Bowman Field
Encyclopedia
Bowman Field is a minor league
baseball
stadium
in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
, in the United States
. It is home to the Williamsport Crosscutters
of the New York - Penn League
. Official seating capacity
is 4,200. Bowman Field is the second oldest ballpark in minor league baseball, behind Centennial Field
, home of the Vermont Lake Monsters
in Burlington
, Vermont
. It is also the home field for the Wildcats of the Pennsylvania College of Technology
.
. It was long since been replaced by a levee
and U.S. Route 220
, U.S. Route 15
and Interstate 180
. A second and more permanent facility was built in the Vallamont neighborhood. Cochran Elementary School sits on the former sight of the ballpark. The Williamsport Billies and later Williamsport Grays played the seasons at Williamsport High School's athletic field on West Third Street. It too is long since gone, this property is currently home to the Pennsylvania College of Technology
.
called the Williamsport Grays
. The Grays were a charter member of the New York-Pennsylvania league which was established in 1923. Two of the most important boosters and financial backers of the team were J. Walton Bowman for whom the stadium was named and Thomas Gray, the Lycoming County
, for whom the Grays were named.
The Grays had previously been playing their home games on the athletic field of Williamsport High School. This facility proved to be much too small. A larger and more permanent stadium was needed. A group of civic leaders and baseball boosters lead the drive to construct a new stadium for the Grays on the western side of Williamsport on the banks of Lycoming Creek
. An agreement between the Grays and the city was reached in July, 1925 to build what was then known as Memorial Field, which was named for the municipal park in which it is located. J. Walton Bowman headed an eleven member holding company
that financed and managed the construction of the ballpark at a cost of $75,000. Ground was broken in the fall of 1925 and the stadium opened in time for the beginning of the 1926 New York-Pennsylvania League season.
The original dimensions of Bowman Field were quite large compared to the dimensions of modern baseball fields. Bowman Field measured 367 feet to the right field foul pole, 450 feet to dead center field and 400 feet to the left field foul pole. Another unusual feature of the stadium was a terrace
that was located on left field near the fence.
The first game to be played at Bowman Field took place on April 22, 1926 when the Grays hosted the ballteam of nearby Bucknell University
in an exhibition. The first professional opponent to appear at Bowman Field was the Harrisburg Colored Giants. The Grays lost two games to the Giants on April 27 and 29. The first New York-Pennsylvania League game took place on May 4. The Grays beat the Shamokin Indians 5-1.
Bowman Field was known as Memorial Field from 1926 until 1929. It was renamed on June 26, 1929 to honor J. Walton Bowman. Bowman was the president of the Grays at the time and head by instrumental in the effort of funding and constructing the stadium. He was additionally honored by the players of the team with a Swiss watch and his grand-daughter was given the honor of hoisting a pennant in center field bearing the name "Bowman Field".
. That team moved to Binghamton, New York
, the next season and became the Binghamton Mets
.
The Grays began playing in the forerunner of the Eastern League, the old New York - Pennsylvania League in 1923. The Class B league was made entirely of teams from New York
and Pennsylvania
. It kept this name until 1938 when the Scranton Miners
move to Hartford
, Connecticut
. Williamsport was a member of the league for 46 years between 1923 and 1991. The teams were known as the Grays, Tigers, A's, Mets, Tomahawks and Bills. Williamsport had affiliations with the Philadelphia A's for three periods, Pittsburgh Pirates
, Detroit Tigers
, Washington Senators
, Philadelphia Phillies
, New York Mets
for two separate periods, Cleveland Indians
for two separate periods, and Seattle Mariners
.
for the 1987 Williamsport Bills, who were in seventh place in an eight-team league, playing the last-place Reading Phillies
in late-August game. With a runner on third base, Bresnahan switched catcher's mitts and put on a glove in which he had secreted a shaved-down potato. When the pitch came in, Bresnahan fired the white potato down the third-base line, enticing the runner to sprint home. Bresnahan then tagged the runner with the baseball, prompting the umpire
to award the runner home plate for Bresnahan's deception, even though he clearly had been tagged out with the ball.
The president of the Eastern League took offense to what he perceived as Bresnahan's affront to the game, banning the grandnephew of Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan
from the league. However, the citizens of Williamsport applauded Bresnahan for his ingenuity, eventually prompting the club to retire his number 59. At the retirement ceremony in 1998, Bresnahan was quoted as saying, “Lou Gehrig
had to play in 2,130 consecutive games and hit .340 for his number to be retired, and all I had to do was bat .140 and throw a potato.”
