Old Busch Stadium
Monday, July 21st, 2008
Think you’re standing in the first Busch Stadium, the one and only, when you go and see the Cardinals play? Not so. That stadium was only made into the ‘official’ home for the Cardinals in 2006.
The original Busch Stadium has been around a lot longer than that, and was originally known as Sportsman’s Park. It was first opened in 1881 but didn’t become the official home for the Cardinals until 1923. It was also previously the home of the NFL’s version of the Cardinals.
In 1966, however, the original stadium was replaced by the new Busch Memorial Stadium. That stadium remained the official venue of the Cardinals until 2006, when they moved once again to yet another Busch Stadium (sometimes dubbed Busch Stadium III). They’ve been enjoying games there ever since.
Busch Stadium/Sportsman’s Park has since been renovated a bit - the grandstands are gone - and is a field for a variety of other sports. And Busch Memorial Stadium?
Well, it’s just plain gone. They tore it down.