--- title: Classic Photos of Ebbets Field in 1940 description: A look back at one of baseball's most beloved parks in its heyday, long before it was forsaken for greener pastures canonical: https://time.com/3747618/ebbets-field/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-30T12:30:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:01.879Z og:title: Celebrate Baseball's Return With Classic Photos of Ebbets Field og:description: A look back at one of baseball's most beloved parks in its heyday, long before it was forsaken for greener pastures og:url: https://time.com/3747618/ebbets-field/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd7719dccb5ed64b/698783ebcd684807cb09a2f3/150317-ebbetts-field-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ebbets Field, 1940 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Celebrate Baseball's Return With Classic Photos of Ebbets Field twitter:description: A look back at one of baseball's most beloved parks in its heyday, long before it was forsaken for greener pastures twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd7719dccb5ed64b/698783ebcd684807cb09a2f3/150317-ebbetts-field-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Celebrate Baseball's Return With Classic Photos of Ebbets Field  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 30, 2015 12:30 PM UTC  Brooklyn Dodgers fans cheering during a game at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York. May 1940. Brooklyn Dodgers fans cheering during a game at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York. May 1940.William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 30, 2015 12:30 PM UTC “The Brooklyn Dodgers as the world knows them will soon cease to be,” LIFE warned in 1957, as the borough’s chances of keeping “Dem Bums” in town grew slim. The team’s home, Ebbets Field, was a few thousand seats too cozy and lacked adequate parking, with the surrounding neighborhood offering no possibility for expansion. Building Commissioner Robert Moses suggested that club owner Walter O’Malley address these issues by moving to Queens—an idea the latter promptly deemed preposterous, sealing the team’s fate as a west coast franchise. But long before its troubles began, Ebbets Field was as beloved as the players who dug their cleats into its sloping green. And when LIFE dispatched a photographer to capture the spirit of the place in 1940, that spirit was found in droves in the fans that filled its seats. Their faces registered triumph and heartbreak alike, foreshadowing the disappointment that would rule the borough when, six pennants and a World Series title later, its baseball days would be no more. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Brooklyn Dodgers fans cheering during a game at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York. May 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NY. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NY. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NY. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Fans watching a Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebbets Field, May 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Fans watching a Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebbets Field, May 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Fans watching a Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebbets Field, May 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Fans watching a Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebbets Field, May 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  An enthusiastic fan at a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game at Ebbetts Field, May 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Fans watching a Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NY, May 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Fans playing instruments and cheering while watching a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game at Ebbets Field, May 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NY. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Red Barber broadcasting the Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebbets Field, May 1940. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, NY. William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3747618/ebbets-field/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3747618/ebbets-field/"},"headline":"Celebrate Baseball's Return With Classic Photos of Ebbets Field","datePublished":"2015-03-30T12:30:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:01.879Z","description":"As the MLB gears up for the 2015 season, a look back at one of baseball’s most beloved ball fields","url":"https://time.com/3747618/ebbets-field/","keywords":["Sports topic","photography","Brooklyn","LIFE Magazine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd7719dccb5ed64b/698783ebcd684807cb09a2f3/150317-ebbetts-field-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd7719dccb5ed64b/698783ebcd684807cb09a2f3/150317-ebbetts-field-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ebbets Field, 1940","caption":"Brooklyn Dodger Fans cheering during game at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York. 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