Sports Venues of Days Past

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https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/metropolitan-stadium/

Entire article: https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/metropolitan-stadium/

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https://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/stadiums/metropolitan-stadium/

The Vikings played their last game at Metropolitan Stadium on December 20, 1981. The stadium was demolished in 1982 and The Mall of America sits where Metropolitan Stadium was once located.

Obscure Sports Stops: Remnants of Metropolitan Stadium

Metropolitan Stadium, often referred to as “the Met,” was built in suburban Bloomington, MN, just outside of the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It served as home to both Major League Baseball’s Twins and the National Football League’s Vikings from 1961-1981. Replaced by the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the old ballpark lives on thanks to the presence of a pair of mementos of the old park in a decidedly unexpected location..
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Today the Mall of America stands on the site of Metropolitan Stadium. More specifically, the Nickelodeon Universe indoor amusement park now occupies the spot where major league baseball and football were once played. There are two reminders of the site’s former usage within this amusement park. While dodging the overstimulated youngsters running around Nickelodeon Universe, head to the entrance to the SpongeBob Square Pants Rock Bottom Plunge. There sits a home plate from the Met in its original location. If you are like me, you’ll immediately take your place on either side of home plate and get into your batter’s stance.

If you lookout in the direction of left field, you may be able to see another piece of The Met that has been preserved all these years (there’s a ton of stuff in the way, so this may require some movement to properly view it). Once you get a clear view of the far wall, look up and you will see a red chair mounted on the wall. This chair marks the landing spot of the longest home run ever hit at the ballpark; a 522-foot moon shot launched by Harmon Killebrew off of California Angels pitcher Lew Burdette on June 3, 1967. The seat is located at its original distance from home plate and height off the ground. If you are having trouble locating the seat, look above the log flume chute.

Entire article: https://stadiumjourney.com/news/remnants-of-metropolitan-stadium

 

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Hinchliffe Stadium renovations begin

Renovations to Paterson’s Hinchliffe Stadium, one of four remaining Negro Leagues ballparks still standing, have begun after a groundbreaking ceremony.

Located in Paterson, N.J., Hinchliffe Stadium opened in 1932 and hosted the New York Black Yankees and New York Cubans among other events, including car racing and concerts from the likes of Abbott and Costello. The $94-million development plan will restore the former home of the New York Yankees and also feature a 315-space parking garage and a six-story, 75-unit seniors housing. The efforts to restore Hinchliffe Stadium have been going on for years; at one point the Ripken organization took a swing at a renovation plan, but in the end it took a lot of persistence and effort by locals to make the project succeed.

Three other ballparks that were full-season homes to Negro Leagues baseball still stand: J.P. Small Park (home of the Jacksonville Red Caps), Hamtramck Stadium (built for the Detroit Stars) and Rickwood Field, home of the Birmingham Black Barons. League Park, former home of the Cleveland Buckeyes, still partially stands.

Entire article: https://ballparkdigest.com/2021/04/15/hinchliffe-stadium-renovations-begin/

 

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CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL STADIUM

Home of the Cleveland Indians for 61 years, fans of the team were ready to move out of the “Mistake by the Lake” in 1993. The idea for a new stadium in Cleveland was first mentioned in 1903. By the 1920s a 25,000 seat stadium was proposed. However, Osborn Engineering designed a much bigger stadium that could house many activities. In 1928, a $2.5 million bond was issued by the city to build the stadium. It became the first stadium built using public money. A landfill full of old used cars and tires near Lake Erie was chosen as the site for the stadium. Groundbreaking was held on June 24, 1930. Constructed of steel and concrete, the stadium became known as Lakefront Stadium. The stadium was not constructed as an attempt to get the Olympics in 1932 because Los Angeles had already been chosen to host the games.

Entire article: https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/cleveland-municipal-stadium/

50 old photos of Cleveland Municipal Stadium that will make you feel nostalgic

Forty nine additional great photos: https://www.cleveland.com/life-and-...1ee425635/50-old-photos-of-cleveland-mun.html

 

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CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL STADIUM

Home of the Cleveland Indians for 61 years, fans of the team were ready to move out of the “Mistake by the Lake” in 1993. The idea for a new stadium in Cleveland was first mentioned in 1903. By the 1920s a 25,000 seat stadium was proposed. However, Osborn Engineering designed a much bigger stadium that could house many activities. In 1928, a $2.5 million bond was issued by the city to build the stadium. It became the first stadium built using public money. A landfill full of old used cars and tires near Lake Erie was chosen as the site for the stadium. Groundbreaking was held on June 24, 1930. Constructed of steel and concrete, the stadium became known as Lakefront Stadium. The stadium was not constructed as an attempt to get the Olympics in 1932 because Los Angeles had already been chosen to host the games.

