Bennett Park was a baseball stadium in Detroit. Located at Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, it was home to the Detroit Tigers and was named after Charlie Bennett, a former player whose career ended after a train accident in 1894.
The Tigers began play at Bennett Park in the minor Western League with a 17–2 win over the Columbus Senators on April 28, 1896. That league was renamed the American League in 1900, and the AL declared itself a major league starting in 1901.
History
thumb|right|Bennett Park outline in 1897
Bennett Field was built on land once owned by William Woodbridge who farmed after retirement from public office. Later the land was a hay market, dog pound, and public picnic park. Tigers owner George Arthur Vanderbeck acquired the property before 1896.
When it opened in 1896, the stadium held 5,000 spectators, the smallest capacity in the major leagues. It had gradually expanded to 14,000 seats by the time it was closed after the 1911 season. Private parties built "bootleg bleachers" on the rooftops of houses behind the left field fence, to the chagrin of Tiger ownership, since people paid to watch games from those bleachers but the Tigers did not get revenue. On September 24, 1896, the Tigers played their last game of their first season at Bennett Park, an exhibition doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds. Tigers owner George Arthur Vanderbeck had workers string lights above the stadium for the nighttime game. A crowd of 1200 attended the experiment, which was described by a local newspaper as "an amusing and financial success".