Baseball has been a part of Peoria history dating back to 1883 when the Peoria Reds played for the Northwestern League, and even further back to 1878 when an independent team by that name first took the field. A permanent baseball stadium had been built called Lake View Park, which would house professional Peoria Baseball for 40 years until 1923. The New York Yankees had just been kicked out of the Polo Grounds for outdrawing the Giants and had to build a new ballpark, to be known as Yankee Stadium. At that same time, a new ballpark would also rise in Peoria, and would become the home for pro ball for the next 40 years... the ballpark above known as Woodruff Field.