Riverside in Toronto, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Toronto's first professional stadium: Sunlight Park 1886 - 1896
Photographed by Erik Lander, April 16, 2013
1. Sunlight Park Marker
Inscription.
Toronto's first professional stadium: Sunlight Park 1886 - 1896. . "Sunlight Park" was constructed in 1886 as the Toronto Baseball Grounds. The smell of baked potatoes and cigars greeted fans filing in to the park through an avenue of workers' cottages called "Baseball Place". The stands, four storeys high and surrounded by a 4 m wooden fence, sat 2,250 paying customers. Admission was 25 cents. The grounds became known as Sunlight Park after William Hesketh Lever opened Sunlight Soap Works south of the park in 1893. Toronto won its first professional baseball title here on Saturday, September 17, 1897. The hero was rising superstar pitcher/outfielder Edward "Ned" Crane, nicknamed "Cannonball" for his long distance throwing feats. Over 17,000 fans witnessed the first two games against Newark, New Jersey to decide the International League champion. , Crane pitched Toronto to a 15-5 win in the morning game and, to the delight of fans, pitched all of the second game (even though he severely sprained his ankle in the fourth). After hitting a base-clearing drive in the eighth to send the game to extra innings, he hit a home run in the eleventh to steal a 5-4 Toronto victory (the roar of the crowd was heard as far as Yonge and King). , Crane returned to the park Sunday, with sore ankle and shoulder, and pitched Toronto to another victory (22-8)., Today, Eastern Avenue cuts across the old infield of Sunlight Park. The site of the wooden structure lies just to the south of Queen Street, just to the south east of this plaque. Sunlight Park Road traces the southern edge of the field. , As Dr. Meyer puts it, "There is still something about the site of this first stadium that is magical, beyond the buzz of the city's traffic, beneath layers of concrete and years that have buried the old green field. It is still possible to stand here and imagine what it must have been like, what that crowd fifteen deep in the outfield must have felt, what it was to go home a winner."
"Sunlight Park" was constructed in 1886 as the Toronto Baseball Grounds. The smell of baked potatoes and cigars greeted fans filing in to the park through an avenue of workers' cottages called "Baseball Place". The stands, four storeys high and surrounded by a 4 m wooden fence, sat 2,250 paying customers. Admission was 25 cents. The grounds became known as Sunlight Park after William Hesketh Lever opened Sunlight Soap Works south of the park in 1893.
Toronto won its first professional baseball title here on Saturday, September 17, 1897. The hero was rising superstar pitcher/outfielder Edward "Ned" Crane, nicknamed "Cannonball" for his long distance throwing feats. Over 17,000 fans witnessed the first two games against Newark, New Jersey to decide the International League champion.
Crane pitched Toronto to a 15-5 win in the morning game and, to the delight of fans, pitched all of the second game (even though he severely sprained his ankle in the fourth). After hitting a base-clearing drive in the eighth to send the game to extra innings, he hit a home run in the eleventh to steal a 5-4 Toronto victory (the roar of the crowd was heard as far as Yonge and King).
Crane returned to the park Sunday, with sore ankle and shoulder, and pitched Toronto to another victory (22-8).
Today, Eastern Avenue cuts across
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the old infield of Sunlight Park. The site of the wooden structure lies just to the south of Queen Street, just to the south east of this plaque. Sunlight Park Road traces the southern edge of the field.
As Dr. Meyer puts it, "There is still something about the site of this first stadium that is magical, beyond the buzz of the city's traffic, beneath layers of concrete and years that have buried the old green field. It is still possible to stand here and imagine what it must have been like, what that crowd fifteen deep in the outfield must have felt, what it was to go home a winner."
Erected by Heritage Toronto.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Sports. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Toronto Heritage series list. A significant historical date for this entry is September 17, 1897.
Location. 43° 39.489′ N, 79° 21.116′ W. Marker is in Toronto, Ontario. It is in Riverside. It is on Queen Street East. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 655 Queen St E, Toronto ON M4M 1G4, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Toronto and on the Golden Horseshoe. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Ruperts Land.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 17, 2013, by Erik Lander of Brooklyn, New York. This page has been viewed 1,633 times since then and 56 times this year. Photo1. submitted on April 17, 2013, by Erik Lander of Brooklyn, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
