Kansas City Municipal Stadium / Blues Stadium / Ruppert Field / Muehlebach Field

[gman5431]

Going to be in KC in Sept for a Royals game, Negro League Museum and of course, some BBQ. Is there anything left commemorating old Memorial Stadium? What is on the site now?

G Man

[cborge]

I don't even think that there's a plaque there. Just an overgrown field with a few houses down the street from Arthur Bryant's.

[Smirkman]

I believe there is a plaque commemorating KC Municipal Stadium. The ballpark is now garden plots for the neighborhood. Let us know if there have been any changes to the site since this pic was taken.

[KCGHOST]

You can go to this link http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm and select AMERICAN then PAST then MORE and then MUNICIPAL stadium to read the history of the stadium. It was a wonderful ballpark.

You will love the NLBM and be sure to go to Arthur Bryant's Barb-B-Q which is just a few blocks away. It is not the best barbecue in town but it is the place to go. AB's is at 18th and Brooklyn and the ballpark is at 22nd and Brooklyn. The NLBM is a few blocks east of AB's on 18th Street.

http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/

[mandrake]

You can go to this link http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm and select AMERICAN then PAST then MORE and then MUNICIPAL stadium to read the history of the stadium. It was a wonderful ballpark.

You will love the NLBM and be sure to go to Arthur Bryant's Barb-B-Q which is just a few blocks away. It is not the best barbecue in town but it is the place to go. AB's is at 18th and Brooklyn and the ballpark is at 22nd and Brooklyn. The NLBM is a few blocks east of AB's on 18th Street.

http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/

Not the best barbecue ? It brings back the heated arguments we had back in college. Bryants vs Gates vs Haywards vs KC Masterpiece. I don't think Jack Stack was around, but they had Luther's over by Bannister. And Zarda. And a place over in Johnson County (near 63rd?) which tasted a lot like Gates.
Now, I'm hungry. Thanks. (Hi, can I help you?)

[ghostofelvis]

an upclose shot of the plaque on the northwest corner of 22nd & brooklyn...commemorating MUNICIPAL STADIUM...!

http://www.ballparkreviews.com/kc/municipal.htm

[ghostofelvis]

just to expand...

the jazz museum and the negro league museum is at 18th & vine right off 18th & the paseo...

definitely get arthur bryants greasy heavenly fries with ya sandwich...!

but also seek out the bbq beans at a smokehouse bbq resturant as well...you will not be disappointed...!

good luck...have fun...

tcb~

[Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock]

A good time to post some Blues/Municipal Stadium pics that were in my HD. Unsure of some of the dates.



Next 2 are around 1930




The next 2 are press file photos from 1954 & 55 (pre & post expansion)




1955






1952 KC Blues Parade

[Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock]

1967

[ghostofelvis]

[HollandsComet]

Well, there weren't no such animal known as KC Memorial Stadium around these parts, but there was a wonderful ballpark known as Municipal Stadium at 22nd & Brooklyn here in K.C., and there is indeed a/an historical marker in place on that street corner. The property itself has been developed into townhouses and condominiums and such, but it's still worth the four-block walk up the hill from the Negro League Museum to see.

As for the BBQ, go to Gates at 12th & Brookyn instead of Arthur Bryant's--you'll feel like you got your money's worth. Bryant's is vastly overrated, IMHO.

Meantime, I personally would like to thank those who posted pics on this thread of Municipal and/or Blues/Ruppert Stadium, some of which I'd never seen before--y'all made my day! MS was my first (and personal favorite) Major League ballpark ever...

[mandrake]

Well, there weren't no such animal known as KC Memorial Stadium around these parts, but there was a wonderful ballpark known as Municipal Stadium at 22nd & Brooklyn here in K.C., and there is indeed a/an historical marker in place on that street corner. The property itself has been developed into townhouses and condominiums and such, but it's still worth the four-block walk up the hill from the Negro League Museum to see.

As for the BBQ, go to Gates at 12th & Brookyn instead of Arthur Bryant's--you'll feel like you got your money's worth. Bryant's is vastly overrated, IMHO.

Great post! I used to go to Gates at 47th and Paseo, or 103rd and Stateline, and occasionally the one on 12th. My friends said they would have loved to sneak Gates Sauce into Bryant's since we liked their beef sandwich better, but they never tried it. I saw Bryants on the travel channel recently and I had a tough time recognizing it..it looked cleaned up.

Muncipal Stadium may be gone, but KC was in the forefront of baseball only AND football only stadiums. Everyone was doing 'cookie cutters' when KC showed us the light.

[stlfan]

This one actually looks like it's Sportsmans Park.

[ghostofelvis]

This one actually looks like it's Sportsmans Park.

yes...good eye stl fan...!

this should probably be in the sportsman park thread but check out these links to some fantastic video...!!!

http://livingstlouis.wordpress.com/2...ortsmans-park/

http://livingstlouis.wordpress.com/2...ecial-part-ii/

http://livingstlouis.wordpress.com/2...cial-part-iii/

[gman5431]

You can go to this link http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm and select AMERICAN then PAST then MORE and then MUNICIPAL stadium to read the history of the stadium. It was a wonderful ballpark.

