Pynchon Park

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Pynchon Park
Springfield Bicycle Club-Bicycle Camp-Exhibition & Tournament, Springfield, Mass, U.S.A., Sept. 18, 19, 20, 1883 - lith. of Milton Bradley, & Co., Springfield, Mass. LCCN99400146.jpg
A poster promoting a Springfield Bicycle Club event in September 1883 when the stadium was known as Hampden Park
Pynchon Park
Location Springfield, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°06′37″N72°36′37″W / 42.1102°N 72.6103°W / 42.1102; -72.6103
Opened1853
Closed1966
Tenants
Springfield Bicycle Club
Springfield Giants
Springfield Acorns

Pynchon Park, also known as Hampden Park and League Park, was a sports venue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1853 by the Hampden Agricultural Society and was destroyed by fire in 1966. [1]

Contents

The venue hosted various events, including horse racing, bicycle racing, and college football (including several editions of the Harvard–Yale football rivalry). It also served as home grounds for the minor league baseball team primarily known as the Springfield Ponies.

Hampden Park

In 1853 the Hampden Agricultural Society paid $15,405 for the land on the site with the intention of creating a venue for the National Trotting Organization to hold its meetings. [2] However the facilities were then used for a broader range of recreational activities. With the advent of the American Civil War, Hampden Park was used as a muster point for the 10th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. [2] The 46th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment – which was primarily recruited in Hampden County


In 1885 and 1896, cycling's hour record was unofficially broken multiple times at Hampden Park. [3]

Renamed in 1940 for early settler William Pynchon, but the park came down in a blaze on the sixties.[ citation needed ]

College football

DateWinning teamResultLosing teamReferences
November 24, 1881 Amherst 0–0 Dartmouth [4]
October 30, 1889 Wesleyan 20–17 Williams
November 9, 1889 Harvard 67–2Wesleyan [5]
November 16, 1889 Yale 52–0Wesleyan [6] [7]
November 22, 1889 Lehigh 11–11Wesleyan [8]
November 23, 1889 Dartmouth 20–9Williams [9]
November 23, 1889Yale6–0Harvard [10] [11]
November 12, 1890 Harvard 64–0 Amherst [12] [13]
November 21, 1890 Wesleyan 34–6 Brown [14]
November 22, 1890Harvard12–6 Yale [15] [16] [17] [18]
November 21, 1891 Yale 10–0 Harvard [19]
October 26, 1892 Yale 50–0 Springfield YMCA [20]
November 19, 1892Yale6–0 Harvard [21]
November 25, 1893 Yale 6–0 Harvard
October 17, 1894 Yale 34–0 Dartmouth [22] [23]
November 24, 1894 Brown 20-4Dartmouth [24] [25]
November 24, 1894Yale12–4 Harvard
November 25, 1905 Dartmouth 24–6 Brown [26]
October 27, 1906 Dartmouth 0–0 Williams
November 24, 1906 Brown 23–0Dartmouth

The Hampden Park Blood Bath

Hampden Park provided a neutral site in between Cambridge and New Haven suitable for the annual Harvard-Yale game between 1889 and 1894. [27] However the match played on 1894 led to such violence and injury that the match was suspended for two years. It subsequently became known as the Hampden Park Blood Bath, also known as the Springfield Massacre. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1890 Harvard Crimson football team</span> American college football season

The 1890 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University in the 1890 college football season. The team finished with an 11–0 record, shut out nine of eleven opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 555 to 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1892 Yale Bulldogs football team</span> American college football season

The 1892 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1892 college football season. In its fifth and final season under head coach Walter Camp, the team finished with a 13–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 429 to 0. Mike Murphy was the team's trainer. The team is regarded as the 1892 national champion, having been selected retrospectively as such by the Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation, and Parke H. Davis. Yale's 1892 season was part of a 37-game winning streak that began with the final game of the 1890 season and stopped at the end of the 1893 season.

The 1894 Yale Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Yale University as an independent during the 1894 college football season. The team finished with a 16–0 record, shut out 13 of 16 opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 485 to 13. William Rhodes was the head coach, and Frank Hinkey was the team captain.

The 1889 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1889 college football season. The Crimson finished with a 9–2 record. The team won its first ten games by a combined score of 404–6, but lost its last two games, against Princeton and Yale, giving up 41 points against Princeton.

