Joe Becker Stadium

Last updated
Joe Becker Stadium
Joe Becker Stadium
Location1301 E. 3rd Street
Joplin, MO 64801 [1]
Coordinates 37°05′20″N94°29′56″W / 37.08883°N 94.49883°W / 37.08883; -94.49883 Coordinates: 37°05′20″N94°29′56″W / 37.08883°N 94.49883°W / 37.08883; -94.49883
Owner City of Joplin
Capacity 4,200
SurfaceInfield turf, Outfield grass
Opened1913
Tenants
Joplin Outlaws (MINK) (2017-present)
Joplin Blasters (AA) (2015-2016)
MSSU Lions (college) (1966-2014)
Joplin Miners (1917–1954)

Joe Becker Stadium is an American baseball ballpark, built in 1913, located in Joplin, Missouri. The stadium has burned down twice, the first time in 1936 and the second time in 1971. The stadium currently has seating capacity of 4,200 as the home of the Joplin Outlaws of the summer collegiate MINK League. [2]

Contents

History

The original tenants were the Joplin Miners, a longtime minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees. Whitey Herzog and fellow Hall of Fame inductee Mickey Mantle played for the Miners. [3] Other team monikers have included the Joplin Blasters minor league baseball team and the current Joplin Outlaws collegiate summer baseball team. The Missouri Southern State University baseball team played there through 2014 before relocating to an on-campus stadium in 2015. [4]

In April 1920, Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ty Cobb and his Detroit Tigers played an exhibition game against the Miners at Joe Becker Stadium. [5] [6]

Renovations and tenants

In January 2014, the El Paso Diablos of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball relocated to Joplin in exchange for improvements to the stadium's seating, restrooms, lighting, and other infrastructure. [7] [8] They began play in the 2015 season as the Joplin Blasters. [9] A $4.7 million reconstruction of the stadium by Hanson Sports, Corner Greer Architects, and Crossland Construction began in September 2014 which saw the installation of new lighting and fixed seating for 2,400, renovation of restrooms, locker rooms, and team dugouts, plus the addition of concession stands, merchandise sales space, and modern ticket booths. [10]

In 2016, the Blasters closed offices and left Joplin and in 2017, the stadium became home to the Joplin Outlaws of the MINK League, as a collegiate wood-bat team. [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

Skylands Stadium

Skylands Stadium is a professional minor-league baseball stadium located in the Augusta section of Frankford Township in Sussex County, New Jersey. It is located off of US 206, near its intersection with Route 15, on a plot of land adjacent to the Sussex County Fairgrounds where the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show and the New Jersey State Fair are held concurrently every August, and is home to the Sussex County Miners of the independent Frontier League.

Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field Baseball park in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, USA, home to the Williamsport Crosscutters

Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field is a minor league baseball stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is home to the Williamsport Crosscutters, a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The official seating capacity is 2,366. Opened in 1926, Bowman Field is the second-oldest ballpark in minor league baseball. Bowman Field was also the home field for the Wildcats of the Pennsylvania College of Technology for more than a decade through the 2021 baseball season.

"El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. Equipment manager of the team was Danny “Meat” Cardenas. Bat boys, DJ Cardenas, Davy Cardenas, Diego Cardenas, Derek Cardenas The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From 1990 to 2013, the Diablos, in both incarnations, played their home games at Cohen Stadium. The team's name means "devils" in the Spanish language.

New Britain Stadium

New Britain Stadium is a baseball venue in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. It is the home of the New Britain Bees of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. Opened in 1996, the stadium seats 6,146 spectators.

Roger Dean Stadium

Roger Dean Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Abacoa community of the town of Jupiter, Florida. The stadium was built in 1998, holds 6,871 people, and features luxury sky-box seating, two levels of permanent seating, parking and concessions. The Roger Dean Stadium Complex is the only stadium in the country to host four minor league teams: the Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals of the Low-A Southeast, and the Gulf Coast Marlins and Gulf Coast Cardinals of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

121 Financial Ballpark

121 Financial Ballpark is a baseball park in Jacksonville, Florida. It is the home stadium of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Minor League Baseball team, who play in the Triple-A East. The facility opened in 2003.

Peoples Natural Gas Field Baseball park in Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA

Peoples Natural Gas Field is a 7,210-seat baseball-only stadium in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that opened in 1999. It is the home ballpark of the Double-A Northeast Altoona Curve Minor League Baseball team.

U.S. Baseball Park is a baseball park in Christian County, Missouri.

CarShield Field

CarShield Field, formerly T.R. Hughes Ballpark, is a stadium in O'Fallon, Missouri. It is primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the River City Rascals Frontier League baseball team, until the team ceased operations at the end of the 2019 season. Beginning in 2020 season, it became the home field for the O'Fallon Hoots of the Prospect League. CarShield Field became the host of the entire six–team 2020 CarShield Collegiate League upon the cancellation of the 2020 Prospect League season due to COVID-19. CarShield Field is home to a local high school baseball team, The Christian O'Fallon Eagles. It opened in 1999 with seating for 3,500 people, plus areas for 1,650 additional fans on lawn and outfield bleacher areas.

