Beech Street Grounds
Encyclopedia
The Beech Street Grounds were a baseball
-only stadium in Manchester
, New Hampshire
between 1892 and 1895. Constructed at the corner of Beech and Valley Streets on land owned by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company
, the grounds were part of a section of the city known as the Plains, a relatively flat area on which children and organized amateur teams had played baseball since at least as early as 1880. The park was composed of a wooden fence and two covered wooden grandstands, and its main (third-base-side) entrance was located on Beech Street. In its first two years, the park was home to a minor-league baseball team, the Manchester Amoskeags of the New England League
.
In 1895, local businessman Thomas Varick purchased an interest in the park, moved the grandstands, constructed a bicycle track, reoriented the baseball diamond so that home plate was along the west side of the field (previously it had been at the southwest end of the field), moved the entrance to Valley Street, and renamed the complex Varick Park
. In 1913, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company constructed Textile Field (now Gill Stadium
) on the site.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
-only stadium in Manchester
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
between 1892 and 1895. Constructed at the corner of Beech and Valley Streets on land owned by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company
Amoskeag Manufacturing Company
The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was a textile manufacturer which founded Manchester, New Hampshire. From modest beginnings in near wilderness, it grew throughout the 19th century into the largest cotton textile plant in the world. At its peak, Amoskeag was unrivaled both for the quality and...
, the grounds were part of a section of the city known as the Plains, a relatively flat area on which children and organized amateur teams had played baseball since at least as early as 1880. The park was composed of a wooden fence and two covered wooden grandstands, and its main (third-base-side) entrance was located on Beech Street. In its first two years, the park was home to a minor-league baseball team, the Manchester Amoskeags of the New England League
New England League
The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played sporadically in five of the six New England states between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League Baseball clubs in Boston and alongside stronger, higher-classification...
.
In 1895, local businessman Thomas Varick purchased an interest in the park, moved the grandstands, constructed a bicycle track, reoriented the baseball diamond so that home plate was along the west side of the field (previously it had been at the southwest end of the field), moved the entrance to Valley Street, and renamed the complex Varick Park
Varick Park
Varick Park was an athletic complex located in Manchester, New Hampshire, from 1895 until 1913. It was constructed by local businessman Thomas Varick on land owned by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, partially on the site formerly occupied by a minor-league baseball park, the Beech Street Grounds...
. In 1913, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company constructed Textile Field (now Gill Stadium
Gill Stadium
Gill Stadium is a sporting stadium located in Manchester, New Hampshire. It is believed to be the oldest stadium constructed of concrete and steel in New England outside of the Boston area...
) on the site.