The 1891 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1891 college football season. The Crimson finished the season with a 13–1 record. The team won its first 13 games by a combined score of 588–16, but lost its final game against Yale, 10–0.

The 1890 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1890 college football season. In its third year under head coach Walter Camp, the team compiled a 13–1 record, recorded 12 shutouts, and outscored all opponents by a total of 486 to 18. Its only loss was to rival Harvard by a 12–6 score.

The 1889 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1889 college football season. In their second season under head coach Walter Camp, Yale compiled a 15–1 record, held opponents scoreless in 12 games, and outscored all opponents by a total of 664 to 31. Its only loss was in the final game of the season against rival Princeton by a 10–0 score.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1895 Dartmouth football team</span> American college football season

The 1895 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as a member of the Triangular Football League during the 1895 college football season. Head coach William Wurtenburg scheduled a 13-game season for 1895, a still-standing record at Dartmouth for most games played in a single year. The team compiled an overall record of 7–5–1 with a mark of 2–0 in TFL play, winning the league title. The season began with a 50–0 shutout of Phillips Exeter Academy, which was followed by a close game with Harvard. The match was hard-fought; Harvard won by a slim 4–0 margin, the closest that a Dartmouth team had gotten to beating Harvard. The squad then played three smaller colleges, winning two of the games and tying the other. The team then went back-and-forth between losing and winning, falling twice to Yale and once to West Point, but defeating MIT and Boston University. Conference opponents Williams and Amherst were defeated by a combined score of 30–5, and the team was awarded its third straight Triangular Football League championship. The season ended on a negative note, however, with a close 10–4 loss to Brown.

The 1894 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as a member of the Triangular Football League (TFL) the 1894 college football season. Led by second-year head coach Wallace Moyle, Dartmouth compiled an overall record of 5–4 with a mark of 2–0 in TFL play, winning the league title.

The 1889 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association (EIFA) during the 1889 college football season. Dartmouth compiled an overall record of 7–1 with a mark of 4–0 in EIFA play, winning the league title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1899 Dartmouth football team</span> American college football season

The 1899 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as an independent during the 1899 college football season. This season was the least successful under head coach William Wurtenburg. Of the nine games played during the year, only two were won. The team finished with the worst win percentage (.286) since the 1883 squad went winless, albeit against one team. The season began with easy defeats of Phillips Exeter Academy and Bowdoine. That luck quickly changed and the team dropped seven straight games. After being shut out by Yale, they lost in a close match to Williams. Following another close loss, Army, Dartmouth was defeated by Wesleyan. The following game was the low point of the season, a 21–0 loss to Harvard. It was the worst defeat by the Crimson in nearly a decade. The year concluded with lopsided defeats by Columbia and Brown.

The 1894 Amherst football team represented Amherst College as a member of the Triangular Football League during the 1894 college football season. Amherst compiled an overall record of 7–5–1 with a mark of 0–2 in TFL play, finished last out of the three teams in the league. One of the sport's best known historians, Parke H. Davis, was coach of the team.

The 1890 Dartmouth football team represented Dartmouth College as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association (EIFA) during the 1890 college football season. Dartmouth compiled an overall record of 4–4 with a mark of 1–2 in EIFA play. Charles O. Gill, capatain of the 1889 Yale Bulldogs football team spent two weeks coaching the team in September 1890. Frank Lakeman was the team's captain.

The 1894 Brown Bears football team represented Brown University as an independent in the 1894 college football season. Led by William G. Norton in his first and only season as head coach, Brown compiled a record of 10–5.

The 1920 Brown Bears football team represented Brown University as an independent during the 1920 college football season. Led by 19th-year head coach Edward N. Robinson, Brown compiled a record of 6–3.

The 1888 Amherst football team represented the Amherst University as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association (EIFA) during the 1888 college football season. Amherst compiled an overall record of 2–8–1 with a mark of 0–3 in EIFA play.

The 1890 Amherst football team was an American football team that represented the Amherst College as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Football Association (EIFA) during the 1890 college football season. The team compiled an overall record of 7–6–1 with a mark of 3–1 in EIFA play. Amherst was outscored by a total of 185 to 184 on the season. Two of Amherst's losses were to undefeated national champion Harvard. Excluding the two one-sided losses to Harvard, Amherst outscored its opponents, 178 to 47. The team played its home games at Blake Field in Amherst, Massachusetts.

