Robison Field

Robison Feild (1893-1920): Photo credit thereusedtobeaballpark.com

Robison Field was the first ever stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals used Robison Field as their home from April 27, 1893 to June 6, 1920. The stadium sat 21,000 people. Almost all of it was wooden. In 1898, on April 16, the stadium caught on fire. The fire was ignited by a cigar dropped while it was still burning. It destroyed the grandstand and other structures. With help from a heroic overnight effort, the Cardinals were able to construct temporary seating for a game the next day.

There would be another fire on May 4, 1901. The fire started underneath the main part of the stands. It took the fire half an hour to consume the stadium. It took a month to rebuild the stadium. In 1917, the Cardinals got a new ownership. The new ownership included Sam Breadon. Later, in 1920, Breadon would become the majority owner. Breadon decided that the stadium was no longer adequate.  In the middle of the 1920 season, the Cardinals would move into Sportsman's Park.