MUSIC - Ol' 55 by the Eagles

Memorial Stadium - demolished site is now a YMCA, retirement home and apartment complex

From 1947 thru 1991, Baltimore has long had a love affair with both the old Baltimore Colts and the Baltimore Orioles. They played at old Memorial stadium, which was located at 33rd street and Ellerslie Ave. Memorial was about 5 miles north of downtown Baltimore in a section of town called Waverly. It was located in a semi residential neighborhood. Houses surrounded Memorial stadium on the West, North and East. It was bordered to the South by Eastern high school on 33rd Street.

Built in 1950, it was actually repositioned. In 1922 Baltimore stadium was constructed on the site. In 1950, the stadium was basically gutted and turned from a north south facing stadium to the more familiar south north facing. The St. Louis Browns relocated to Baltimore after the 1953 season and were renamed the Orioles. They started off well too, by winning their first game 3-1 over the Chicago White Sox. The final Orioles game was on October 6, 1991. The outcome wasn't as good as their first ever game. They lost 7-1 to the Detroit Tigers. A packed house of 50,700 saw the curtain come down on Memorial stadium that Sunday afternoon. The final Orioles home run was hit the day before by a relativley unknown outfielder named Chito Martinez. He hit it off Mark Leiter. It was also the last home run ever hit in Memorial stadium. The game was also the last ever win for the Orioles in their former home. A 7-3 victory over Detroit.

It was known by a few different names. "the old grey lady of 33rd St.," and "the world's largest outdoor insane asylum." During Orioles games in the 70's and 80's, the chief lunatic was a fan who always sat in section 34 of the upper deck. "Wild" Bill Hagey would lead the throng in his pretzel like movements of spelling out O R I O L E S. Hagey was a cab driver by trade and self appointed Orioles cheerleader by night. In his straw hat and scraggly beard, he would rile up Orioles fans on any given night. Sadly on August 20, 2007, "Wild" Bill Hagey passed away.

Memorial had its heroes, from Lenny Moore, Art Donovan, Big Daddy Lipscomb, Mike "Mad dog" Curtis, Raymond Berry, Bert Jones and countless other Colts greats. It had its share of Orioles heroes too. Frank Robinson, Boog Powell, Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, the Earl of Baltimore, Earl Weaver, Dave McNalley, Eddie Murray, Brooks Robinson and many others. But the two standouts in Baltimore sports history have to be Johnny Unitas of the Colts and Cal Ripken, Jr. of the birds.

The Colts won two worlds championships in 1958 and 1959 and super bowl V. The Orioles won world series championships in 1966, 1970 and 1983. Not bad for a team that was once the old St. Louis Browns. The Browns were one of the worst teams in baseball. But in 1954, they moved from St. Louis to Baltimore and were reborn as the Orioles.

The old lady of 33rd street was a little rough around the edges towards the end. In 1991, the Orioles left for their new downtown park called Camden Yards. On March 23, 1984, the Colts vanished from Baltimore. On this snowy night, moving vans packed their gear and headed out to Indianapolis, where they are to this day. Both the Colts and Orioles wanted new parks. Memorial stadium was quickly becoming obsolete. The Orioles got their park, but Baltimore lost the Colts. People to this day are still bitter of the vanishing act pulled by the late Colts owner Robert Irsay.

After the Orioles and Colts left, Memorial stadium sat vacant for 2 years. In 1993, the Bowie Baysox of the eastern league played in Memorial stadium while their park was being built. In 1994 football returned in the form of the Stallions. They were part of the Canadian football league. They stayed for 2 seasons. In 1996, the old Cleveland Browns franchise relocated to Baltimore. They were renamed the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens pumped life into the old girl for 2 more years even though Memorial stadium was falling apart. They moved out after the 1997 season.

The asylum sat vacant for four years. It was basically abandoned. The field overgrown with weeds. Seats falling apart. Rust everywhere. Finally in 2001 the wrecking ball came to Memorial stadium. It served the people of Baltimore for almost 50 years. Fans will never forget the exploits of their beloved Colts and Orioles. The site now houses the largest YMCA in Maryland and two apartment complexes. Fittingly, one of the apartment complexes is a retirement home.

The old grey lady of 33rd street did her city proud. Rest in peace.