O'Donnell Field | |
Former names | Soldier's Field (1898–1997) |
---|---|
Location | 65 North Harvard Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA [1] |
Coordinates | 42°22′00″N71°07′44″W / 42.366566°N 71.12884°W |
Owner | Harvard University |
Operator | Harvard University |
Capacity | 1,600 |
Field size | Left field: 335 feet (102 m) Left center field: 370 feet (110 m) Center field: 415 feet (126 m) Right center field: 370 feet (110 m) Right field: 335 feet (102 m) [2] |
Surface | Natural grass |
Scoreboard | Electronic |
Construction | |
Opened | April 27, 1898 |
Renovated | 2004 |
Tenants | |
Harvard Crimson baseball (NCAA DI Ivy) (1898–present) |
Joseph J. O'Donnell Field is a baseball venue in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to the Harvard Crimson baseball team of Harvard University. Formerly known as Soldier's Field, the location has been home to Harvard baseball since 1898. The venue is named for Joseph J. O'Donnell, a Harvard alumnus who played baseball and football while attending the school. It has a capacity of 1,600 spectators. [2]
The land on which O'Donnell sits was donated to Harvard in 1890 by Major Henry Lee Higginson; Higginson named the site Soldier's Field after six of his friends who died fighting in the Civil War– James Savage, Jr., Charles Russell Lowell, Edward Barry Dalton, Stephen George Perkins, James Jackson Lowell, Robert Gould Shaw. At the site's dedication, Higginson said in an address to Harvard's students: [3] [4]
The Harvard baseball program moved to the location in 1898; from 1884–1897, it had played at Holmes Field, which Harvard also used for football games and track and field competitions. The Harvard Crimson football and track and field teams continued to share Soldier's Field until moving to Harvard Stadium.
On April 27, 1898, in the first game played on the field, Harvard defeated Dartmouth 13–7. [2] [3] [4]
Prior to a doubleheader against Dartmouth on May 4, 1997, the field was dedicated to Joseph J. O'Donnell, Harvard class of 1967. O'Donnell played baseball and football at Harvard, captaining the baseball team during his senior season. He donated $2.5 million to the baseball program in 1995, allowing it to hire a head coach on a full-time basis. [5] In 2012, O'Donnell donated an additional $30 million to the university. [6]
The 1998 Harvard team had a 15–0 record at O'Donnell Field and is the only team in program history to have an undefeated home record. [2]
The field features a natural grass surface, bullpens, and shrubbery beyond the outfield fence. Bleacher seating is located behind home plate and on the first base side of the field. [2] In 2004, a new backstop and dugouts were added to the field. Additionally, the height of the outfield fence was raised from three feet to four feet. [7]
Harvard Stadium stands next to the field on the first base side. [1]
The field has hosted the baseball tournament of the summer Bay State Games on several occasions. [8] It also hosts high school baseball showcases. [9]
The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country. Like the other Ivy League colleges, Harvard does not offer athletic scholarships.
Joseph James Kelley was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who starred in the outfield of the Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890s. Making up the nucleus of the Orioles along with John McGraw, Willie Keeler, and Hughie Jennings, Kelley received the nickname "Kingpin of the Orioles".
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The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1873. The Crimson has a legacy that includes 13 national championships and 20 College Football Hall of Fame inductees, including the first African-American college football player William H. Lewis, Huntington "Tack" Hardwick, Barry Wood, Percy Haughton, and Eddie Mahan. Harvard is the tenth winningest team in NCAA Division I football history.
The Harvard Crimson baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of Harvard University, located in Boston, Massachusetts. The program has been a member of the Ivy League since the conference officially began sponsoring baseball at the start of the 1993 season. The team plays at Joseph J. O'Donnell Field, located across the Charles River from Harvard's main campus. Bill Decker has been the program's head coach since the 2013 season.
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John Smith Field, originally known as Hornet Field, is a baseball venue in Sacramento, the capital city of the U.S. state of California. It is home to the Sacramento State Hornets college baseball team. Opened in 1953, it has a capacity of 1,200 fans. The facility is named for former Sacramento State baseball coach John Smith, who coached the program for 32 seasons. The park was dedicated in 2010, after Smith's retirement following the 2010 season.
Jordan Field is a stadium on the campus of Harvard University in the Allston neighborhood of Boston..
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The Billiken Sports Center is a baseball venue in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It is home to the Saint Louis Billikens baseball team of the NCAA Division I Atlantic 10 Conference. The facility also includes the softball venue used since 2000 by the Billiken softball program. From 1990–1994, the facility was also home to Saint Louis' soccer programs. The baseball facility, built in 1991 and first used in 1992, has a capacity of 500 spectators.
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Johnny Reagan Field is a baseball venue in Murray, Kentucky, United States. It is home to the Murray State Racers baseball team of the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference. The venue is named for Murray State alumnus and former baseball coach Johnny Reagan. Built in 1989, it has a capacity of 800 spectators.
The 1898 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University as an independent during the 1898 college football season. In their second year under head coach William Cameron Forbes, the Crimson compiled an 11–0 record, shut out seven of eleven opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 257 to 19.
The 1902 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1902 college football season. The Crimson finished with an 11–1 record under first-year head coach John Wells Farley. The 1902 team won its first eleven games by a combined 184–23 score. It then closed the season with a 23–0 loss against rival Yale. Walter Camp selected two Harvard players as first-team selections to his 1902 College Football All-America Team. They were end Edward Bowditch and fullback Thomas Graydon.
The 1973 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. They were led by third-year head coach Joseph Restic and played in the Ivy League.
The 1934 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the New England Conference during the 1934 college football season. In its 19th season under head coach William "Butch" Cowell, the team played its home games in Durham, New Hampshire, at Memorial Field. The team compiled a 3–4–2 record, being outscored by their opponents 89–148, while going undefeated at home, registering two wins and two ties in Durham.
The 1946 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University in the Ivy League during the 1946 college football season. In its 10th season under head coach Dick Harlow, the team compiled a 7–2 record and outscored their opponents 214 to 65.