The 1891 Springfield YMCA football team, also known as the Christian Workers and the Staggs, was an American football team that represented the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School—now known as Springfield College–as an independent during the 1891 college football season. Led by Amos Alonzo Stagg in his second and final season as head coach, the team compiled a record of 5–8–1. Stagg also played for the team at fullback and halfback. Springfield YMCA played their home games at Outing Park in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The 1890 Springfield YMCA football team, also known as the Christian Workers and the Staggs, was an American football team that represented the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School—now known as Springfield College–as an independent during the 1890 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Amos Alonzo Staggh, the team compiled a record of 5–3.

The 1907 Springfield Training School football team was an American football team that represented the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School—now known as Springfield College–as an independent during the 1907 college football season. Led by James H. McCurdy, who returned for his tenth season as head coach after helming the team from 1895 to 1903, Springfield compiled a record of 2–4–2.

References

  1. Strahan, Derek (2017). Lost Springfield, Massachusetts. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 131–137. ISBN   978-1-4671-3666-2.
  2. 1 2 Healey, Paul. "Pynchon Park". www.projectballpark.org. Paul Healey. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  3. McKay, Feargal (30 January 2018). "The Penny Hour - The Last Hour Record Set On A High-Wheeled Bicycle". Podium Cafe. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  4. "Amherst Vs. Dartmouth—Game Unfinished". The Boston Daily Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. November 25, 1881. p. 2. Retrieved March 19, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  5. "Harvard Defeats Wesleyan". The New York Times. November 10, 1889. p. 5 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Yale, 52; Wesleyan, 0". The New York Times. November 17, 1889. p. 5 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Yale, 52; Wesleyan, 0". The Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. November 17, 1889. p. 4. Retrieved March 25, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  8. "A Tie Game". The Meriden Daily Journal . Meriden, Connecticut. November 23, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved March 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  9. "Dartmouth Beats Williams". The Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. November 24, 1889. p. 7. Retrieved March 21, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  10. "Yale Wins From Harvard". The New York Times. November 24, 1889. p. 1 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Leather Chasing". Brooklyn Citizen . Brooklyn, New York. November 24, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved March 25, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  12. "Rush, Run and Punt: Harvard Science Against Amherst Beef". The Boston Globe. November 13, 1890. p. 2 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Harvard And Yale—The Crimson Eleven Shown Yesterday at Springfield in the Amherst Game". The Meriden Daily Journal . Meriden, Connecticut. November 13, 1890. p. 2. Retrieved March 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  14. "Wesleyan, 34; Brown, 6". The Boston Daily Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. November 22, 1890. p. 5. Retrieved March 6, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  15. "Crimson: Even Ladies, Who Blushed". The Boston Globe. November 23, 1890. pp. 1, 4.
  16. "Coming of the Thousands". The Boston Globe. November 23, 1890. p. 4 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Harvard's Jubilee: Her Team Defeats Yale in the Great Football Game at Springfield". New York Tribune. November 23, 1890. p. 1 via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Yale Whipped By Harvard". The Sun . New York, New York. November 23, 1890. p. 8. Retrieved March 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  19. "Yale 10, Harvard 0: And The Great Match Is Over". The Evening World. November 21, 1891. p. 1 via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Yale Won, As Usual: A 50 to 0 Victory Over the Springfield Eleven". The Hartford Courant. October 27, 1892. p. 1 via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Yale's Narrow Victory: Harvard Defeated at Football in a Magnificent Game". New York Tribune. November 20, 1892. pp. 1, 2 via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Yale 34, Dartmouth 0". The Boston Daily Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. October 18, 1894. p. 4. Retrieved March 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  23. "Yales Wins Over Dartmouth". Boston Evening Transcript . Boston, Massachusetts. October 18, 1894. p. 5. Retrieved March 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  24. "Dartmouth vs. Brown Today". The Boston Daily Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. November 24, 1894. p. 10. Retrieved March 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  25. "Dartmouth "Not In It."". The Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. November 25, 1894. p. 22. Retrieved March 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  26. "Tricks win for old Dartmouth". The Boston Globe. November 26, 1905. Retrieved June 19, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  27. Strahan, Derek (24 March 2014). "Hampden Park, Springfield, Mass - Lost New England". Lost New England. Lost New England. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  28. Sahlberg, Jacqueline (2011). "Memorable Games in Harvard-Yale history". Yale Daily News. No. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2023.