's Williamsport Cubs. The club became the Crosscutters, a Pittsburgh Pirates
farm team, in 1999. Significant stadium upgrades took place prior to the 2002 season. The club became a farm team of the Philadelphia Phillies
in 2006.
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
baseball
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...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is home to the Williamsport Crosscutters
Williamsport Crosscutters
The Williamsport Crosscutters are a Short-Season A classification minor league baseball team based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
of the New York - Penn League
New York - Penn League
The New York – Penn League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the northeastern United States. It is classified as a "Short-Season A" league; its season starts in June, after major-league teams have signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ends in early...
. Official seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
is 4,200. Bowman Field is the second oldest ballpark in minor league baseball, behind Centennial Field
Centennial Field
Centennial Field is the name of two sports facilities at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. One is used for baseball and the other is now primarily used for men's and women's soccer. It once serving as the home field for the school's football and lacrosse teams...
, home of the Vermont Lake Monsters
Vermont Lake Monsters
The Vermont Lake Monsters are a minor league baseball team in the Short-Season A classification New York - Penn League, affiliated with the Oakland Athletics. The team plays its home games at Centennial Field on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vermont...
in Burlington
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. It is also the home field for the Wildcats of the Pennsylvania College of Technology
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Pennsylvania College of Technology, or Penn College, is a public college located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, affiliated with The Pennsylvania State University. As an applied technology college, the school offers certificate, associate and baccalaureate degree programs in more than 100 fields of...
.
Ballparks in Williamsport before Bowman Field
Williamsport has hosted minor league baseball since the late 19th century. The various teams played at differing sights in Williamsport. The earliest ballfield was near the West Branch Susquehanna RiverWest Branch Susquehanna River
The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the extension of the main branch, with the shorter West Branch...
. It was long since been replaced by a levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
and U.S. Route 220
U.S. Route 220
U.S. Route 220 is a long U.S. Route in the eastern United States.US 220 is a spur route of U.S. Route 20 but at present, the two routes do not intersect nor do they connect via other spurs of US 20. The former U. S. Route 120, which was signed in Pennsylvania between 1926 and 1967, intersected...
, U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15 is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Carolina to Interstate 86 and NY 17 in Painted Post, New York.US...
and Interstate 180
Interstate 180 (Pennsylvania)
Interstate 180 is a spur highway that connects Williamsport, Pennsylvania to Interstate 80 near Milton, Pennsylvania. The length of the highway is . It was also the designation of present-day Interstate 176 between Morgantown, Pennsylvania and Reading, when the Pennsylvania Turnpike carried the...
. A second and more permanent facility was built in the Vallamont neighborhood. Cochran Elementary School sits on the former sight of the ballpark. The Williamsport Billies and later Williamsport Grays played the seasons at Williamsport High School's athletic field on West Third Street. It too is long since gone, this property is currently home to the Pennsylvania College of Technology
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Pennsylvania College of Technology, or Penn College, is a public college located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, affiliated with The Pennsylvania State University. As an applied technology college, the school offers certificate, associate and baccalaureate degree programs in more than 100 fields of...
.
Construction, opening, and renaming
Bowman Field was completed in 1926 to host the city's entry as an original franchise in the New York-Pennsylvania LeagueNew York-Pennsylvania League (early 20th century)
The New York-Pennsylvania League of 1923 through 1937 was an American minor league baseball circuit.The forerunner to the modern Class AA Eastern League, it was a Class B circuit through 1932 and upgraded to Class A for the final five seasons of its existence. It is actually the second of three...
called the Williamsport Grays
Williamsport Grays
*Location: Williamsport, Pennsylvania*League: New York-Penn League 1924-1937; Eastern League 1938-1942, 1944–1946, 1950, 1954–1956, 1958–1962...
. The Grays were a charter member of the New York-Pennsylvania league which was established in 1923. Two of the most important boosters and financial backers of the team were J. Walton Bowman for whom the stadium was named and Thomas Gray, the Lycoming County
Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
-Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Plateau:Lycoming County is divided between the Appalachian Mountains in the south, the dissected Allegheny Plateau in the north and east, and the valley of the West Branch Susquehanna River between these.-West Branch Susquehanna River:The West Branch of the...
, for whom the Grays were named.
The Grays had previously been playing their home games on the athletic field of Williamsport High School. This facility proved to be much too small. A larger and more permanent stadium was needed. A group of civic leaders and baseball boosters lead the drive to construct a new stadium for the Grays on the western side of Williamsport on the banks of Lycoming Creek
Lycoming Creek
Lycoming Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River located in Tioga and Lycoming counties in Pennsylvania in the United States.-Geography:...
