Kekionga Base Ball Grounds

The Kekionga Base Ball Grounds served as the home of the Fort Wayne Kekiongas of the National Association for their only season as a major league team in 1871. Because not many teams wanted to visit out-of-the-way Fort Wayne, IN, the ballpark hosted only 9 games, but the first of these, on May 4th, was the first game in major league history. Fort Wayne defeated the Cleveland Forest Citys, 2-0, on that historic day. Threatening weather limited attendance to 200 to 500 spectators (accounts vary) and the game only became the first of its kind because another game scheduled on the same day, between the Boston Red Stockings and Olympics of Washington was rained out. The season's highest crowd was between 1,500 and 2,000.

The ballpark was located in Camp Allen, a former staging area for troops in the Civil War. The amateur Kekionga ball club of Fort Wayne began using the field for some of its games in 1867 and moved there permanently in 1869. The area was separated from the main part of town by the Saint Marys River, and in the absence of a nearby bridge, remained undeveloped. Foul balls could end up in the river, which was a problem since games were usually played with a single ball at the time, and it had to be recovered and then returned to action while still wet.

The Cincinnati Red Stockings played here on May 22, 1869, and defeated the local squad, 41-7, in what was the first game of its undefeated 57-0 season. Temporary seating had to be erected for that game, but a more permanent grandstand, copied on the one at Cincinnati's Union Grounds was built in 1870 and was christened the "Grand Duchess". Further improvements were made before the 1871 season. The grandstand burned down on November 3, 1871. The Fort Wayne team was still formally a member in the National Association in 1872, but never played any games. The park was apparently used for baseball until 1881, then the area was developed for housing, although a portion of the property became the still-extant Camp Allen Park.

Related Sites

• Kekionga Ball Grounds (Fort Wayne) at the SABR Bio Project