 For many decades after its inception, American football was widely regarded as a second-tier sport behind baseball which was long-regarded as America's national pastime.As a result, the elite levels of American football lacked the financial wherewithal to consistently finance their own facilities and instead played primarily in ballparks hastily re-purposed for football.However, since gridiron football in particular is responsible for excessive wear and tear on a grass playing field, baseball clubs were not keen to see football played in their parks throughout the entire baseball season.