| Brown Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Municipal (Omaha) |
| Location | South Omaha |
| Coordinates | 41°12′04″N95°56′14″W / 41.20111°N 95.93722°W Coordinates: 41°12′04″N95°56′14″W / 41.20111°N 95.93722°W |
| Area | 12 acres (49,000 m2) |
| Created | 1891 |
| Status | Open all year |
Brown Park is located at 5708 South 15th Street in the Brown Park neighborhood of South Omaha, Nebraska. [1] [2] The baseball field at the park is more than 100 years old, and hosted games played by Ty Cobb and others. [3]
Brown Park is a historic park operated by the City of Omaha. [4] The park is named for the former farmer whose land was purchased by the city in the 1910s to be turned into the park and baseball field. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig did not play here, but at nearby League Park at 15th & Vinton, in a barnstorming tour in 1927.
The Brown Park baseball diamond is the home field for the Omaha South High School baseball team. [5] A team sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #1 in Omaha plays baseball for the Nebraska Reserve Baseball League with Brown Park as their home, as well. [6] The field was recently renovated by the City of Omaha and renamed the John Stella Field at Brown Park to honor a long time South Omaha baseball booster. Stella coached the South High School team from 1985 through the 2001 season and has been an American Legion coach since 1982. [7] In 2019, a Field Turf infield was added, and the outfield Field Turf is set to be completed in spring 2020. Since 2018, Brown Park has also been the home field for the Bellevue University Bruins baseball team.
A historical building dating to the 1910s, the Brown Park Pavilion is 700 square feet and has a small stage, with an additional wraparound porch. [8]
Omaha is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 10 miles (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 40th-largest city, Omaha's 2019 estimated population was 478,192, compared to its 2010 census population of 408,958. It is the second-largest city in the Great Plains states, the second-largest city along the Missouri River, and the seventh-largest city in the Midwest.
Memorial Stadium, nicknamed The Sea of Red, is an American football stadium located on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska. The stadium primarily serves as the home venue for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and a variety of other university and state activities.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. The program began play in 1889.
The history of Omaha, Nebraska began before the settlement of the city, with speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa staking land across the Missouri River illegally as early as the 1840s. When it was legal to claim land in Indian Country, William D. Brown was operating the Lone Tree Ferry to bring settlers from Council Bluffs to Omaha. A treaty with the Omaha Tribe allowed the creation of the Nebraska Territory, and Omaha City was founded on July 4, 1854. With early settlement came claim jumpers and squatters, and the formation of a vigilante law group called the Omaha Claim Club, which was one of many claim clubs across the Midwest. During this period many of the city's founding fathers received lots in Scriptown, which was made possible by the actions of the Omaha Claim Club. The club's violent actions led to the U.S. Supreme Court trial, Baker v. Morton, which led to the end of the organization.
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area. It is bordered by Cuming Street on the south, 30th on the west, 16th on the east, and Locust Street to the north.
The Kountze Place neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community on the city's north end. Today the neighborhood is home to several buildings and homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located between North 16th Avenue on the east to North 30th Street on the west; Locust Street on the south to Pratt Street on the north. Kountze Place was annexed into Omaha in 1887. The neighborhood was built as a suburban middle and upper middle class enclave for doctors, lawyers, successful businessmen and other professional workers.
The Miller Park neighborhood in North Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community housing a historic district and several notable historic places. It is located between Sorenson Parkway on the south and Redick Avenue on the north, Florence Boulevard on the east and 30th Street on the west. The Minne Lusa neighborhood borders on the north, and the Saratoga neighborhood is on the south. Fort Omaha borders the neighborhood on the west. Miller Park is the namesake park in the neighborhood, as well as the Miller Park Elementary School. In 2017, the Miller Park/Minne Lusa area was ranked as having the 2nd highest rate of homicides and other violent crimes out of 81 Omaha neighborhoods.
