Upstate New York’s Ballparks

Upstate New York has always thrived as a hot bed of baseball interest and activity from the games earliest innings.

And as such it has had more than its share of ballparks, fairly dripping with, history and baseball lore. It would take more pages than this program holds to present their full story, but what follows is a thumbnail sketch of some of the notable ballyards past and present.

Albany

The Excelsior Club of South Brooklyn defeated the Albany Champion Club at the Washington Parade Grounds (now Washington Park) on July 2, 1860, 24-6, but notable for the fact that it was the first road game ever played.

From the 1860s to the turn of the century, Albany teams played at Riverside Park on Broadway and Quay. It had a large wooden grandstand and the Troy Haymakers played five games there between 1880 and 1882. In 1901, Albany held some of its home games, at another Riverside Park. This was in the middle of the Hudson River on privately owned Bonaker’s Island. It was across from Albany s State Street and had no grandstands.

Albany’s team in the New York State League and the Eastern league played at Chadwick Park in Menands. In 1928, Hawkins Stadium, named for team owner Michael J. Hawkins was built at the same site for $240,000. The last game was played there on Sept. 6, 1958 and the park was torn down in November 1960. The site is now called Mid-City Plaza.

When the Eastern League returned to the Empire State’s Capital City in 1983, games were first played at old Bleecker Stadium, but on Aug. 12 of that year, Heritage Park in Colony opened. It cost $1.2 million.

Amsterdam

Mohawk Millss (originally Crescent Park) opened for business as part of an amusement park in 1914. From 1938  through 1951 it hosted the Rugmakers of the Class C Canadian-American League. It still stands and is now called Shuttleworth Park. In 1942, its grandstand burned to the ground, but it was rebuilt in eight days — just in time to host a game against the New York Yankees.

Auburn

Classic wooden grandstand Falcon Park, built by the Polish Falcons organization, has served the Canadian-American League (1938 and 1940), the Class C Border League (1946-1951) and the New York Penn League (1958- 1980 and 1982 to present).

Batavia

Built in 1939 with W.P.A. funds, wooden Wyer Stadium has been home to New York-Penn League baseball for 1939 until 1987.

Binghamton

The Eastern Leagues Johnson Field, near the Endicott-Johnson shoe factory, was demolished in the late 1960s to make way for Route 17. A new stadium and a return to the Eastern League is being planned.

Buffalo

Early Buffalo baseball had several homes — Riverside Park (1878-1882), Olympic Park (1883-1898) and a newer Olympic Park on Michigan and Fern streets (1899-1923). Besides serving minor league ball, the latter version of Olympic Park also housed the Buffalo 1890 Player’s League team.

Buffalo’s Federal League team operated at Federal League Park on Northland Avenue at Lonsdale Road.

Concrete anti steel Offerman Stadium was built in 1924 and until 1935, was called Bison Stadium.

War Memorial Stadium was built in 1938 as a Depression-era jobs creation project at a cost of $3 million. Never really suited for baseball, the massive “Rockpile” served the Bisons from 1961 to 1987 and was the scene of Robert  Redford’s epic baseball film, “The Natural.”

Pilot Field opened in 1988 and is one of the finest minor league facilities. With 19,500 seats (expandable to more than 40,000), the green-roofed facility cost $54 million and features 38 luxury skyboxes.

Cooperstown

Doubleday Field, the reputed site of the first game ever at old Elihu Phinney’s cow pasture, has since 1940 been the scene of the annual Hall of Fame Game played on Induction Weekend. It is still unlit.

Elmira

Dunn Field housed franchises in the Eastern League (1962-1972) and the New York-Penn League (1957-1961 and 1973-1986).

Geneva

McDonough Park has hosted New York-Penn League franchises from 1958-1973 and from 1977 to present.

Glens Falls

East Falls hosted White Sox and Detroit farm teams in the Eastern League from 1980 until 1988. It was hastily thrown together when a plan to locate a franchise in Schenectady fell through at the last minute and the club moved to Glens Falls.

Gloversville

From 1904 to 1907, the Gloversville entry in the New York State League played at JAG Park, later called Parkhurst Field. Johnstown, Amsterdam and Gloversville shared a franchise, hence JAGs. The Pirates and Red Sox played there before World War I and the Reds played exhibitions there circa 1922.

Built before the turn of the century and originally a fairgrounds, Glovers Park saw services in the Can-Am League from 1937 to 1951. It is now the site of Nichols Shopping Plaza on the east side of Route 30A.

Kingston

Built as a WPA project in the 1930s, Dietz Field (named after a local Medal of Honor winner) hosted franchises in the North Atlantic, (1957) Colonial (1948-1950) and Can-Am (1951) leagues. It is still used for high school football and baseball.

Little Falls

Veterans Memorial Stadium housed the Mets of the New York-Penn League from 1977 through 1988. For some years tiny Little Falls (population 6,000) was the smallest city in professional baseball.

Massena

Alco Field was in professional ball for only one week in 1936 when the Watertown Can-Am franchise moved temporarily to Massena.

