Posts by Byron Bennett
The Polo Grounds and the Autonomy of a Baseball Snapshot
A baseball snapshot is a souvenir of a day at the ballpark. Taken not by a professional photographer, but by a fan capturing a moment in time. The name of the fan who took this snapshot is unknown, lost now to time. That fan’s memory of the game, however, as captured in the photo, remains. It…
Read MoreJacksonville’s Wolfson Park Now the NFL Jaguars’ Practice Field
Jacksonville Baseball Park was located at 1201 East Duval Street in Jacksonville, Florida, just northwest of the former Gator Bowl. Constructed in 1954, the ballpark opened in March 1955, hosting a spring training game between the Washington Senators and the Cincinnati Reds. That same month, the ballpark hosted another spring training game between the soon-to-be…
Read MoreOcala’s Gerig Field – A Former Spring Training Minor League Gem
Gerig Field was located in what is now the Martin Luther King, Jr., Recreation Complex, located at 1510 NW 4th Street in Ocala, Florida. The ballpark was constructed in 1936 at a cost of approximately $100,000 with funds from the Works Progress Administration. Gerig Field was named in honor of John Jacob Gerig, the then-mayor of Ocala who…
Read MoreBears And Mile High Stadium in Denver CO
Bears Stadium was located at 2755 West 17th Avenue, in Denver, Colorado. Constructed in 1947, the ballpark was the home of the Western Association Denver Bears beginning in 1948. From 1949 to 1951, the Bears were an affiliate of the Boston Braves, and from 1952 to 1954, they were an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In…
Read MoreDutch Damaschke Field In Oneonta NY
Damaschke Field is located at 15 James Georgeson Avenue in Oneonta, New York, just 24 miles south of Cooperstown, New York. The ball field dates back to 1905 when it was known as Elm Park. Located in Neahwa Park, for a time the ball field also was known as Neahwa Park. In 1968, the ballpark was renamed Dutch…
Read MoreHenninger Field And 120 Years of Baseball in Chambersburg PA
Henninger Field is located at the intersection of Vine Street and Riddle Alley in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The ball field dates back to 1895 and originally was known as Wolf Park, part of the Wolf Lake Park development named after Chambersburg businessman Augustus Wolf. In 1895, Clay Henninger, a Chambersburg businessman and local baseball promoter, founded the…
Read MoreSavannah’s Historic Grayson Stadium and the Extermination of the Sand Gnats
Grayson Stadium is located at 1401 East Victory Drive in Savannah, Georgia. Opened in 1926, the ballpark originally was known as Municipal Stadium. Located in Daffin Park, Grayson Stadium is part of the Daffin Park-Parkside historic district and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The ballpark is one of the most picturesque in the…
Read MoreMud Hens Former Roost – Ned Skeldon Stadium/Lucas County Stadium
Ned Skeldon Stadium is located at 2901 Key Street in Maumee, Ohio. The ballpark was the home of the International League Toledo Mud Hens from 1965 to 2001. The ballpark is located in the Lucas County Recreation Center and originally was part of the Lucas County Fairgrounds. In 1955, when the Toledo Mud Hens departed Swayne Field and…
Read MoreToledo’s Swayne Field And Its Century-Old Outfield Wall
Swayne Field was located at the intersection of Monroe Street and Detroit Avenue in Toledo, Ohio. The ballpark opened on July 3, 1909, as the home of the American Association Toledo Mud Hens. The ballpark was named after Noah Swayne, Jr., who purchased the land for the ballpark and leased it to the team. Toledo’s American Association…
Read MoreKnoxville’s Lost Ballparks – Caswell Field, Smithson Stadium, Bill Meyer Stadium
Since at least 1917, baseball has been played at a ball field located at 633 Jessamine Street near the intersection of East 5th Street and Jessamine Street in Knoxville Tennessee. In 1916, William Caswell, a former confederate soldier, donated land to the city in East Knoxville for construction of a public park, including a ball…
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