After an early Athletics franchise was expelled from the National League following the 1876 season, the field fell into disuse. The City of Philadelphia cut 26th Street through the lot, allowing the eastern half of the large block to be developed. The western half remained vacant. A new American Association team, also called the Athletics, decided to move from their Oakdale Park after their inaugural 1882 season. Beginning in 1883, the Athletics leased the western half of the Jefferson Street lot, and erected a new diamond and grandstands at the northwest corner. Local newspapers then referred to the ballfield location as "26th and Jefferson", where there was an entrance gate. Also by this time, the venue was being called Athletic Grounds or Athletic Park. The Athletics opened the new ballpark to the public on Saturday, April 7, 1883 for a preseason exhibition game against Yale University which Athletic won 12 to 0. It was reported that the new ballpark could accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 fans. One of the largest crowds at the ballpark was recorded on April 4, 1887 for the first game of Philadelphia's 1887 City Series when 9,183 tickets were sold and an "immense crowd" turned out to see the Phillies defeat the Athletics by a score of 10 to 2. Prior to the 1889 season, a new band stand was erected on the left field side next to the grandstand large enough for a 25-piece military band. On March 1, 1890, the Kensington Rovers and Philadelphia South End soccer clubs met at the ballpark in what the Philadelphia Inquirer called "the roughest and most exciting game of football (under English Association rules) that has ever been played in this city..." The last major league game played in the park was October 11, 1890. The "Athletics" teams that played at the Jefferson Street Grounds do not have any direct lineage to the Philadelphia Athletics franchise that was an inaugural member of the American League in 1901, and exists today as the Oakland Athletics. Ballpark site today The ball field still exists in a revised form. The ballpark site is currently occupied by various structures including Daniel Boone Public School, also known as Camelot Academy, at 1435 N 26th St, and the Athletic Recreation Center and its ball fields. The field at the northwest corner of the lot approximates the location of the 1883–1890 diamond. References Further reading SABR