Dispatch
Cooper Stadium history
Thursday, April 3, 2008 3:24 AM
1932: Red Bird Stadium is built for $450,000 for St. Louis? top minor-league team, in the American Association. It?s one of the first baseball stadiums with permanent outdoor lights. The opener on June 3 draws more than 15,000 fans as Columbus posts an 11-2 win over the Louisville Colonels.
1932: On June 17, the first night game in the stadium attracts more than 21,000 people as the Red Birds beat St. Paul 5-4 in 11 innings. Two months later, Franklin D. Roosevelt kicks off his first presidential campaign in the stadium.
1933: The Red Birds won the American Association East division after going 101-51. They drew a league-best 178,190 fans. The Columbus Blue Birds, a Negro League team, also plays home games in Red Bird Stadium.
1936: Jack Winsett sets a Columbus record with 50 home runs. Branch Rickey called him the next Babe Ruth. Two years later, Winsett (then with the Brooklyn Dodgers) became the first baseball player to appear on the cover of Life Magazine.
Cont...