. An agreement between the Grays and the city was reached in July, 1925 to build what was then known as Memorial Field, which was named for the municipal park in which it is located. J. Walton Bowman headed an eleven member holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
that financed and managed the construction of the ballpark at a cost of $75,000. Ground was broken in the fall of 1925 and the stadium opened in time for the beginning of the 1926 New York-Pennsylvania League season.
The original dimensions of Bowman Field were quite large compared to the dimensions of modern baseball fields. Bowman Field measured 367 feet to the right field foul pole, 450 feet to dead center field and 400 feet to the left field foul pole. Another unusual feature of the stadium was a terrace
Terrace (stadium)
A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the traditional standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
that was located on left field near the fence.
The first game to be played at Bowman Field took place on April 22, 1926 when the Grays hosted the ballteam of nearby Bucknell University
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...
in an exhibition. The first professional opponent to appear at Bowman Field was the Harrisburg Colored Giants. The Grays lost two games to the Giants on April 27 and 29. The first New York-Pennsylvania League game took place on May 4. The Grays beat the Shamokin Indians 5-1.
Bowman Field was known as Memorial Field from 1926 until 1929. It was renamed on June 26, 1929 to honor J. Walton Bowman. Bowman was the president of the Grays at the time and head by instrumental in the effort of funding and constructing the stadium. He was additionally honored by the players of the team with a Swiss watch and his grand-daughter was given the honor of hoisting a pennant in center field bearing the name "Bowman Field".
Eastern League
The Eastern League was at Bowman off and on for nearly seventy years. The Willaimsport Grays started play in 1926 in Bowman Field. The final Eastern League team to call the park home was the 1991 Williamsport BillsWilliamsport Bills
The Williamsport Bills were a Class AA Eastern League baseball affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, and New York Mets from 1987 to 1991 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in the United States...
. That team moved to Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
, the next season and became the Binghamton Mets
Binghamton Mets
The Binghamton Mets are a U.S. minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club...
.
The Grays began playing in the forerunner of the Eastern League, the old New York - Pennsylvania League in 1923. The Class B league was made entirely of teams from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. It kept this name until 1938 when the Scranton Miners
Scranton Miners
The Scranton Miners were an Eastern Professional Basketball League basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League. Arthur Pachter was the Owner and coach for many years...
move to Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. Williamsport was a member of the league for 46 years between 1923 and 1991. The teams were known as the Grays, Tigers, A's, Mets, Tomahawks and Bills. Williamsport had affiliations with the Philadelphia A's for three periods, Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
for two separate periods, Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
for two separate periods, and Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
.
The potato incident
Dave Bresnahan was catchingCatcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
for the 1987 Williamsport Bills, who were in seventh place in an eight-team league, playing the last-place Reading Phillies
Reading Phillies
The Reading Phillies are a minor league baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League. Since the 1967 season, they have been the AA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies....
in late-August game. With a runner on third base, Bresnahan switched catcher's mitts and put on a glove in which he had secreted a shaved-down potato. When the pitch came in, Bresnahan fired the white potato down the third-base line, enticing the runner to sprint home. Bresnahan then tagged the runner with the baseball, prompting the umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
to award the runner home plate for Bresnahan's deception, even though he clearly had been tagged out with the ball.
The president of the Eastern League took offense to what he perceived as Bresnahan's affront to the game, banning the grandnephew of Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan
Roger Bresnahan
Roger Philip Bresnahan , nicknamed "The Duke of Tralee" for his Irish roots, was an American player in Major League Baseball who starred primarily as a catcher and a player-manager...
from the league. However, the citizens of Williamsport applauded Bresnahan for his ingenuity, eventually prompting the club to retire his number 59. At the retirement ceremony in 1998, Bresnahan was quoted as saying, “Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
had to play in 2,130 consecutive games and hit .340 for his number to be retired, and all I had to do was bat .140 and throw a potato.”
New York - Penn League
For the 1994 season, baseball returned to Bowman with the New York - Penn LeagueNew York - Penn League
The New York – Penn League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the northeastern United States. It is classified as a "Short-Season A" league; its season starts in June, after major-league teams have signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ends in early...
's Williamsport Cubs. The club became the Crosscutters, a Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
farm team, in 1999. Significant stadium upgrades took place prior to the 2002 season. The club became a farm team of the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in 2006.
Championship teams
Bowman Field has been the home to just four championship teams.- 1934 Grays - New York - Pennsylvania
- 1960 Grays - Eastern co-champions
- 2001 Crosscutters - New York - Penn co-champions
- 2003 Crosscutters - New York - Penn