The culture of Omaha, Nebraska, has been partially defined by music and college sports, and by local cuisine and community theatre. The city has a long history of improving and expanding on its cultural offerings. In the 1920s, the Omaha Bee newspaper wrote, "The cultural future of Omaha seems as certain of greatness as the commercial future... The symphony orchestra, the Art institute, the Community Playhouse and other organizations are on firm foundations and Omaha is destined to be not only a bigger, but a better city, both financially and culturally." Reviewing Omaha's contemporary arts scene in 2007, the New York Times hailed the city as having "a kind of cultural awakening".
Sports in Omaha, Nebraska are supported by a high attendance at events and tax support from the City of Omaha. Omaha, Nebraska is home to several professional sports teams and modern sports venues.
Town Team Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played in the United States. In Town Team baseball, sometimes also called townball, the teams represent either a given city or town, or a commercial enterprise which sponsors the team. Usually a statewide governing body sets uniform rules for two or more classes, including proximity and other eligibility rules, pay or stipends for players and coaches, boundaries, and rules to prevent players from switching teams without reason. Such governing bodies may also coordinate annual statewide playoffs, facilitate communication between teams and leagues, and help to arrange for training and placement of umpires.
Pearl Memorial United Methodist Church was a member of the Nebraska Conference of the United Methodist Church that was operated from the 1890s into the 2000s. The former congregation's church is located at 2319 Ogden Street in the Miller Park neighborhood of north Omaha, Nebraska. The church primarily served the Miller Park community.
Czechs in Omaha, Nebraska have made significant contributions to the political, social and cultural development of the city since the first immigrants arrived in 1868.
Miller Park is located at 2707 Redick Avenue in North Omaha, Nebraska. Bounded by Redick and Kansas Avenues on the north and south and 24th and 30th Streets on the east and west, respectively, the park was added to the city of Omaha in 1891.
Fontenelle Park is a 108-acre (0.44 km2) public park located at 4575 Ames Avenue, at an intersection of Fontenelle Boulevard in North Omaha, Nebraska. In the late 1940s, the park made headlines across the Midwestern United States as the possible home of a minor league baseball team.
TD Ameritrade Park Omaha is a baseball park in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 2011, the stadium serves as a replacement for historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium.
The Elmwood Park neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant area that was developed in the late 19th and early 20th century. It extends from Leavenworth Street on the north to Center Street on the south; from South 50th Street on the east to South 72nd Street on the west. Home to ethnic Swede celebrations through the 1950s, today the neighborhood's park hosts the city's "Shakespeare on the Green" festival.
Werner Park is a minor league ballpark near Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha. Opened nine years ago in 2011, it is owned by Sarpy County and is the home of the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Pacific Coast League, and USL League One soccer club Union Omaha.
Otto George Williams was a Major League Baseball player and coach. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1902 and 1903, the Chicago Cubs in 1903 and 1904, and Washington Senators in 1906. He played all infield positions, primarily shortstop, and also played 21 games in the outfield. In his career, he played 170 games in the Major Leagues, with 113 hits and no home runs in 558 at bats for a batting average of .203. He scored 48 runs and had 34 runs batted in, along with an on-base percentage of .244 and a slugging percentage of .237. As a fielder, he made 66 errors in 848 fielding chances for a fielding percentage of .922, with 31 double plays. In 98 games as a shortstop, he made 52 errors in 548 chances, for a fielding percentage of .905. He received the most playing time in his Major League career in 1903, which he split between the Cardinals and the Cubs after being sold to the Cubs in July. That season he played 91 games, including 78 at shortstop, and had 317 at bats with 67 hits, for a batting average of .211 with 14 stolen bases. He served as a coach for the Detroit Tigers in 1925, the Cardinals in 1926, the St. Louis Browns in 1929 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1930.
John Lajba, is an American sculptor who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. He is known for his work in creating sculptures of historical and sports figures, and creates the annual Harley J. Earl Trophies presented to the winner of the Daytona 500.
The Omaha Packers were a minor league baseball team based in Omaha, Nebraska from 1930–1935 as members of the Western League. Omaha had a long tenure in the Western League, beginning in 1885. Omaha teams had numerous monikers prior to the Omaha Packers.
