The Polo Grounds and the Autonomy of a Baseball Snapshot

Deadball Baseball

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…

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Jacksonville’s Wolfson Park Now the NFL Jaguars’ Practice Field

Deadball Baseball

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…

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Ocala’s Gerig Field – A Former Spring Training Minor League Gem

A view of the Gerig Field

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…

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Bears And Mile High Stadium in Denver CO

A postcard about the Bears Stadium

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…

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Dutch Damaschke Field In Oneonta NY

An entrance to the Dutch Damaschke Field

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…

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Henninger Field And 120 Years of Baseball in Chambersburg PA

An entrance to Henninger Field

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…

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Mud Hens Former Roost – Ned Skeldon Stadium/Lucas County Stadium

A view of the Ned Skeldon 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…

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Toledo’s Swayne Field And Its Century-Old Outfield Wall

A postcard about the Swayne Field

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…

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