List of baseball parks in Toledo, Ohio
Encyclopedia
This is a list of venues used for professional baseball
in Toledo, Ohio
. The information is a synthesis of the information contained in the references listed.
League Park
Tri-State Fairgrounds
Riverside Park
Presque Isle
Park
Speranza Park
Olympic Park
Whitestocking Park
Ewing Street Park
Bay View Park
Armory Park
Swayne Field
Lucas County Stadium/Ned Skeldon Stadium
Fifth Third Field
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...
in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
. The information is a synthesis of the information contained in the references listed.
League Park
League Park (Toledo)
League Park is a former baseball ground located in Toledo, Ohio, USA. The ground was home to the Toledo Blue Stockings baseball club of the then-major American Association from May 14, 1884 to September 23, 1884...
- Occupant: Toledo Blue StockingsToledo Blue StockingsThe Toledo Blue Stockings formed as a minor league baseball team in Toledo, Ohio in 1883. They won the Northwestern League championship in 1883. Their home ballpark was League Park....
- Northwestern LeagueNorthwestern LeagueThe Northwestern League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1883–1884, and again from 1886-1887. It was founded by Elias Matter in 1883.-1883-1884:...
(1883); American AssociationAmerican Association (19th century)The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...
(1884); Western LeagueWestern League (U.S. baseball)The Western League of Professional Baseball Clubs, simply called the Western League, was a minor league baseball league originally founded on February 11, 1885, and focused in the Midwest....
(1885) - Location: Monroe Street (southwest), 15th Street (northwest), Jefferson Avenue (northeast), 13th Street (southeast); a few blocks northwest of the site of Fifth Third FieldFifth Third Field (Toledo)Fifth Third Field is the name of a minor league baseball stadium in Toledo, Ohio. The Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank purchased the naming rights to the stadium. It is not to be confused with another stadium in Ohio with the same name, Fifth Third Field in Dayton...
.
Tri-State Fairgrounds
- Occupant: Toledo Blue Stockings - AA (1884) (Saturdays and Sundays only)
- Location: Dorr Street, Upton Avenue
- Note: The Weber book (p. 21) is the source of this information, which has been repeated in other works. The Husman book states (p. 12) that there is no evidence this site was ever actually used for professional baseball, but only for amateur ball.
Riverside Park
- Occupant: Toledo Blue Stockings - WL (1885 - Sundays - league folded in June)
- Location: North Summit Street, near Ash Street; Maumee RiverMaumee RiverThe Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the...
runs southeast of the site
Presque Isle
Presque Isle State Park
Presque Isle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on an arching sandy peninsula that juts into Lake Erie, west of the city of Erie, in Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The peninsula sweeps northeastward, surrounding Presque Isle Bay along the park's...
Park
- Occupant: Toledo MaumeesToledo MaumeesThe Toledo Maumees were originally formed in 1888. The team was based in Toledo, Ohio and formed part of the Tri-State League for one season. Their home games were played at Speranza Park in Toledo....
- Tri-State LeagueTri-State LeagueThe Tri-State League was the name of five different circuits in American minor league baseball.-History:The first league of that name played for four years and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia....
(1888 through July 3) - Location: Mouth of the Maumee RiverMaumee RiverThe Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the...
, "where the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad coal docks are/were sited."
Speranza Park
Speranza Park
Speranza Park is a former baseball ground located in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The ground was home to the Toledo Maumees of the American Association during the 1890 season....
- Occupant: Toledo Maumees a.k.a. Black Pirates - TSL (1888 starting July 4); International LeagueInternational LeagueThe International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
(1889); AA (1890) - Location: Triangular block bounded by Cherry Street (northeast), Frederick Street (south), and Franklin Avenue (west).
