Posts Tagged ‘Baseball’
Tinker Field – 100 Years of Baseball in Orlando, Florida
Tinker Field is located at 1610 West Church Street in Orlando, Florida. The actual playing field dates back to 1914, when it was constructed by the City of Orlando. The original grandstand was constructed in 1923. The stadium is named in honor of Hall of Famer Joe Tinker, the former Chicago Cubs shortstop made famous in…
Read MorePlant Field and the Roots of Spring Training in Tampa, Florida
Plant Field was located near the northeast intersection of North Boulevard and West North B Street in Tampa, Florida. Constructed in the 1890s, the athletic facility was on the grounds of the Tampa Bay Hotel and included a variety of athletic fields, including horse racing, for guests of the hotel. Plant Field was named after…
Read MoreFt. Lauderdale Stadium – The Ghost of Spring Trainings Past
Fort Lauderdale Stadium is located at 1401 NW 55th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, just east of the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and north of Lockhart Stadium. Although the City of Fort Lauderdale operates the ballpark, the land it is on is part of the 64 acres that make up the airport. For almost 50 seasons,…
Read MoreSarasota’s Ed Smith Stadium Redux
Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida, is not a lost ballpark. However, the stadium as it existed in when it first opened in 1989 is long gone, replaced with a strikingly different ballpark that calls out for a deadballbaseball then and now comparison. Ed Smith Stadium as it exists today is modern, yet seemingly from…
Read MoreA Drive Around Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium
In February 2001, the City of Baltimore began demolition of Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. A fight over what to do with the 10 story memorial wall dedicated to the memory of those “who so valiantly fought and served in the World Wars” delayed completion of the task until the Spring of 2002. In January 2000, a year…
Read MoreThe Rockpile – Buffalo’s War Memorial Stadium
War Memorial Stadium was a multi-use sports facility located at 285 Dodge Street in Buffalo, New York. The name of the venue changed over time, from Roesch Memorial Stadium (named after former Buffalo Mayor Charles Roesch) in 1937, to Grover Cleveland Stadium (in honor of the former President, Chief Justice, and Buffalo Mayor) from 1937-38, to…
Read MoreBuffalo Base Ball Park and Offermann Stadium
Professional baseball was played at the corner of East Ferry and Michigan Avenue in Buffalo, New York, for 72 years beginning in 1889, through the end of the 1960 season. Originally known as new Olympic Park (old Olympic Park housed Buffalo baseball teams from 1884 to 1888 at the intersection of Richmond Avenue and Summer Street),…
Read MoreOnce Dodgertown Now Historic Dodgertown
Dodgertown, located at 3901 26th Street in Vero Beach, Florida, was the spring training home of the Brooklyn Dodgers commencing in 1948. The major league squad also trained in Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic in 1948, and from 1950 through 1957, the Dodgers’ big league club played their Spring Training games at Miami Stadium. Dodgertown was…
Read MoreWaterfront Park/Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Florida
Professional baseball first came to St. Petersburg, Florida, as early as 1908 when the then- independent St. Paul Saints played an exhibition game against the National League Cincinnati Reds. In 1914, businessman and future mayor Al Lang convinced the St. Louis Browns to come to St. Petersburg and train at Sunshine Park – also known…
Read MoreLA Coliseum – The Third Oldest MLB Ballpark Still Standing
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is located at 3911 South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, California. Erected as a memorial to World War I Veterans, the Coliseum opened in 1923, the same year as the original Yankee Stadium. The Coliseum hosted both the 1932 and 1984 Olympics. From 1958 until 1961, it was the home…
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