Entire article: https://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/ballparks/cleveland-municipal-stadium/

50 old photos of Cleveland Municipal Stadium that will make you feel nostalgic

Forty nine additional great photos: https://www.cleveland.com/life-and-...1ee425635/50-old-photos-of-cleveland-mun.html

 

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More on the Baker Bowl: https://ballparks.com/baseball/national/bakerb.htm

 

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Ohio Field was a multipurpose stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It was built in 1898, dedicated in 1908, and served as the first on-campus home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team as well as the track and field team through the 1921 season. Initial seating capacity was approximately 500 until 1907, when a grandstand and bleachers were added. Another renovation in 1910 saw a second grandstand added, with amenities such as brick ticket booths and iron fences, boosting capacity to 14,000.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Field



You might not have known it, but if you’ve walked along High Street, between Woodruff Ave and the Wexner Center for the Arts, you’ve walked over the old Ohio Field, the former home of Ohio State football before Ohio Stadium opened in 1922. These days, several buildings and roadways cover the land. University Architect Bernie Costantino helped with a university project to commemorate the field and the legends who competed on it with signs and yard markers that were installed in spring 2017.

 

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Just sayin': This one is still in use:

The War Memorial Stadium was dedicated on the 8th anniversary of Armistice Day, on November 11, 1926. It is currently the home of the NC A&T baseball team of the NCAA Division I MEAC and continues to be used for other amateur baseball events!

https://www.visitgreensboronc.com/things-to-do/war-memorial-stadium/

However, I wonder how many of the cars in the parking lot are still on the road today.....

 

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Functional All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Ballparks This Summer
Celebrate the league’s 75 year anniversary at a historic stadium
JUNE 29, 2018
In early June of this year, Rockford, Illinois, celebrated Rockford Peaches Day—a day to honor the legacy of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team and the inspiration for the 1992 feature film, A League of Their Own. The timing was not insignificant—2018 is the 75th anniversary of the start of the league, of which the Peaches were one of four founding teams, alongside the Racine Belles, the Kenosha Comets and the South Bend Blue Sox.

Fans of the movie already know the story. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) formed in 1943 as the world was in the throes of World War II. Minor league teams were disbanding and about 500 major league players had headed off to the war. Executives wanted a way to keep the major league stadiums in use if the games ended, so scouts went hunting for female players.
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Now, back in Rockford, the original Peaches home field, Beyer Stadium, is undergoing an extensive renovation. Greg Schwanke, who runs a softball and baseball league in Rockford, spearheaded the project. His goal is to return the stadium as close as possible to its former glory—even including a wooden outfield wall where local businesses can advertise, but only if it’s a 1940s-style advertisement.



Other former AAGPBL stadiums still host games as well. Catch a ball at one of these ballparks this summer:

• Simmons Field, former home of the Kenosha Comets in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
• Marsh Field, former home of the Muskegon Lassies, in Muskegon, Michigan.
• Robin Roberts Stadium, former home of the Springfield Sallies, in Springfield, Illinois.
• Horlick Field, former home of the Racine Belles, in Racine, Wisconsin.
• Memorial Park, former home of the Fort Wayne Daisies, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• Peoria Stadium, former home of the Peoria Redwings, in Peoria, Illinois.
• Soisson-Rapacz-Clason Field, former home of the Kalamazoo Lassies, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
• Bailey Park, former home of the Battle Creek Belles, in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Entire article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/trav...essional-baseball-league-ballparks-180969328/

 

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Recreation Park
Mack Ave & Beaubien St
Detroit, MI 48201

The first baseball diamond to host professional baseball in Detroit, Recreation Park was built behind Harper Hospital (which still exists, though in a different form). It was home Detroit Wolverines of the National League from 1881 to 1888, where they won the NL Pennant in 1887. High fives for anyone who can find the historical marker recognizing Left Field, nestled in between the buildings of the Detroit Medical Center.



https://detroit.curbed.com/maps/detroit-baseball-stadiums-past-present-comerica-park-tigers

A historical marker commemorating Recreation Park is placed in what was once left field, among the buildings of the present Detroit Medical Center.

 

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THE HOUSE THAT PAUL BUILT: Waxahachie honors 100 years of city’s beloved sports landmark

Long before Waxahachie High School’s baseball team went on an improbable winning streak that landed it in the baseball hall of fame or Paul Rapier Richards helped change the face of America’s national pastime in Ellis County forever, the fates of baseball and Waxahachie were linked.

Since 1885, Waxahachie High School’s Indians have won 29 district championships, nine Texas state championships, seven North Texas championships, three Texas-Oklahoma championships, one Central Texas championship and one Louisiana State championship.

Paul Richards Park — formerly and best known as Jungle Park before 1946 and, for a short time Woodmen Park in the 1930s — has been the site of all but three.

When the Indians open the gates of Richards Park at noon on Saturday, it won’t only be a celebration 100 years of America’s pastime in Waxahachie, it will praise the thousands of players who sweat, cried and bled on the city’s most distinguishable athletics landmark.

“It doesn’t take you long to know it’s special. We’re going to have a couple of gentleman around 85 years old throwing baseballs out there on Saturday,” said Tracy Wood, the current Indians head baseball coach and Little Rock, Arkansas native. “That’s a lot of rich tradition that’s going to be there. There’s a difference between reading history in a book and having somebody tell you the history face-to-face.”

Entire article: https://www.waxahachietx.com/article/20160317/SPORTS/160319497