SABR member Liam Fennessy launches project to memorialize forgotten Baltimore ballparks
SABR member Liam Fennessy, a rising sophomore and Sport Management Major at the University of Delaware, has begun a project to honor Baltimore-area sites that hold historical baseball significance.
Fennessy worked this summer as a digital marketing intern for Ripken Baseball and the Aberdeen Ironbirds. Assigned to write a story on Baltimore’s baseball history for the Ironbirds’ game-day program, he was struck by just how much history there was to be learned.
“As I did research, I discovered a wealth of baseball information that, as a diehard baseball and history fan, I had never known about,” Fennessy said. “What shocked me as I continued to work on this story was to find that all of these sites in Baltimore that once held historic ballparks were not honored with plaques or memorials.”
Fennessy has launched a project to correct these omissions. He posted a message on SABR-L and is reaching out to other baseball fans in an effort to recognize these forgotten sites. They include: Bugle Field (Black Sox and Elite Giants), Maryland Baseball Park (Black Sox), American League Park (Minor League Baltimore Orioles), Terrapin Park (Federal League Baltimore Terrapins), and others.
His goal is to erect plaques at these sites, and to have a park erected at Camden Yards that honors all of the historic Baltimore ballparks.
Fennessy, who recently joined SABR, would welcome any assistance or advice.as he reaches out to other groups to support this effort. Contact him at (443) 417-3611 or e-mail lfenn@udel.edu or lfennessy@ripkenbaseball.com.
Originally published: August 26, 2014. Last Updated: August 26, 2014.