American League baseball came to New York City in 1903 when gambler Frank J. Farrell and former New York City Police Chief William S. Devery bought the Baltimore Orioles franchise for $18,000, equal to $512,200 today.
They established the team at Hilltop Park, a hastily constructed wooden park seating about 16,000 fans, on the west side of Broadway between 165th and 168th streets.
It was catty-corner to the New York School for the Deaf, which at that time was located at 99 Fort Washington.
The land was acquired via a ten-year lease, arranged by the New York Institution for the Blind.[New York Times, March 24, 1903, p. 10]
The block was effectively parkland, with many trees to be cut down and an artificial lake to be drained and filled in.[New York Tribune, March 14, 1903, p. 5] In mid-April, the owners announced that the new ballpark was to be officially known as American League Park.[New York Tribune, April 16, 1903, p. 6] The park retained that name in formal circumstances, but its geography led to the oft-used nickname Hilltop Park.

Between that fact and the club president Joseph Gordon being fancifully linked by sportswriters to the Gordon Highlanders, the team nickname "Highlanders" followed logically.
Opening Day came on April 30, 1903, when the New York Highlanders played the Washington Senators.

The ballpark site was quite large for its time (9.6 acres (3.9 ha) or nearly double the size of many ballpark sites of that era), and the south portion of the land plot was used for the parking of first carriages and later automobiles.
 The shape of the land plot was a large trapezoid with right angles at the site's northeast and southeast corners.
The left field foul line ran mostly North to South and was parallel to Fort Washington Road (the western boundary of the park).
The left field foul line would, if extended about 20 additional feet, have intersected 168th Street at less than 90°.
The right field foul line would, if extended, have intersected Broadway (the eastern boundary of the park) at more than 90°.
The ballpark site was thus trapezoidal in shape and large for the Deadball Era.

The seating capacity of 16,000 was also rather large for this time period.
Capacity in the dead-ball Era was a flexible concept.
In accordance with the practices of the day, overflow crowds were allowed to stand in the perimeter of the outfield.
In addition, for "big" games, additional standees were allowed down the foul lines and between home plate and the backstop.
Thus the effective overall capacity of the park was closer to 25,000, although even when stuffed to the gills, it fell well short of the normal capacity of the Polo Grounds.

The original 1903 construction of Hilltop Park cost about $200,000, more than two-thirds of which was spent for rock blasting and excavations; and the groundskeeper of the Highlanders, Phil Schenck, laid out the playing field.
The ballpark consisted of a covered grandstand of three sections, although it was not actually roofed until June 1 that season.
Two sections of the grandstand were parallel to the foul lines and the third section was a short intermediate diagonal, which formed the backstop.
The grandstand extended a short way past both first and third bases, and a clubhouse was located behind the center field fence.
Single-deck bleachers that extended down both foul lines reached from the grandstand almost to the fences.
The third base bleachers were not finished until June 1903.
These first and third base bleachers angled towards the foul lines reducing the foul area at the fences to about 15 feet.
A modest-sized scoreboard was in fair territory down the left field foul line.
The main entrance to the park was on Broadway and a ramp led up to the top of the first base grandstand.
Unlike many of the other contemporary wooden ballparks-this one never burned.

Hilltop Park was not in good condition when it opened.
There was a swamp in right field that had yet to be filled with rock, the outfield had no grass, the grandstand had not been completed, and players had to dress at their hotel rooms because
American League baseball came to New York City in 1903 when gambler Frank J. Farrell and former New York City Police Chief William S. Devery bought the Baltimore Orioles franchise for $18,000, equal to $512,200 today. They established the team at Hilltop Park, a hastily constructed wooden park seating about 16,000 fans, on the west side of Broadway between 165th and 168th streets. It was catty-corner to the New York School for the Deaf, which at that time was located at 99 Fort Washington. The land was acquired via a ten-year lease, arranged by the New York Institution for the Blind.[New York Times, March 24, 1903, p. 10]
The block was effectively parkland, with many trees to be cut down and an artificial lake to be drained and filled in.[New York Tribune, March 14, 1903, p. 5] In mid-April, the owners announced that the new ballpark was to be officially known as American League Park.[New York Tribune, April 16, 1903, p. 6] The park retained that name in formal circumstances, but its geography led to the oft-used nickname Hilltop Park.
Between that fact and the club president Joseph Gordon being fancifully linked by sportswriters to the Gordon Highlanders, the team nickname "Highlanders" followed logically. Opening Day came on April 30, 1903, when the New York Highlanders played the Washington Senators.
The ballpark site was quite large for its time (9.6 acres (3.9 ha) or nearly double the size of many ballpark sites of that era), and the south portion of the land plot was used for the parking of first carriages and later automobiles.  The shape of the land plot was a large trapezoid with right angles at the site's northeast and southeast corners. The left field foul line ran mostly North to South and was parallel to Fort Washington Road (the western boundary of the park). The left field foul line would, if extended about 20 additional feet, have intersected 168th Street at less than 90°. The right field foul line would, if extended, have intersected Broadway (the eastern boundary of the park) at more than 90°. The ballpark site was thus trapezoidal in shape and large for the Deadball Era.
The seating capacity of 16,000 was also rather large for this time period. Capacity in the dead-ball Era was a flexible concept. In accordance with the practices of the day, overflow crowds were allowed to stand in the perimeter of the outfield. In addition, for "big" games, additional standees were allowed down the foul lines and between home plate and the backstop. Thus the effective overall capacity of the park was closer to 25,000, although even when stuffed to the gills, it fell well short of the normal capacity of the Polo Grounds.
The original 1903 construction of Hilltop Park cost about $200,000, more than two-thirds of which was spent for rock blasting and excavations; and the groundskeeper of the Highlanders, Phil Schenck, laid out the playing field. The ballpark consisted of a covered grandstand of three sections, although it was not actually roofed until June 1 that season. Two sections of the grandstand were parallel to the foul lines and the third section was a short intermediate diagonal, which formed the backstop. The grandstand extended a short way past both first and third bases, and a clubhouse was located behind the center field fence. Single-deck bleachers that extended down both foul lines reached from the grandstand almost to the fences. The third base bleachers were not finished until June 1903. These first and third base bleachers angled towards the foul lines reducing the foul area at the fences to about 15 feet. A modest-sized scoreboard was in fair territory down the left field foul line. The main entrance to the park was on Broadway and a ramp led up to the top of the first base grandstand. Unlike many of the other contemporary wooden ballparks-this one never burned.
Hilltop Park was not in good condition when it opened. There was a swamp in right field that had yet to be filled with rock, the outfield had no grass, the grandstand had not been completed, and players had to dress at their hotel rooms because
Hilltop Park