The listed dimensions (in Green Cathedrals 1992 Edition) for Shibe Park (PHL AL) in the 1920s are as follows:

LF  378 (1909), 380 (1921), 334 (1922), 312 (1926), 334 (1930)

RF  340 (1909), 380 (1921),  307 (1926), 331 (1930)

The LF foul line distance at Shibe Park could be very misleading.  Starting with the 1913 season the LF bleachers extended from CF to about 15 ft of the LF foul line.  In 1913 the LF distance was 378, but 15 ft to the right of the foul line (at the front left corner of the bleachers) it was 334.  There is evidence that for some seasons in  1917-25 there was a gate of low fence across the gap between the LF bleaches and the 3B bleachers.  In such a situation the LF distance became 334.  This LF dimensional difference went away with the building of the double-deck stands in LF in 1925-26.  The dimensions for 1926 and 1930 are not at issue.  Here are the HR park factors for Shibe Park in the early 1920s.

1920    241

1921    233

1922    230

1923    102

1924    120

1925    109

Clearly for the 1920-22 seasons, Shibe Park was a very good park for HRs.  The severe drop in the HR Park Factor for 1923 suggests the dimensions were noticeably larger for 1923-25.  One clue about this issue is from research into the career of Tilly Walker.  Walker was a slugger in the early 1920s with the A’s and hit 37 home runs in 1922 with the A’s.  Another SABR researcher reported Walker as saying that for the 1923 season Connie Mack had the fences moved back.  My research revealed that Walker had lost his starting position in the A’s outfield as the A’s came North from Spring Training.  In fact, Walker had only 109 AB in 1923 vs. 565 in 1922.

Some of the listed dimensions for Shibe Park are clearly wrong.  RF in 1921-25 as 380 is only possible if home plate (HP) was moved back from RF by 40 ft.  Such a placement of HP would have resulted in the 3B line running on the edge of the 3B dugout!  Also it is known that the fences could not have been literally have been moved back away from HP, because the LF and RF fences were abutted by Philadelphia city streets.  After the building of the LF bleachers for the 1913 season, except for the LF corner gap, the only way to change the park’s dimensions was to move HP.  In addition, a 1921 Sanborn confirmed the LF dimension as 378 and RF as 340-unchanged from 1920.

The Shibe Park mystery is:  Why did the HR Park Factor plunge in 1923?  Has any SABR ballpark researcher found any information about dimensional changes at Shibe in the 1920?  Are there any theories as to what could account for the plunge in the HR Park Factor in 1923?

Research of the ProQuest newspapers found no information of any changes at Shibe Park in the 1922-23 off-season.  Research into Shibe Park has been hampered by (1) no Philadelphia newspaper available on ProQuest, and (2) there being no index for the 1920s for the Philadelphia Inquirer-a newspaper that I do have available at a local library.  Research into the 1923 pre-season and Opening Day articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer found nothing about any changes in the configuration or dimensions of Shibe Park.  This research has not covered every issue of the paper from the end of the 1922 season to the start of the 19223 season. 

      Ron “Frustrated Ballpark Researcher” Selter