Labatt Park - Thames River Flood of 1883

Thames River Flood of 1883

Tecumseh Park was damaged by a flood of the Thames River on July 11, 1883 which destroyed the original grandstands, located near today's outfield foul ball lines. Originally, home plate was located in today's left-centre field. The new replacement grandstand (1883–1937) was built facing east toward downtown London, with home plate moved to approximately the same location as it is today.

Beginning in 1892 the park was used for amateur and professional bicycle races, attracting such international stars as Harley Davidson (the Canadian Wheelman, a late-19th century cycling magazine was started and published in London).

Baseball continued to be played there as well, with three more incarnations of the Tecumsehs in the International Association (1888–1889), the International League (1890), and the Canadian League (1898–1900), with the London Alerts, also of the Canadian League, playing in 1897 and 1899. Meanwhile, in 1895 the park was the site of the first-ever motion picture display in London, organized by the London Bicycle Club.

The London Cockneys played in the Class D International League in 1908 and the Class C Canadian League in 1911, while another Tecumsehs club played in the Class C and Class B Leagues from 1912 to 1915. It was during this period that Earle Neale played baseball at Labatt Park before he started his career in the Big Leagues with the Cincinnati Reds in 1916, later becoming an award-winning and innovative football coach in American pro football.

The Tecumsehs played in the Class B Michigan-Ontario League from 1919 to 1924, and during the early 1920s, the team included future Major League second-base star Charlie Gehringer. Gehringer and the Tecumsehs defeated the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition game, also in 1921. A second London team, the Indians, played in the Michigan-Ontario League in 1925. The Tecumsehs also played in the Class D Ontario League in 1930.

In 1940 and 1941, the London Pirates played in the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League, more commonly known as the PONY League. It was during this period that lights were installed at Labatt Park to permit night baseball. The 1941 Pirates team included pitcher Russ Getsinger and future Major Leaguers such as Jim Jordan and Vic Barnhart. Vic's brother Bob Barnhart was also a teammate on the 1941 London Pirates. Vic's father Clyde Barnhart was a star with the Pittsburgh Pirates throughout the 1920s including the 1925 and 1927 World Series teams.