Wilmington Park
Encyclopedia
Wilmington Park was a ballpark in Wilmington, Delaware
that was located at the corner of 30th Street and Governor Printz Boulevard. It was home to the University of Delaware football team from 1940 to 1952 and the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class B Interstate League
from 1940 to 1952. The Blue Rocks were an affiliate of the Philadelphia Athletics
from 1940 to 1943 and the Philadelphia Phillies
from 1944 to 1952.
before moving to Wilmington Park midway through the 1940 season. Delaware played its first game at Wilmington Park on November 9, 1940 and beat Pennsylvania Military College
14 to 7. While Delaware would continue to play occasional games at Frazier through the 1946 season, the team played its home games at Wilmington Park until midway through the 1952 season. In their last game at the ballpark, Delaware beat Pennsylvania Military College, 43 to 20. Delaware finished the 1952 season at the brand-new Delaware Stadium
which returned the team to Newark and the university campus.
During World War II
, in January 1943, Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis
ordered most Major League clubs to hold spring training north of the Ohio
and Potomac
rivers to comply with government requests to help the war effort by eliminating nonessential travel. The Philadelphia Athletics
held spring training at Wilmington Park in 1943 and the Philadelphia Phillies
at the park in 1944 and 1945.
In addition to World War II-spring training games at Wilmington Park, the Phillies played occasional exhibition games at the ballpark including games against the Blue Rocks. The Phillies and Athletics had long played pre-season exhibition games against each other in the Philadelphia City Series. The A's moved to Kansas City
prior to the 1955 season
but returned to the Philadelphia-area for a final match-up prior to 1955 Opening Day. They played the 1955 series at Wilmington where the A's beat the Phillies 9 to 6 on April 9, 1955 and 10 to 2 on April 10, 1955.
The Philadelphia Stars
Negro League baseball team hosted the Newark Eagles
at the ballpark on Memorial Day in 1945.
’ Wilmington debut. But attendance in 1950 dropped to 38,678, and despite a slight improvement to 43,135 in 1951, attendance continued to sink in 1952 which proved to be the last for the Blue Rocks at the ballpark.
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
that was located at the corner of 30th Street and Governor Printz Boulevard. It was home to the University of Delaware football team from 1940 to 1952 and the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class B Interstate League
Interstate League
The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. The longest tenured of these was the last incarnation, which played in the Middle Atlantic States from 1939 through 1952, and was one of the few mid-level minor...
from 1940 to 1952. The Blue Rocks were an affiliate of the Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
from 1940 to 1943 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...
from 1944 to 1952.
Teams
The University of Delaware Blue Hens football team played its home games at the park from 1940 until 1952. Delaware had played at Frazier Field in Newark, DelawareNewark, Delaware
Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...
before moving to Wilmington Park midway through the 1940 season. Delaware played its first game at Wilmington Park on November 9, 1940 and beat Pennsylvania Military College
Widener University
Widener University is a private, coeducational university located in Chester, Pennsylvania.Its main campus sits on 108 acres , just southwest of Philadelphia...
14 to 7. While Delaware would continue to play occasional games at Frazier through the 1946 season, the team played its home games at Wilmington Park until midway through the 1952 season. In their last game at the ballpark, Delaware beat Pennsylvania Military College, 43 to 20. Delaware finished the 1952 season at the brand-new Delaware Stadium
Delaware Stadium
Delaware Stadium is a 22,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Newark, Delaware, and is home to the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team. The stadium is part of the David M. Nelson Athletic Complex, which includes the Bob Carpenter Center, Fred P...
which returned the team to Newark and the university campus.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in January 1943, Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
ordered most Major League clubs to hold spring training north of the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and Potomac
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
rivers to comply with government requests to help the war effort by eliminating nonessential travel. The Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
held spring training at Wilmington Park in 1943 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...
at the park in 1944 and 1945.
In addition to World War II-spring training games at Wilmington Park, the Phillies played occasional exhibition games at the ballpark including games against the Blue Rocks. The Phillies and Athletics had long played pre-season exhibition games against each other in the Philadelphia City Series. The A's moved to Kansas City
Municipal Stadium (Kansas City)
Kansas City Municipal Stadium was a baseball and football stadium that formerly stood in Kansas City, Missouri. It hosted the minor league Kansas City Blues of the American Association from 1923 to 1954 and the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues during the same period...
prior to the 1955 season
1955 Kansas City Athletics season
The 1955 Kansas City Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The team won 63 games -- only the fifth time in 20 years that they won more than 60 games -- and lost 91, finishing sixth in the American League, 33 games behind the AL Champion New York Yankees.- Offseason :In 1954, the Mack...
but returned to the Philadelphia-area for a final match-up prior to 1955 Opening Day. They played the 1955 series at Wilmington where the A's beat the Phillies 9 to 6 on April 9, 1955 and 10 to 2 on April 10, 1955.
The Philadelphia Stars
Philadelphia Stars (baseball)
The Philadelphia Stars were a Negro league baseball team from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Stars were founded in 1933 when Ed Bolden returned to professional black baseball after being idle since early 1930...
Negro League baseball team hosted the Newark Eagles
Newark Eagles
The Newark Eagles was a professional Negro league baseball team that played in the second Negro National League from 1936 to 1948.- Formation :...
at the ballpark on Memorial Day in 1945.
Attendance
7,000 fans attended the Blue Rocks’ first game at the ballpark in 1940 and the club established a Class B attendance record in 1940 with 145,643 attending ballgames at Wilmington Park. The club topped that mark with 172,531 fans in 1944. The single game attendance record for the Blue Rocks was set in 1947 when 7,062 fans saw Curt SimmonsCurt Simmons
Curtis Thomas "Curt" Simmons is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1947–50 and 1952-67. With right-hander Robin Roberts, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Simmons was one of the twin anchors of the starting rotation of the "Whiz Kids", the Philadelphia Phillies' ...
’ Wilmington debut. But attendance in 1950 dropped to 38,678, and despite a slight improvement to 43,135 in 1951, attendance continued to sink in 1952 which proved to be the last for the Blue Rocks at the ballpark.