It also served as home grounds for the minor-league baseball team primarily known as the Springfield Ponies.

In 1853, the Hampden Agricultural Society paid $15,405 for the land on the site with the intention of creating a venue for the National Trotting Organization to hold its meetings.

With the advent of the American Civil War, Hampden Park was used as a muster point for the 10th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

In 1885 and 1896, cycling's hour record was unofficially broken multiple times at Hampden Park.

Hampden Park provided a neutral venue between Cambridge and New Haven suitable for the annual Harvard-Yale game between 1889 and 1894,[27] but the 1894 edition led to such violence and injury that the match was suspended for two years.