You will love the NLBM and be sure to go to Arthur Bryant's Barb-B-Q which is just a few blocks away. It is not the best barbecue in town but it is the place to go. AB's is at 18th and Brooklyn and the ballpark is at 22nd and Brooklyn. The NLBM is a few blocks east of AB's on 18th Street.

http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/

Already have Arthur Bryant's on the agenda after the NLBM. Since its so close, i figured i would go down and take a look at where Municipal Stadium used to be, esp if there is plaque.

G Man

[gman5431]

Well, there weren't no such animal known as KC Memorial Stadium around these parts, but there was a wonderful ballpark known as Municipal Stadium at 22nd & Brooklyn here in K.C., and there is indeed a/an historical marker in place on that street corner. The property itself has been developed into townhouses and condominiums and such, but it's still worth the four-block walk up the hill from the Negro League Museum to see.

As for the BBQ, go to Gates at 12th & Brookyn instead of Arthur Bryant's--you'll feel like you got your money's worth. Bryant's is vastly overrated, IMHO.

Meantime, I personally would like to thank those who posted pics on this thread of Municipal and/or Blues/Ruppert Stadium, some of which I'd never seen before--y'all made my day! MS was my first (and personal favorite) Major League ballpark ever...

Sorry for the typo... Municipal Stadium.... i plan on walking down to see the plaque. ALso, i have made arrangements to go to Arthur Bryant's and Gates so i can compare.

G Man

[Bobby_Ayala]

Lots of history there

[Paul W]

why is everybody upstairs? looks like a workout, not a game..

[thechefs2003]

I was just by there last week. It is close to the Negro League Museum but you wouldn't want to walk to it. The plaque is at the right field corner of where the park used to be. There are houses being built on what would be left field or just beyond LF. It's amazing the lot stayed vacant this long. I took a lot of pictures with phone and wanted to compare them with pictures of the park, sort of "then and now" but surprisingly I couldn't find that many photos on the net of this park.

[mandrake]

I was just by there last week. It is close to the Negro League Museum but you wouldn't want to walk to it. The plaque is at the right field corner of where the park used to be. There are houses being built on what would be left field or just beyond LF. It's amazing the lot stayed vacant this long. I took a lot of pictures with phone and wanted to compare them with pictures of the park, sort of "then and now" but surprisingly I couldn't find that many photos on the net of this park.

I am dating myself, but way back in the 80's, Brooklyn Ave was not the greatest area. That's one reason we used to eat at Gates on the Paseo near 47th (?) Street. I loved walking around the Plaza, especially around Christmas. And since my wife does not read the forum I used to date a blonde who worked at a shoe store on the Plaza (I think it was Renner's or something like that). Anyway, I was shocked to see that 12th Street and Vine did not intersect....what about that song then??
And before I get in trouble for being off topic, I remember Mrs Truman waving to me and my buddies from her front porch. Geez, I am old.

[Sean O]

1967

Nice! This is the first pic I've seen of Finley's high screen in RF, the final in a long line of crazy ways to annoy the Yankees / MLB. The Pennant Porch is still my favorite, but this is entertaining as well.

[gooberkitty]

Thanks for the pictures of the old ballpark in KC and wishing there were more pictures of negro league ballparks.
Here is a picture of a model of Bugel Field, home to the Baltimore Black Sox and Baltimore Elite Giants. The model is on display in the Sports Legends Museum in Baltimore.

Gooberkitty

[HollandsComet]

I believe there is a plaque commemorating KC Municipal Stadium. The ballpark is now garden plots for the neighborhood. Let us know if there have been any changes to the site since this pic was taken.

Here's an update for those who might be wanting to check out the Municipal Stadium site--it's a bit dicey right now because 22nd Street is currently out of commission. I drove down there today, and the street is being totally redone, and in fact, is nothing but mud at the moment. Also, if you're looking for the plaque on the corner commemorating the stadium, it has been removed (temporarily, I assume) because of the work being done on 22nd St.

The site is now a nice new subdivision and one of the streets that runs through it, 21st Terrace, runs pretty much where the 1st base line/right field foul line ran. The first pic was taken approximately where home plate was (hopefully maybe they'll mark it someday) looking toward left-center field. The two old houses in the second pic are the only ones left from the stadium days, and their front porches were occasional targets of long home runs over the right field wall. The good news is the area has cleaned up quite nicely since the '70s when the stadium was demolished and it's not unsafe. Heck, it's Beverly Hills compared with the area Sportsman's Park in St. Louis once stood in.

[KingmanIII]

USELESS FACT: The Municipal Stadium site also adjoins both Lincoln College Preparatory Academy middle and high schools, one of the top schools in the Kansas City metro (and pretty much the only one in the inner city worth a damn).

My sister is a security officer at the middle school.

[KingmanIII]

As for the BBQ, go to Gates at 12th & Brookyn instead of Arthur Bryant's--you'll feel like you got your money's worth. Bryant's is vastly overrated, IMHO.

Better yet, hit up LC's on 5800 Blue Parkway. The location is pretty run-down, but I'll be damned if it ain't the best BBQ our fair city has to offer.