The New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league founded in 1978 and sanctioned by the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball. Each NYCBL team plays a 42-game schedule starting in 2017, down from 46 previously, from June to July with three teams from each division making a three-round playoff. Several players from this league have become Major Leaguers. The league has teams located in central and western New York.

Municipal Stadium is a stadium in Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. The stadium was built in 1930 originally as a dog track which attributes to its unique, if not odd, layout. It holds 6,000 people.

Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium, formerly Varsity Park, is a baseball stadium on the campus of the California State University, Fresno in Fresno, California, United States. It was built in 1966. The field is the home of the Fresno State Bulldogs baseball team and named after former Fresno State baseball coach Pete Beiden. The park was redesigned in 1983 and now holds 3,575 people. Prior to the 2002 opening of Grizzlies Stadium, the park also was the home of the Fresno Grizzlies minor league baseball team of the triple-A Pacific Coast League.

The Joplin Miners was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Joplin, Missouri that played for 49 seasons between 1901 and 1954. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Mickey Mantle and Whitey Herzog played for Joplin. Professional baseball returned to Joplin and Joe Becker Stadium when the Joplin Blasters began play in 2015.

Pittsburg State Gorillas football

The Pittsburg State Gorillas football team represents Pittsburg State University in collegiate level football. The Pittsburg State football team was formed in 1908, competes in NCAA Division II and is affiliated with the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). The Gorillas play their home games at Carnie Smith Stadium, more commonly referred to as "The Jungle", in Pittsburg, Kansas. Pittsburg State has won more games than any other program in NCAA Division II history. It has won four national championships and 27 conference championships, including 13 conference titles in 20 seasons under former head coach Chuck Broyles.

Demize NPSL Football club

Demize NPSL, formerly known as Joplin Demize, is an American amateur soccer club based in Springfield, Missouri, which began play in the fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) in May 2014. The team competes within the Heartland Conference in the NPSL's South Region and plays home games at Lake Country Soccer's Cooper Stadium. It formerly played in the now dissolved South Central Conference.

Kokomo Municipal Stadium

Kokomo Municipal Stadium is a baseball stadium in Kokomo, Indiana, United States. The Kokomo Jackrabbits of the college summer Northwoods League, and the Kokomo Wildkats use Kokomo Municipal Stadium as their home field. Other local high school baseball teams including the Taylor Titans, Northwestern Tigers, and the Western Panthers use the Kokomo Municipal Stadium for a portion of their games. Upon opening in 2015, Kokomo Municipal Stadium had a capacity of up to 4,000 in a combination of fixed and lawn seating. In May 2016, the Kokomo Mantis FC of the Premier Development League called the stadium home.

Joplin Blasters

The Joplin Blasters were an American professional baseball team based in Joplin, Missouri. The Blasters were members of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. The team's home games were played at a reconstructed Joe Becker Stadium. The team was managed by former Chicago Cubs player and minor league managing veteran Carlos Lezcano. A home game on May 21, 2015, against the Wichita Wingnuts inaugurated the franchise and its 100-game regular season. The Blasters organization failed to pay the stadium lease during its final season. During the 2016 fall league meetings, it was confirmed by league commissioner Miles Wolff that the Blasters would not be returning for 2017.

Southwest League of Professional Baseball Formerly planned US independent professional baseball league

The Southwest League of Professional Baseball was a planned independent professional baseball league. The first two announced teams were the Waco BlueCats and the Royse City Griffins followed by the Joplin Miners. In July 2018, it was announced that the Southwest League planned to play a 112-game schedule in 2019. However, the 2019 season was canceled.

The M.I.N.K. Collegiate Baseball League is a collegiate summer baseball league consisting of nine teams. Currently, seven teams are from Missouri, two from Iowa. The league was formed in 2009 and is affiliated within the National Baseball Congress.

References

  1. ↑ "Joe Becker Stadium". Joplin, MO. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Joe Becker Stadium". Ballpark Reviews. 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Mickey Mantle". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Joe Becker Stadium Photo Gallery". Missouri Southern State Lions . Archived from the original on April 10, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  5. ↑ "WORKING NOTES FOR JOE BECKER STADIUM" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  6. ↑ "Professional baseball returns to Joplin at rebuilt stadium". Lake Sun Leader . Camdenton, Missouri: GateHouse Media. Associated Press. May 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ Woodin, Debby (November 23, 2013). "Landing pro squad would require city to upgrade historic Joe Becker Stadium". The Joplin Globe . Joplin, Missouri. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  8. ↑ Dougherty, Calley (January 22, 2014). "Joplin City Council approves lease agreement for Joe Becker Stadium". Pittsburg, Kansas: KOAM-TV . Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  9. ↑ Lamb, Katie (September 24, 2014). "Joplin plays host for groundbreaking ceremony for Joe Becker Stadium". The Joplin Globe . Joplin, Missouri. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Schremmer, Mark (September 24, 2014). "After stadium groundbreaking, Blasters look to sign manager, players". The Joplin Globe . Joplin, Missouri. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ Woodin, Debby (March 16, 2017). "UPDATED: City of Joplin, Blasters settle lawsuit". The Joplin Globe . Joplin, Missouri.
  12. ↑ Thorn, Cody (May 29, 2009). "Joplin Outlaws ready to begin play". The Morning Sun . Pittsburg, Kansas.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.