the park was described as a palace - with rusticated bases, composite columns, arched windows and vaulting’s, ornamental scrollwork, and a fabulous French Renaissance tower with cupola that housed the offices of team Vice President John Shibe and A’s Manager Connie Mack. Shibe Park in Philadelphia and Forbes Field in Pittsburgh both opened in 1909 and both were revolutionary - they were the first 2 ballparks to be constructed entirely of steel and concrete. They truly were the first "modern' ballparks.
The park was expanded through the seasons to increase capacity. The first structural changes at took place in 1913, when a grandstand was added in left field. In 1925, all of the remaining grandstands were double-decked. Mezzanine sections were added in 1929 and 1930 bringing the final capacity to 35,000.
By the time the Phillies arrived, Shibe Park had been the scene of seven World Series. In the ensuing years, it would also be the site for two All-Star Games (1943, 1952), the first American League night game (1939) and numerous other noteworthy events. Shibe Park was the home field for the Phillies when they went to the World Series in 1950. In 1953, the park's name was changed to Connie Mack Stadium in honor of the Athletics' owner-manager.
When the A's left town, heading for Kansas City after the 1954 season, they left the Phillies as the sole baseball occupants of the park. During football season from 1940 to 1957 it was used by the Eagles. All the while, alterations continued on the park's interior, including the addition of an electric scoreboard purchased from the New York Yankees in 1955.
After 32 1/2 seasons there, the Phillies left Connie Mack Stadium after the 1970 season. Several subsequent fires heavily damaged the park, and eventually it was torn down in 197
