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| Gilmore Field and Gilmore Stadium Photo Gallery -- ---------------------------------------------- -- Hollywood Stars (1938-1957) |
| "Coast League baseball in Hollywood became an actuality today when the Hollywood Stars met the Chicago White Sox in a spring exhibition game at Gilmore Stadium. Shown is the way the diamond was laid out in the bowl, which will be used by the Stars until their own park is completed on the adjacent site." March 21, 1939 Photo by Carroll Photo Service - Herald-Examiner Collection; Los Angeles Public Library -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
| Baseball at Gilmore Stadium "General view of Gilmore Stadium shows the debut of Pacific Coast League baseball. Scene is of the Hollywood-Portland game, won by the Stars, 9-5. Crowd of 3,500 turned out to watch the game." April 5, 1939 Herald-Examiner Collection; Los Angeles Public Library -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
| Packed crowd at Gilmore Stadium "Aerial view of Gilmore Stadium shows a packed crowd in attendance." October 14, 1934 Herald-Examiner Collection; Los Angeles Public Library -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
| Baseball game at Gilmore Field "Major league All-Stars managed by Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker clashed at Gilmore Field, with the big-leaguers beating the Hollywood Stars, 4-3, for charity. Fans thrilled to Gus Zernial's two homers." March 11, 1951 Herald-Examiner Collection - Los Angeles Public Library -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
| Baseball park takes shape "Up she goes! Mushrooming up where only weeds grew before Hollywood's baseball park is rapidly taking shape these days as scores of workmen rush it to completion for use in the near future by the Stars. Here the ground work of boxes is being completed, while the dotted line points to where the grandstand will rise behind the boxes, towering some 75 feet higher. The park is located on Beverly Boulevard near Fairfax, and adjoining the present Gilmore Stadium." March 14, 1939 Photo by Carroll Photo Service - Herald-Examiner Collection; Los Angeles Public Library. -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
| Gilmore Stadium and the Hollywood Ballpark "Aerial view of Hollywood Ballpark (Gilmore Field) and Gilmore Stadium, located east of Fairfax Avenue between Beverly Blvd. and 3rd Street. This site later became Farmers Market and later The Grove shopping center, as well as CBS Television City." SPNB Collection; Los Angeles Public Library -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
| "Exterior view of the nearly finished Gilmore Field-Hollywood Ball Park, under construction." May 10, 1939 Herald-Examiner Collection - Los Angeles Public Library -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
| Gilmore Field, opening night, May 1939 A.F. Gilmore Company archives -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
"The second version of the Hollywood Stars joined the PCL in 1909 as the Vernon Tigers. As the Tigers, playing in
southern L.A. county, the team won two PCL pennants (and finished first in another only to lose the postseason
series) before moving to San Francisco for the 1926 season. The transplanted Tigers, now known as the Mission Reds
or usually just "the Missions," foundered in San Francisco, failing to establish a rivalry with the existing San Francisco
Seals.
"In 1938 Missions' owner Herbert Fleishaker moved his team back to Los Angeles, and took the name of the departed
Stars. After but one season, the team was sold to new owners, among them Robert H. “Bob� Cobb, owner of
the Brown Derby restaurant and for whom the Cobb salad is named. The new ownership realized the team needed
to represent Hollywood in order to succeed. They sold stock in the team to movie stars, movie moguls, and
Hollywood civic leaders ("the Hollywood Stars owned by the Hollywood stars"). (One of these, Gene Autry,
subsequently became owner of his own major league franchise, now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)."
--Courtesy of Wikipedia
They signed a deal to play at Gilmore Stadium, which was built by L.A. land and oil mogul E.B. Gilmore in 1934 as the
first race-track/stadium designed and built specifically for midget auto races (One of Gilmore's passions). Football,
wrestling and rodeos were also hosted in the 18,000 seat arena, including 2 of the first 3 NFL All-Star Games (Pro-
Bowls) in 1940 and 41.
The Stars paid $200,000 towards the construction of a new ballpark, called Gilmore Field, to be built next door...
The lovely Gilmore Field opened on May 2, 1939, at 7700 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, with all the fanfare of a
Hollywood premiere. Jack Benny, Al Jolsen, Gary Cooper, Robert Taylor and Bing Crosby hosted pre-game festivities,
and starlet and co-owner Gail Patrick (also the wife of Bob Cobb) threw out the first pitch to movie comedian Joe E.
