The Cardinals began playing baseball games at this corner in 1867 when it was called Grand Avenue Ball Grounds. It had a fence around it and a grandstand that could seat up to 800 fans.
Owner August Solari had the Browns playing there in 1875 and renamed the place Sportsman’s Park. It was used for other things from 1778-1881 as they also hosted shooting matches and cycling at the facility due to baseball being non-existent during that time frame.
Chris von der Ahe became the owner and it was used for the next 12 years until a new park was built just a few blocks to the northeast at the intersection of Vandeventer and Natural Bridge. From this stadium they played until 1920 which was called the New Sportsman’s Park