Legion Field
| Legion Field | |
 Legion Field circa 1940s | |
| Building Information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gregory & G Streets |
| Completion Date | 1911 |
Legion Field, also known as Maxent Park and American Legion Park, was a Pensacola ballpark fronting on Gregory and G Streets featuring a single deck grandstand. Its home team was the Pensacola Fliers.
Construction
The park was constructed by the Pensacola Baseball Association, organized by C. F. Schad, John G. Oliver, and Edward W. Peake. Upon its opening in 1911, the Pensacola Journal wrote that there "is no baseball plant south of the Ohio River that surpasses Pensacola's new park in its perfection of appointments for the comfort and convenience of patrons of the national game."[1]
The distance from home plate to the left field fences was 290 feet, while the distance to the right field fence was 284 feet. The outfield was sodded with Bermuda grass, and at the time the park opened, the grandstand had a capacity of 1,000 people. The park was a segregated facility, with the grandstand reserved for whites, and blacks relegated to bleachers along the left field fence.[1]
The first game at the park, then unnamed, was played on June 16, 1911, between a Pensacola team and a team from the U.S. Navy's battleship USS Idaho.[2] Park management announced on September 6, 1911 that the park had been named the Maxent Baseball and Amusement Park.[3]
On March 16, 1927, the Pensacola City Commission adopted an ordinance changing the name of the park from Maxent Park to American Legion Park, "as a testimonial to the grateful appreciation of the people of Pensacola of the unselfish and patriotic services of the American Legion to the community, state, and nation."
On March 31. 1929,[date uncertain] the New York Yankees — including star players Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig — played the Fliers as part of a spring training tour of the South. More than 3,000 fans turned out for the game, which the Yankees won 12-2.
Other images
Babe Ruth at Legion Field
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Pensacola's Modern New Baseball Park". The Pensacola Journal. June 16, 1911. p. 7. Retrieved June 1, 2019 – via Newspapers.com
- ↑ "Idaho Defeats Pensacola 4 to 1 in the Opening Game". The Pensacola Journal. June 17, 1911. p. 7. Retrieved June 1, 2019 – via Newspapers.com
- ↑ "Peres Coming Here to Play; Park is Named". The Pensacola Journal. September 7, 1911. p. 7. Retrieved June 1, 2019 – via Newspapers.com
 | This history-related article is a stub. You can help Pensapedia by expanding it. |
