Dexter Park was a horse race track in Chicago built in the years following the Civil War. It was named for a gelding and trotter who had set world records for the mile and inspired the naming of several new towns including Dexter, Missouri and Dexter, Texas (a village about an hour north of Dallas). The track's formal opening was held in July 1867. The ball field was established inside the track's oval and had its own small set of bleachers encircling the field.

Early baseball games at Dexter Park that July included a series staged for the touring Washington Nationals. The Nationals had been undefeated until they played the Forest City (Rockford) club, which defeated the Nationals 29-23. This generated a good deal of excitement for a game the next day against the Chicago champions, the Excelsior club. The Nationals proceeded to pummel the Excelsiors 49-4. Some Chicago fans, and local newspapers, accused the Nationals of being "blacklegs", i.e. of having lost to Forest City on purpose, to hype interest in the Excelsior match and the attendant wagering. The Nats complained, and the newspapers retracted their accusations.

Dexter Park was the first home of the Chicago White Stockings, one of the oldest professional baseball clubs in operation. Chicago's sporting businessmen formed the White Stockings in 1870 to represent Chicago as the Red Stockings had done for Cincinnati in 1869. The ball field was established inside the track's oval and had its own small set of bleachers encircling the field.

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