Richards Park is a baseball field located in Waxahachie, Texas, currently serving as the primary home of the Waxahachie High School baseball team. It opened before 1914, has been renovated many times since, and was home to three Major League teams for Spring Training in the early 20th century. It was originally named Jungle Park, [1] and was renamed in 1946 for former MLB player and manager Paul Richards. The capacity is approximately 1,500 spectators. [2]
Richards Park, located near Waxahachie Creek and the Waxahachie City Cemetery, began its life in the early 20th century. In 1915, a grandstand was hastily constructed to entice a major league team to come to Waxahachie for spring training. An agreement was struck for the Detroit Tigers to use the facility for 1916 and 1917, and the stadium was christened Jungle Park in honor of its tenant. The Cincinnati Reds would use the facility in 1919, and the Chicago White Sox would be the last major league team to hold spring training in Waxahachie in 1921. [3] [4] The minor league Kansas City Blues also held spring training at Jungle Park in the 1920s. [3]
Jungle Park was also home to the Waxahachie Athletics of the Class D Central Texas League from 1914 to 1916.[ citation needed ] [5] [6] [7]
In 1922, the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce began managing the property. That same year, a flood damaged the site and the grandstand was dismantled for use at the WHS campus. The field, however, remained in use, and was briefly known as Woodmen Park, after the Woodmen of the World-organized team that played there. [3] [1]
By 1946, the field had fallen into disrepair. Richards, a Waxahachie native, and several locals raised enough money to restore and reopen the park in April of that year with lights and a terrace system to prevent flooding. [3] [1] The field was subsequently named for Richards.
In 1965, the site was purchased by Waxahachie ISD. [3]
Waxahachie is the county seat of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. The city was founded in 1850, and incorporated in 1871. Much of the employment is provided by a number of industries and by educational institutions, including primary and secondary schools, a community college and a private university. In the mid-80's it became a filming location for a number of movies and occasional episodes of television series.
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.
The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa, one of the Quad Cities.
Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street, and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW.
Paul Rapier Richards was an American professional baseball player, manager, scout and executive in Major League Baseball. During his playing career, he was a catcher and right-handed batter with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1932), New York Giants (1933–1935), Philadelphia Athletics (1935) and Detroit Tigers (1943–1946). After retiring, he became the manager of the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles (1955–1961). He also served as the general manager for the Orioles, the Houston Colt .45s / Astros and the Atlanta Braves.
Rickwood Field, located in Birmingham, Alabama, is the oldest professional baseball park in the United States. It was built for the Birmingham Barons in 1910 by industrialist and team-owner Rick Woodward and has served as the home park for the Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro leagues. Though the Barons moved their home games to the Hoover Met in the suburbs, and most recently to Regions Field in Birmingham, Rickwood Field has been preserved and is undergoing gradual restoration as a "working museum" where baseball's history can be experienced. The Barons also play one regular season game a year at Rickwood Field. Rickwood Field is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Al Lang Stadium is a 7,500-seat sports stadium along the waterfront of downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, United States which was used almost exclusively as a baseball park for over 60 years. Since 2011, it has been the home pitch of the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the USL Championship soccer league.
Modern Woodmen Park is a minor league baseball venue located in Davenport, Iowa. It is home to the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Since 1987, St. Ambrose University plays all of its home baseball games there as well. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, in the shadow of the Centennial Bridge, home run balls to right field often land in the river.
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.
Pelican Stadium, originally known as Heinemann Park (1915–1937), was a sports stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1915 to 1957.
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.
James Aubrey Adair was an American baseball infielder, manager and coach. Although he played only briefly in Major League Baseball, as a shortstop for the 1931 Chicago Cubs, Adair had a long career as a minor league player and manager, and as a Major League coach and scout. A native of Waxahachie, Texas, he was associated for many years with a fellow townsman, Paul Richards, who as a manager or general manager employed Adair as a coach for three MLB teams.
Plant Field was the first major athletic venue in Tampa, Florida. It was built in 1899 by Henry B. Plant on the grounds of his Tampa Bay Hotel to host various events and activities for guests, and it consisted of a large field ringed by an oval race track flanked by a large covered grandstand on the western straightaway with portable seating used to accommodate a wide variety of uses. Over the ensuing decades, Plant Field drew Tampa residents and visitors to see horse racing, car racing, baseball games, entertainers, and politicians. The stadium also hosted the first professional football and first spring training games in Tampa and was the long-time home of the Florida State Fair.
Clearwater Athletic Field was a stadium in Clearwater, Florida. It was first used by professional baseball teams for spring training in 1923 and was the Phillies' first spring training ballpark in Clearwater. The grandstand sat approximately 2,000 and bleachers increased capacity to close to 3,000. Home plate was located on Pennsylvania Avenue, which ran south to north along the third base line, near Seminole Street. Left field ran parallel to Palmetto Street, and right field ran parallel to Greenwood Ave. The grandstand was destroyed by fire in April 1956.
McCulloch Park is the largest community park located in Muncie, Indiana. The park is named after for local newspaper industrialist, George F. McCulloch, who gave the 118 acres of land to the city for a park in 1892. The park later consisted of a baseball field that hosted two professional teams; the Muncie Fruit Jars and the Muncie Reds. The park also served as the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1943–1945.
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.
Fogel Field was a baseball park located in Hot Springs, Arkansas, utilized for spring training games and baseball camps between 1912 and 1952. The site was also known as Fordyce Field and Holder Field. Fogel Field was built in 1912 as a spring training site for Major League Baseball teams. The field was named for Horace Fogel, President of the Philadelphia Phillies. Fogel Field hosted the Phillies (1912) and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Kansas City Monarchs (1928), Homestead Grays (1930–1931) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932–1935) of Negro league baseball also used Fogel Field as their spring training site.
The Central Texas League was a minor league baseball league that played from 1914 to 1917. The Central Texas League played as a six–team Class D level league and consisted of teams based exclusively in Texas. The Central Texas League never completed a full season in its four seasons of play and was sometimes called the Central Texas Trolley League. The Ennis Tigers played in each season of the league, which had a different champion each season.
The Waxahachie Athletics were a minor league baseball team based in Waxahachie, Texas. The "Athletics" played in 1915 and 1916. With the Athletics preceded by 1914 Waxahachie Buffaloes, the Waxahachie teams played exclusively as members of the Class D level Central Texas League, winning the 1914 league championship. Waxahachie hosted minor league home games at Jungle Park. The Buffaloes were league Central Texas League champions in 1914.
The Marlin Marlins were a minor league baseball team based in Marlin, Texas. The "Marlins" played in 1916 and 1917 as members of the Class D level Central Texas League, The Marlins were succeeded by the Marlin Bathers who played as members of the Class D level Texas Association from 1923 to 1925. Marlin hosted home minor league games at Marlin City Park.
32°23′09″N96°51′19″W / 32.385818°N 96.855255°W 3. THE HOUSE THAT PAUL BUILT: Waxahachie honors 100 years of city's beloved sports landmark