Federal League Park
History
Federal league park was constructed in 1913 for a team in the Columbian League. After an investor dropped support for the team, the park became the home field for Indianapolis Hoosiers of the Federal League.
The park was demolished in 1916 and replaced with a freight yard for nearby railroads. The street location of the park was conventionally given in newspapers and city directories as "Kentucky Avenue and West Street". The location is more precisely described as Kentucky Avenue and a railroad track (southeast, center field); Oliver Street (south, right field); White River (some distance west, first base); and "Old Greenlawn Cemetery" (north, third base). Henry Street teed into Kentucky across from the left field area. West Street itself intersected Kentucky (and still does) about half a block to the northeast of the ballpark, where Kentucky ends and South Street begins.
The dimensions of the ballpark were:
- Left field – 365 feet (111 m)
- Left center – 421 feet (128 m)
- Center field – 428 feet (130 m)
- Right center – 351 feet (107 m)
- Right field – 304 feet (93 m)
- Backstop – 62 feet (19 m)
Coincidentally, the site of this short-lived ballpark is very close to current professional sports facilities in the city. The Kentucky-West-South intersection is just a block south of Victory Field and a block west of Lucas Oil Stadium.
See also
References
- ^ Lowry, Philip J. (2006). Green cathedrals : the ultimate celebration of major league and Negro league ballparks. New York: Walker and Company. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8027-1608-8.
- ^ Mitchell, Dawn. "Play Ball! Where Indianapolis watched America's pastime". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
- ^ Okkonen, Marc (1989). The Federal League of 1914–1915. SABR.