Newark

Tiny Colburn Park housed New York-Penn League franchises from 1968 to 1987.

Ogdensburg

Winter Park was originally an ice skating rink in the 1930s. It evolved into a ballpark serving the Can-Am League (1936-1940) and Border leagues (1946-1951). Since stripped of lights and grandstands, it is now called Father Martin  Park.

Oneonta

Damashke Field (formerly Morris Park and Neahwa Park) was donated to the city of Oneonta in 1908. It has served the Eastern League (1921), the Canadian-American League (1940-1951) and the New York-Penn League (1924 and 1966 to present)

Oswego

Richardson Field was the site of an Empire State League team (the Starchmakers) from 1905 to 1908.

Otis Field, a park of huge dimensions, sheltered the Netherlands of the Can-Am loop in 1936 to 1940. It was torn down in the mid-1950s and is now the site of Leighton Elementary School.

Poughkeepsie

Forty-five hundred-seat Riverview Park, near Vassar College, hosted the Chiefs of the Post-World War II Class B Colonial League.

Rochester

The American Association Hopbitters played their 1890 season at Culver Field, now the site of New York Central Conrail tracks, although their Sunday games were held at Windsor Beach in nearby Irondequoit.

Silver Stadium, called Red Wing Stadium until 1968, was built in 1929 by the St. Louis Cardinals and underwent an impressive $4.5 million renovation prior to the 1987 season.

Rome

League Park, formerly known as Murray’s Park, served the Can-Am League in 1937. It had formerly been used for industrial league teams.

Colonels Park on Black River Boulevard was built for $15,000 in 1938 and housed the Can-Am League Colonels until 1951. Known as a hitter’s par, it was demolished in 1952 to make way for a housing project.

Schenectady

The 1985 Schenectady New York State League team, which folded in mid-season, played at the County Fairgrounds, often called Racing Park. The team constructed a grandstand and bleachers there. The same field was used when the New York State League returned in 1899. It was located in the Hamilton Hill area, near downtown. It was used until the team moved to Island Park in 1901.

Island Park was on Van Slyke Island in the Mohawk River, although it is now part of the “mainland.” In fact, it is the Schenectady County Community College parking lot. It was reached by a bridge and was used for the New York State league and later for the Mohawk Giants, a black team, which left in 1916 for a diamond on Broadway in Schenectady. After World War I, it was known as Columbus Park, as it had been taken over by the Knights of Columbus. The Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) played the Knights there in 1921. The park was used sporadically until the late 1920s. In its early days it had no outfield fence.

When professional ball returned to Schenectady in 1946, the Can-Am League Blue Jays first used the Class A Diamond in Central Park, but in mid-season switched to new McNearney Stadium on Jackson Avenue.

Syracuse

Syracuse played its 1878 season in the International Association at Lakeside Park, then moved to the National League and Newell Park in 1879.

Baseball took a hiatus in the Salt City until 1885 and the advent of the New York State League and New Star Park. In 1886, Syracuse moved to the International League and in 1890 to the American Association.

In 1891, the game reappeared at Crescent Park with a new Eastern Association squad. In 1906, the Stars moved to Hallock Park on Onondaga Lake. It was renamed Star Park and lasted until the pros once again departed in 1929.

The Stars became the Chiefs when the International league returned in 1934 when 8,500-seat Municipal Stadium was built in only 48 days for an estimated $300,000.

The park was renamed MacArthur Stadium in 1942 and was destroyed by fire in May 1969, but was quickly rebuilt. Major refurbishing of the park occurred in 1987 and 1988.

Troy

The Troy Haymakers of the National Association in 1871 and 1872 and the Trojans of the 1880 and 1881 national League played most of their contests at the Haymakers Grounds on Center Island on the Hudson River near its convergence with the Mohawk River. It was the site of the smallest big league crowd ever when only 12 fans attended a game versus Chicago in 1885. The area now is covered with fuel tanks.

In 1879, the Trojans held court at Putnam Grounds at Peoples Avenue and 15th Street. In 1882 the team moved to the Troy Ball Club Grounds across the Hudson in what is now Watervliet.

Utica

The Utica Athletic Field, located at the fairgrounds on Bleecker Street, was home to the city’s old New York State League squads. Braves Field (renamed McConnell Field after former big leaguer Amby McConnell) was the home of the Canadian-American League (1939-1942) and Eastern League (1943-1950) franchises. Located near the Mohawk River and often plagued by fog, it was demolished in the early 1950s to make way for a New York State Thruway entrance ramp.

Murnane Field has been the site of New York-Penn league contests since 1977 and has seen steady improvements since some very primitive beginnings.

Watertown

Watertown’s ballpark started as a County Fairground in 1928. Its grandstand dated back to 1851 and baseball has been played there since 1871. The Can-Am League played there in 1936 and the Border League from 1946 to 1951. The 1851 grandstand was destroyed by fire following a playoff contest in September 1947. The New York-Penn League has had a franchise there since 1983. At present a new stadium is being planned.