On this day in 1912, Charles Ebbets, “The Squire of Flatbush”, announced he had acquired land in the Pigtown section of Brooklyn for a ballpark.  Construction would start later that year, and the ballpark would open by Opening Day the next year.  The name of the park: Ebbets Field (like you couldn’t guess, heh). 

From what I’ve read, he decided to name the park after himself.  And after working his way up with the Brooklyn Base Ball Club from errand boy/vendor in 1884 to team president in 1897 (meaning he was there from practically the beginning), I think he earned it.  Plus, I’d pity the guy who would’ve suggested otherwise, Hercules was Ebbets’ middle name.  Really. 

While the Ebbets-inspired, soon-to-open Citi Field in Queens cost $600 million to build, Ebbets Field was build for less than a thousandth of that: $450,000.  Today, that would get you close to 5 years of choice season tickets at the new Yankee Stadium.

(Picture inspired by photo in Whittingham’s Illustrated History of the Dodgers , and info found on Baseball Reference.com , Whittingham, and the Citi Field page on Ballparks.com .)