Connie Mack Field

Connie Mack Field
Mack Field
Full name	Connie Mack Field
Former names	Municipal Athletic Field (1924–1926); Wright Field (1927–1952)
Location	West Palm Beach, Florida
Capacity	3,500
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	October 1924
Demolished	February 1992
Tenants
	St. Louis Browns (AL) (spring training) (1928–1936); Rochester Red Wings (IL) (spring training) (1940); Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (AL) (spring training) (1946–1962); West Palm Beach Indians (FECL) (1940–1942); (FIL) (1946–1954); (FSL) (1955); West Palm Beach Sun Chiefs (FSL) (1956); West Palm Beach Braves (FSL) (1965–1968)

Connie Mack Field was a ballpark in midtown West Palm Beach, Florida, which was the long-time spring training home of the Philadelphia Athletics/Kansas City Athletics.

The stadium was built in 1924 and initially named Municipal Athletic Field. It hosted its first event, a football game, in October 1924. The first baseball game was played in December 1924.^[1]

It was renamed Wright Field in 1927 for West Palm Beach City Manager George C. Wright, then was renamed Connie Mack Field in 1952 in honor of long-time Philadelphia Athletics owner and manager Connie Mack.

The grandstands originally held about 2,000; Black fans were restricted to a small section in the right-field corner to keep them away from the White fans. Total capacity was about 3,500.^[2]

Record attendance for baseball was on March 20, 1949, when 6,988 fans saw the A's defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers in a spring training game, by a 6-0 decision, which featured Jackie Robinson on the field and then-Secretary of State General of the Army George C. Marshall in attendance.^[3]

The stadium was replaced in 1962 by West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium although the grandstand remained until 1973. The ball field continued to be regularly used by neighboring Twin Lakes High School.

The field was bulldozed in 1992 for a parking garage for the new Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts where there is a tribute display in the garage by the main elevator.^[4]

References[edit]

^ Eliot Kleinberg (2009-06-18). "Honor To Field's Namesake Was Posthumous". Archived from the original on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
^ Eliot Kleinberg (2007-12-26). "Mack Field Hosted Baseball Greats". Archived from the original on 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
^ McGowen, Roscoe (1949-03-21). "Mackmen triumph over Brooklyn, 6-0". New York Times. p. 27. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
^ Kleinberg, Eliot (2006). Palm Beach Past: The Best of "Post Time". Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. p. 51. ISBN 1-59629-115-X.

External links[edit]

26°42′26.35″N 80°3′40.43″W / 26.7073194°N 80.0612306°W / 26.7073194; -80.0612306

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[1] Eliot Kleinberg (2009-06-18). "Honor To Field's Namesake Was Posthumous". Archived from the original on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2009-09-22.

[2] Eliot Kleinberg (2007-12-26). "Mack Field Hosted Baseball Greats". Archived from the original on 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2009-09-22.

[3] McGowen, Roscoe (1949-03-21). "Mackmen triumph over Brooklyn, 6-0". New York Times. p. 27. Retrieved 2009-09-22.

[4] Kleinberg, Eliot (2006). Palm Beach Past: The Best of "Post Time". Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. p. 51. ISBN 1-59629-115-X.

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v t e Ballparks of the Florida State League
East Division	Clover Park Jackie Robinson Ballpark Roger Dean Stadium
West Division	BayCare Ballpark George M. Steinbrenner Field Hammond Stadium Joker Marchant Stadium LECOM Park TD Ballpark
Defunct	Baseball City Stadium Chain of Lakes Park Charlotte Sports Park Clearwater Athletic Field Coffee Pot Park Connie Mack Field Grant Field Holman Stadium Jack Russell Memorial Stadium Melching Field at Conrad Park Miami Stadium Ninth Street Park (pre-1923) Osceola County Stadium Payne Park Pompano Beach Municipal Stadium Terry Park Ballfield West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium