Tecumseh Park
For the 1877 season, the Tecumsehs moved into the newly outfitted, 6-acre (24,000 m2) Tecumseh Park in the village of Petersville on the west side of the forks of the Thames River (now the City-owned Labatt Memorial Park) with Richard Southam, brother of William Southam, founder of the Southam newspaper chain, the team manager. (London-born George (Mooney) Gibson, catcher for the 1909 World Series Champions, the Pittsburgh Pirates, was a nephew of the Southams).
Both the London Tecumsehs and Tecumseh Park were named after the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh who fought alongside the British against the U.S. during the War of 1812. Chief Tecumseh died during the Battle of the Thames near Chatham, Ontario, in October 1813.
While the Tecumsehs were charter members of the International Association, the team (like all teams in the league) continued to play many ball games against teams in other leagues. One of the first games played in the new stadium took place on Saturday, May 5, 1877, against the Hartfords of Brooklyn, New York.
The new field was lauded for its many amenities, including a 600-seat grandstand, piped-in water for maintaining the grass and facilities for scorers, telegraph operators and reporters. London won the International Association pennant in 1877 by defeating the Pittsburgh Alleghenies 5-2.
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Famous quotes containing the words tecumseh and/or park:
“The death of William Tecumseh Sherman, which took place to-day at his residence in the city of New York at 1 o’clock and 50 minutes p.m., is an event that will bring sorrow to the heart of every patriotic citizen. No living American was so loved and venerated as he.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)