History
The Braves opened their park on the old Allston Golf Club grounds on August 18, 1915. Osborn Engineering designed it, and it held about 40,000 at opening. SABR notes that nobody hit a ball out of the park until 1917.
The Red Sox borrowed it for World Series games in 1915 and 1916. In 1920 it hosted a 26-inning tie, the longest major league game by innings. It was also the site of the 1936 All-Star Game and Boston's first night game in 1946.
The Braves won the 1948 pennant there but lost the World Series to Cleveland. The last game was played on September 21, 1952, and in March 1953 Lou Perini moved the team to Milwaukee.
Boston University bought the property in 1953. Most of the grandstand was removed for dormitories and athletic buildings, but the right-field pavilion, parts of the outer wall and the old ticket office remain at what was renamed Nickerson Field in 1963.
Why it matters: It is one of the few former major league parks with original structure still in use, as part of Boston University's Nickerson Field.
Timeline
- August 18, 1915
The Braves beat the Cardinals 3–1 at their large new park.
- May 1, 1920
The Braves and Brooklyn played to a 1–1 tie in the longest major league game by innings.
- May 11, 1946Boston's first night game[3]
The Giants beat the Braves 5–1 in the first major league night game in Boston.
- 1948
The Braves won the pennant and lost the World Series to Cleveland in six games.
- September 21, 1952
Brooklyn won 8–2 before 8,822 in the final major league game at the park.
- 1953
BU bought the ballpark and later converted it into its own stadium.
- March 13, 1953
Owner Lou Perini announced the Braves would move to Milwaukee for the 1953 season.
- September 28, 1963Renamed Nickerson Field[1]
The university renamed the stadium Nickerson Field.
The site today
| Physical status | Partially demolished |
|---|---|
| Current use | Nickerson Field, Boston University's stadium for soccer, lacrosse and other sports, surrounded by BU dormitories and the Case Athletic Center[1,2,4] |
| Surviving remnants | The original right-field pavilion grandstand, part of the outer wall and entry gate, and the Spanish Colonial-style former ticket and administration building (now Boston University Police headquarters).[1,2,4] |
| Built on the site | Nickerson Field (Boston University's stadium reuses part of the Braves Field structure.) |
| Mapped location | Former venue site |
Street View near the former site · Satellite view (external, current imagery)
Teams & events
| Boston Braves | National League · 1915–1952 |
|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | American League · 1915–1916 · secondary |
| Boston Braves (later Redskins) | NFL · 1932 · tenant |
| Boston Yanks | NFL · 1946 · tenant |
| Boston Patriots | AFL · 1960–1962 · tenant |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Other names | National League Park (1936–1941); Boston University Field (1953–1963); The Bee Hive; The Wigwam |
|---|---|
| Location | Commonwealth Ave. at Babcock St. (Gaffney St./Harry Agganis Way), Boston University West Campus, on the former Allston Golf Club grounds, Boston, Massachusetts[2,3] |
| Venue type | Ballpark |
| Sports | Baseball, Football, Soccer |
| Level | MLB, NFL, AFL, NCAA |
| Opened | August 18, 1915[2,3] |
| Last used for sports | September 21, 1952[2,3] |
| Physical status | Partially demolished |
| Original capacity | 40,000[2,3] |
| Final capacity | 37,106[2,3] |
| Capacity notes | 40,000 at opening: 18,000 in the covered grandstand, two 10,000-seat pavilions and the 2,000-seat 'Jury Box' (SABR). Final MLB-era capacity 37,106 (1948–1954, Wikipedia). |
| Architect | Osborn Engineering[2] |
| Construction cost | $600,000 per Wikipedia; about $1,000,000 per SABR (1915)[2,3] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Owner / operator | Boston Braves (to 1953); Boston University (from 1953) |
| Closure | The Braves moved to Milwaukee before the 1953 season, and Boston University bought the property. |
Documented details
Connected venues
Sources
- Nickerson Field, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: current land use, events, remnants
- Braves Field, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, architect, capacity, closed, construction cost, coordinates, current land use, events, opened, remnants, teams
- Braves Field, Society for American Baseball Research (Bill Price). Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, capacity, closed, construction cost, events, opened
- Braves Field Afterlife, Boston University Preservation Studies. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: current land use, events, remnants
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (4)
- Construction cost: Wikipedia $600,000 vs SABR about $1,000,000.
- Boston University Field name: the Braves Field article gives 1953–1955, while the Nickerson Field article gives 1954 to the 1963-09-28 renaming. The alias uses 1953–1963.
- Date of sale to BU: Wikipedia gives 1953-07-30; BU Preservation Studies says summer 1953; SABR gives no date.
- SABR (an older article) says the stadium is home to BU football. BU's current tenants per Wikipedia are soccer, lacrosse and rugby league teams.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.