History
The National League Detroit Wolverines beat the Southern Association's Savannah team 4–2 in an exhibition game at Bolton Street Park on March 20, 1886. [1] Savannah and the ballpark hosted multiple Major League baseball teams for spring training between 1892 and 1908. The Washington Senators trained in Savannah at the ballpark in March 1892. [2]
Prior to the 1894 season, Jeff Miller, owner of the Savannah Southern League club, renovated the grandstand to include 500 open chairs, and added a cupola to shield the press, expanded the bleachers, as well as designated areas for carriages and hitching posts. [3]
On November 30, 1893, the Savannah Athletic Association football club welcomed the Georgia Bulldogs football team to Bolton Street. The Atlanta Constitution reported that 3,000 fans turned out for the game which ended in a 0-0 tie. [4] The Red and Black reported that the crowd numbered 5,000. [5] The following year, on November 29, 1894, the Savannah football team welcomed back the Bulldogs to Bolton Street, losing 22 to 0 in front of more than 1,000 spectators whose support was split between the two teams. [6]
Between the 1870s and 1900s, the Chatham Base Ball Club, based in Savannah, was a championship Black baseball club that often played its games at Bolton Street Park. [7] A game on September 7, 1903 between Charleston and Chatham attracted what was reported as the largest crowd of the season to the ballpark, and was noted to include both white and black spectators. [8]
The New York Giants trained at the ballpark in March 1903. On March 21, 1903, the Giants faced a US Army team from nearby Fort Screven on Tybee Island, beating the military team 18-3 with Christy Mathewson pitching two innings. [9]
The site hosted multiple community events including Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show on October 24, 1901, a 1919 BBQ for World War I soldiers, and Field Day Exercises.
The South Atlantic League was formed in November 1903 at the Hotel DeSoto in Savannah. Savannah was one of six charter clubs. On April 26, 1904, Savannah lost to the Charleston Sea Gulls in their first South Atlantic League game before a crowd of 3,200 at the ballpark. [10]
Savannah's football team played at the ballpark to large crowds. Ahead of the December 25, 1903 game against Fort McPherson, concerns were raised about the number of boys who had scaled the fences and gained access to the grounds without paying with as many as 500 having been estimated at the previous game. [11]
Prior to the 1904 baseball season, the Savannah's baseball clubs owners renewed their lease for the year, and upgraded the ballpark by remodeling the grandstand with a new floor and roof, repairing all seating, and adding box seats and protective screening. It was estimated this brought capacity for baseball to 2,000. [12]
In November 1904, the Athletic Association contracted for the addition of 2,000 seats on the north side of the field ahead of the Thanksgiving and New Year's Day games. [13]
