2001 Legendary Playing Fields

On June 27, 2001, the U.S. Postal Service issued Baseball’s Legendary Playing Fields, a pane of twenty 34-cent commemorative stamps featuring ten historic ballparks. Designed by Phil Jordan, the stamps reproduce vintage color postcards, with each ballpark appearing twice per pane. Built to fit their urban surroundings, these parks developed distinctive dimensions and architectural quirks that became part of baseball’s character.

The ten stamp designs feature Ebbets Field (Brooklyn), Tiger Stadium (Detroit), Crosley Field (Cincinnati), the original Yankee Stadium (New York City), Polo Grounds (New York City), Forbes Field (Pittsburgh), Fenway Park (Boston), Comiskey Park (Chicago), Shibe Park (Philadelphia), and Wrigley Field (Chicago). An eleventh ballpark, Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, appears in the pane’s header. Text on the back of each stamp describes the featured ballpark.

When the stamps were issued in 2001, four of the eleven ballparks were still standing: Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Tiger Stadium, and the original Yankee Stadium. Today, only Fenway Park in Boston and Wrigley Field in Chicago remain.

Avery Dennison printed 125,000,000 self-adhesive stamps using the gravure process. With two examples of each design in every pane, that represents 12,500,000 stamps per ballpark. At 34 cents each, the issue had a total face value of $42,500,000.

Stamped Postal Cards

Each of baseball’s legendary playing fields stamp was also released as a postcard with a 21¢ postage-paid value. The 10 designs were released as a booklet in ready-to-mail postcards.

Comiskey Park, Chicago, IL

A symmetrical park that favored pitchers over hitters, this South Side Chicago landmark featured graceful arched windows. In 1933, it hosted the first All-Star Game. A fan of gimmicks, the owner installed the first exploding scoreboard in 1960. (Stamp ID# Scott 3517).

Crosley Field, Cincinnati, OH

Major League Baseball night games debuted at this Cincinnati park in 1935, with FDR switching on the lights from the White House. One of the game’s smallest, most intimate stadiums, players had to run uphill to the outfield fence. (Stamp ID# Scott 3512).

Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NY

Home to the game’s most colorful fans, this Brooklyn park had quirks galore, including an angled right field wall and a sign that when hit won the batter a new suit. The Major League Baseball TV debut occurred at Ebbets Field in 1939. (Stamp ID# Scott 3510).

Fenway Park, Boston, MA

Boston’s intimate Fenway Park has the Green Monster, a 37-foot-high left field wall. Red Sox fielders who mastered its unpredictable caroms became legends. The home run that ended game six of the 1975 World Series made history there. (Stamp ID# Scott 3516).

Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, PA

With expansive foul territory and deep outfield dimensions, this park was a pitcher’s friend. Ironically, in the 61 years that the Pittsburgh Pirates called Forbes Field home, no one ever pitched a no-hitter there. (Stamp ID# Scott 3515).

Polo Grounds, New York City, NY

This storied ballpark – one-time home to the Giants, the Yankees, and, briefly, the Mets – was the site of the entire 1921 and 1922 World Series. The horseshoe-shaped field hosted one of the most famous home runs: the 1951 “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” (Stamp ID# Scott 3514).

Shibe Park, Philadelphia, PA

The first Major League Baseball concrete-and-steel stadium, Philadelphia’s Shibe Park featured a 34-foot-high right field wall, as well as a facade with stately columns and a French Renaissance cupola. (Stamp ID# Scott 3518).

Tiger Stadium Detroit, MI

Opened in 1912 as Navin Field, Tiger Stadium was home to the Detroit Tigers for 88 seasons. It put fans very close to the field and featured a right field upper deck that jutted out ten feet farther than the lower deck. (Stamp ID# Scott 3511).

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Ivy-covered outfield walls, a hand-operated scoreboard, and more day than night games are just a few of the reasons fans everywhere love Chicago’s Wrigley Field. When the wind blows out, scores can enter double digits; when it blows in, Wrigley is a pitcher’s delight. (Stamp ID# Scott 3519).

Yankee Stadium, New York City, NY

Yankee Stadium has hosted more World Series games that any other ballpark. Deep to the power alleys but short down the lines, beyond its left-center field fence lie monuments and plaques honoring Yankee greats. (Stamp ID# Scott 3513).

Legendary Playing Fields in Gold

The Postal Commemorative Society (PCS) produced licensed collectibles celebrating U.S. postage stamp designs. Its Legendary Playing Fields collection recreates the ten ballpark stamps issued in 2001 as 22kt gold-foil replicas, giving the historic stadium artwork a metallic finish.

Stamp Stats

Value: 34¢
Issue Date: June 27, 2001
City: New York, NY, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, or Detroit, MI
Quantity: 125,000,000
Printed by: Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 11.25 x 11.5
Color: Multicolor

2001 Legendary Playing Fields