- Currently: Grounds of St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center
Olympic Park
- Occupant: Toledo Black Pirates - Western League (1892 - league disbanded in July)
- Location: Indiana Avenue, Hawley Street, Woodland Avenue; a few blocks east-southeast of Tri-State Fairgrounds
Whitestocking Park
- Occupant: Toledo White Stockings - WL (1894-1895, transferred to Terre Haute, IndianaTerre Haute, IndianaTerre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
on July 1, 1895) - Location: Lagrange Street (west / home plate), Pearl Street (north / left field), Hudson Street (south / right field)
Ewing Street Park
- Occupant: Toledo White Stockings / Swamp Angels / Mud Hens - WL (1894-95, transferred to Terre Haute); Inter-State League (1896)
- Location: Ewing Street (east), Pinewood Avenue (south - then called Missouri Avenue), Hawley Street (west), Woodland Avenue (north - then called Wisconsin Avenue); about a block east-northeast from Olympic Park site
- Note: Weber states that it was "necessary" to have two parks during 1894-95 but does not elaborate.
Bay View Park
- Occupant: Toledo Swamp Angels / Mud Hens - ISL (1896-1900) Saturdays and Sundays only
- Location: Manhattan Boulevard at Summit Street
- Currently: Bayview Retirees Golf Course
Armory Park
Armory Park
Armory Park was a minor league baseball park in Toledo, Ohio. It was the home of the Toledo Mud Hens and their predecessors from 1897 until mid-season 1909 when Swayne Field opened....
- Occupant: Toledo Mud HensToledo Mud HensThe Toledo Mud Hens are a minor league baseball team located in Toledo, Ohio. The Mud Hens play in the International League, and are affiliated with the major league baseball team the Detroit Tigers, based approximately 50 miles to the north of Toledo. The current team is one of several...
- Inter-State League (1897-1900); Western League (1901); American AssociationAmerican Association (20th century)The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
(1902 - July 2, 1909) - Location: Spielbusch Avenue (northwest / third base - later Judge Joseph Flores Avenue); The Armory, and Orange Street (northeast / left field); North Ontario Street (southeast / right field); Beech Street (southwest / first base)
- Currently: U. S. District Courthouse
Swayne Field
Swayne Field
Swayne Field was a minor league baseball park in Toledo, Ohio. It was the home of the Toledo Mud Hens from July 3, 1909, until the club disbanded after the 1955 season. It was also home to a short-lived entry in the South-Michigan League in 1914....
- Occupant: Toledo Mud Hens - AA (July 3, 1909 - 1913, 1916 - 1955); Toledo "Soumichers" or "Little Mud Hens", South-Michigan League (1914, took to the road mid-season)
- Location: Monroe Street (southwest / first base), Detroit Avenue (southeast / right field), Council Street (northeast / left field) and railroad tracks (northwest / third base).
- Currently: shopping center
Lucas County Stadium/Ned Skeldon Stadium
Ned Skeldon Stadium
Ned Skeldon Stadium, originally opened as Lucas County Stadium, is a stadium in Maumee, Ohio. It was primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the Toledo Mud Hens minor league baseball team. It opened for minor league ball in 1965, and closed for the minors in 2002 when the Mud Hens...
- Occupant: Toledo Mud Hens - International LeagueInternational LeagueThe International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
(1965-2001) - Location: (Maumee, OhioMaumee, OhioMaumee is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Toledo along the Maumee River. The population was 14,286 at the 2010 census. Maumee was also declared an All-America City by the National Civic League in June 2006.-Geography:...
) Key Street (west / third base), Ohio Turnpike (I-80, I-90) (north / left field), Michigan Avenue (northeast / center field), Wilderness Drive (east / right field), railroad tracks (south / first base); only Key Street actually runs next to the park; the others are all some distance away.
Fifth Third Field
Fifth Third Field (Toledo)
Fifth Third Field is the name of a minor league baseball stadium in Toledo, Ohio. The Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank purchased the naming rights to the stadium. It is not to be confused with another stadium in Ohio with the same name, Fifth Third Field in Dayton...
- Occupant: Toledo Mud Hens - IL (2002-present)
- Location: Washington Street (southwest / first base); North Huron Street (northwest / third base); Monroe Street / Henry Morse Way (northeast / left field); Msgr. Jerome Schmidt Way / North St. Clair Street (southeast / right field).
Sources
- The Toledo Baseball Guide of the Mud Hens 1883-1943, Ralph Elliott Lin Weber, 1944.
- Ballparks of North America, Michael Benson, McFarland, 1989.
- Baseball in Toledo, John R. Husman, Arcadia, 2003.