Today in 1963: It's the beginning of the end of Buff Stadium

Busch Stadium -- or Buff Stadium if you insist -- will be torn down within the next few weeks by a salvage dealer who bought it for $19,750 Thursday. -- Houston Chronicle, March 15, 1963

Just short of its 35th birthday, the death warrant had been signed for the longtime home of the Houston Buffaloes. The news was tucked deep inside the Chronicle, next to the movie listings, on Page 18.

In on-the-go Houston, that was par for the course. The Astros -- and, especially, the Astrodome -- were on the horizon. With baseball fans already sweating it out under the hot sun at Colt Stadium, the Buffs were part of the past.

Located at what's now the northwest corner of Cullen and the Gulf Freeway, Buff Stadium was sold to A.W. George of Wood George & Co. with a single bid during an auction at the Rice Hotel. Efforts to auction the stadium off piece-by-piece proved fruitless, so George was able to snag the whole site with one bid.

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Soon, a Finger Furniture store and warehouse would go up on the 18-acre site. A museum inside the store celebrated the ballpark's storied past.

When Buff Stadium opened in 1928, it was a definite upgrade over how Houstonians had previously watched baseball. Since the early 1900s, baseball was played at West End Park at Heiner and Andrews streets in the Fourth Ward. Seating capacity there was about 4,000. When it opened, Buff Stadium seated more than 13,000 baseball fans.

It was there where future Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean honed his skills for a couple of seasons in the early 1930s. Around the same time, the installation of stadium lights would usher in the era of night games in Houston.

For most of its existence, African-Americans had to sit in a designated area along the right field line. That came to an end in the mid-1950s.

(More details of the stadium's history can be found in the comprehensive "Houston Baseball: The Early Years, 1861-1961.")

To this day, longtime Houstonians speak of old Busch Stadium with fondness.

Excuse me, Buff Stadium. Yes, since 1952 it had also been called Busch Stadium when August Busch purchased the Cardinals in 1952. For years, the Buffaloes had been affiliated with the redbirds.

"The name never took hold," the Chronicle reported. "It has always been Buff Stadium to the fans, home of some fine Texas Leaguers. But no more."