Pittsburgh Pirates
Up until 1952 the Pirates had an on again, off again relationship with San Bernardino, California as the site of their spring training. In 1953, the team had a dismal camp in Havana, Cuba. The Pirates were looking for a long term location for their spring home. Branch Rickey, the Pirates General Manager, visited several prospective spring training locations for 1954. The finalists were Ocala, Fort Myers and Fort Pierce.
Once the Pirates settled on Fort Pierce for their 1954 Spring Training location, Jaycee Field was configured with big-league dimensions: 333 feet from home plate to left field, 400 feet to center and 330 feet to right field. After installing bleachers from an adjacent football field, seating capacity was increased to 5,000. The city also agreed to install a practice infield and to expand the clubhouses.
The Pirates were a special business rate to stay at the Shamrock Village, a former Navy training base that had been converted at a cost of $1.5 million into 150 efficiency apartments and 44 motel rooms. The Pirates were charged $10 per man per day: $3.75 per man per room and $6.25 per man for meals at the nearby Flamingo Restaurant.
The Pirates’ first exhibition game in Fort Pierce was played on a Sunday, March 7, against the Detroit Tigers. Pittsburgh won 7–3. At the end of Spring Training 1954, the Pirates left for Pittsburgh to begin the regular season. Three months later, the Pirates signed an agreement to train in Fort Myers, primarily because that city guaranteed $30,000 in admissions to 10 exhibition games.
Jaycee Park was later demolished. The field was located near U.S. Route 1 on the site occupied now by the city's police headquarters.
Lee County is a county located in southwestern Florida, United States, on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 760,822. In 2022, the population was 822,453, making it the eighth-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Fort Myers, with a population of 86,395 as of the 2020 census, and the largest city is Cape Coral, with an estimated 2020 population of 194,016.
Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City. Per the 2020 census, the population was 47,297.
The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the 37-foot-2-inch-high (11.33 m) left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is 310 feet (94 m) from home plate and is a popular target for right-handed hitters.
Riverside Park, located in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, was originally built in 1914 to serve as a spring training park for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1914 to 1917. Sometimes referred to as Tradewater Park, it is the only known baseball park in Kentucky to have hosted a major league team since the Louisville Colonels folded in 1899. While the original stadium was destroyed in a flood in the 1930s, it was later rebuilt in 1999. Like the original stadium, the rebuilt park is reconstructed out of wood. It is the only ballpark of its kind in Western Kentucky.
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League (NFL) franchise. From 1909 to 1924, the stadium also served as the home football field for the University of Pittsburgh "Pitt" Panthers. The stadium sat on Forbes Avenue, named for British general John Forbes, who fought in the French and Indian War and named the city in 1758.
PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth location to serve as the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. Opened during the 2001 MLB season, PNC Park sits along the Allegheny River with a view of the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline. Constructed of steel and limestone, it has a natural grass playing surface and can seat 38,747 people for baseball. It was built just to the east of its predecessor, Three Rivers Stadium, which was demolished in 2001.
City of Palms Park is a baseball stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. It served as the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) from its opening in 1993 to 2011. It has hosted college baseball games for Florida SouthWestern State College since 2014. The stadium's name is taken from the city's official nickname.
Hammond Stadium is a baseball field located in the Lee Health Sports Complex in South Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The stadium was built in 1991, and underwent major renovations in 2014 and 2015.
LECOM Park is a baseball field located in Bradenton, Florida. It is the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and is named after a 15-year naming rights deal was signed with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has its main campus in Erie, Pennsylvania, and also a campus in Bradenton. It was formerly known as McKechnie Field, named for Bradenton resident and Baseball Hall of Fame great Bill McKechnie, who led the Pirates in 1925 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1940 to World Series titles. He was also a coach with the Cleveland Indians in 1948.
The Terry Park Ballfield is a historic site in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The park is named after the family who donated the land in the 1920s. For years the stadium hosted Major League Baseball spring training, as well as a dozen years of Florida State League baseball. The stadium hosted the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Kansas City Royals spring training through the years. Terry Park was also home to some early minor league baseball, most notably the Fort Myers Palms and Fort Myers Royals, both belonging to the Florida State League. Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Roberto Clemente, Jimmy Foxx, Bob Feller, Tris Speaker, and George Brett are some of the notable players who have played at Terry Park Field.
The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the Pirates' spring training facility.
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives established players practice time prior to competitive play. Spring training has always attracted fan attention, drawing crowds who travel to the warm climates of Arizona and Florida to enjoy the weather and watch their favorite teams play.
JetBlue Park at Fenway South is a baseball park in Fort Myers, Florida. Opened in March 2012, it is primarily the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox, replacing earlier separated facilities at City of Palms Park and Boston's former (1993–2011) minor league complex, also located in downtown Fort Myers. The naming rights were purchased by JetBlue, an airline with major operations at Boston's Logan International Airport since 2004.
Flamingo Field is a ballpark at the corner of 15th Street and Michigan Avenue in Miami Beach, Florida. It was the home of Miami Beach minor-league clubs, as well as the spring training home of the New York Giants in 1934 and 1935, the Philadelphia Phillies from 1940 to 1942, and again in 1946, and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947. Capacity was approximately 3,000 for baseball. The center field fence was 386 feet from homeplate. The park was also referred to as "Flamingo Park," which is also the name of the area in which it was located.
Ban Johnson Park was a baseball stadium located in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It was also known as Whittington Park and McKee Park. The ballpark was located within today's Whittington Park Historic District and directly across from the still active Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo.
The Stars Football League (SFL) was an American football league that operated primarily in Florida from 2011 to 2013. The league was headquartered in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
Pirate City is the site of minor league and spring training activities for the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. The complex is located in Bradenton, Florida, and serves as the site of the Pirates spring training workouts, while nearby LECOM Park is the site of the team's home spring training games.
Albert Fielding Lang (1870–1960), better known as Al Lang, was an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida from 1916 to 1920. Lang was an active mayor who took steps to beautify the city and increase its popularity especially among northerners who would come to Florida in the winter. However, Lang is best known for his work in bringing baseball spring training to the St. Petersburg area.
The original Majestic Park was one of the first Major League Baseball spring training facilities. The ballpark was located at the corner of Belding Street and Carson Street in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Today, the site is in use by Champion Christian College, National Park College, and travel/tournament baseball and softball. Majestic Park has been renovated by the City of Hot Springs. Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron are among the many who have played at the site.
Grant Field was a baseball stadium located in Dunedin, Florida. It was the longtime home of Dunedin amateur baseball and the first spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays, as well as home to the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class A Florida State League. It was closed in 1989 and replaced with TD Ballpark built on the same site.