Brown. There was no Hollywood ending, however -- the Stars lost to the Seattle Rainiers, 9-5. Still, the franchise
quickly caught on and became very popular with Angelinos in the post-World War II economy.
Much like what you see at the Laker games of today, Hollywood denizens attended Stars games to see and be seen.
It was said more beautiful women attended games at Gilmore than anywhere else in the minor or major leagues.
Celebrities like Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle and Rosemary Clooney were often seen in the grandstand of the stadium
-- as were gangsters like Benjamin "Don't call me Bugsy" Siegel. A special VIP room under the stands made it easy for
them to socialize and drink harder stuff than soda pop between innings without pesky fans pestering them.
The 11,500-seat Gilmore Field was possibly the most intimate metropolitan ballpark ever built. First and third bases
were 24 feet from the front row seats; home plate was only 34 feet away. Fans seated in the bleachers carried on
running conversations with the outfielders -- even during the game. But it was more intimate in that there were
large gaps between the wood planks in the stands, and players relaxing under the bleachers for the seventh inning
stretch could tell if any woman standing above them in a dress was wearing panties or not.
---Courtesy of Sportshollywood.com
southern L.A. county, the team won two PCL pennants (and finished first in another only to lose the postseason
series) before moving to San Francisco for the 1926 season. The transplanted Tigers, now known as the Mission Reds
or usually just "the Missions," foundered in San Francisco, failing to establish a rivalry with the existing San Francisco
Seals.
"In 1938 Missions' owner Herbert Fleishaker moved his team back to Los Angeles, and took the name of the departed
Stars. After but one season, the team was sold to new owners, among them Robert H. “Bob� Cobb, owner of
the Brown Derby restaurant and for whom the Cobb salad is named. The new ownership realized the team needed
to represent Hollywood in order to succeed. They sold stock in the team to movie stars, movie moguls, and
Hollywood civic leaders ("the Hollywood Stars owned by the Hollywood stars"). (One of these, Gene Autry,
subsequently became owner of his own major league franchise, now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)."
--Courtesy of Wikipedia
They signed a deal to play at Gilmore Stadium, which was built by L.A. land and oil mogul E.B. Gilmore in 1934 as the
first race-track/stadium designed and built specifically for midget auto races (One of Gilmore's passions). Football,
wrestling and rodeos were also hosted in the 18,000 seat arena, including 2 of the first 3 NFL All-Star Games (Pro-
Bowls) in 1940 and 41.
The Stars paid $200,000 towards the construction of a new ballpark, called Gilmore Field, to be built next door...
The lovely Gilmore Field opened on May 2, 1939, at 7700 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, with all the fanfare of a
Hollywood premiere. Jack Benny, Al Jolsen, Gary Cooper, Robert Taylor and Bing Crosby hosted pre-game festivities,
and starlet and co-owner Gail Patrick (also the wife of Bob Cobb) threw out the first pitch to movie comedian Joe E.
Brown. There was no Hollywood ending, however -- the Stars lost to the Seattle Rainiers, 9-5. Still, the franchise
quickly caught on and became very popular with Angelinos in the post-World War II economy.
Much like what you see at the Laker games of today, Hollywood denizens attended Stars games to see and be seen.
It was said more beautiful women attended games at Gilmore than anywhere else in the minor or major leagues.
Celebrities like Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle and Rosemary Clooney were often seen in the grandstand of the stadium
-- as were gangsters like Benjamin "Don't call me Bugsy" Siegel. A special VIP room under the stands made it easy for
them to socialize and drink harder stuff than soda pop between innings without pesky fans pestering them.
The 11,500-seat Gilmore Field was possibly the most intimate metropolitan ballpark ever built. First and third bases
were 24 feet from the front row seats; home plate was only 34 feet away. Fans seated in the bleachers carried on
running conversations with the outfielders -- even during the game. But it was more intimate in that there were
large gaps between the wood planks in the stands, and players relaxing under the bleachers for the seventh inning
stretch could tell if any woman standing above them in a dress was wearing panties or not.
---Courtesy of Sportshollywood.com
| Midget auto racing at Gilmore Stadium, 1940s A.F. Gilmore Company archives -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
| Minor-league baseball at Beverly and Fairfax, 1939 A.F. Gilmore Company archives -- ---------------------------------------------- -- |
