Connie Mack Field

Connie Mack Field was a ballpark in midtown West Palm Beach, Florida, which was the long-time spring training home of the Philadelphia Athletics/Kansas City Athletics.

Connie Mack Field
Mack Field
Full nameConnie Mack Field
Former namesMunicipal Athletic Field (1924–1926)
Wright Field (1927–1952)
LocationWest Palm Beach, Florida
Capacity3,500
SurfaceGrass
Construction
OpenedOctober 1924
DemolishedFebruary 1992
Tenants
St. Louis Browns (AL) (spring training) (1928–1936)
Rochester Red Wings (IL) (spring training) (1940)
Philadelphia Athletics/Kansas City Athletics (AL) (spring training) (1946–1962)
West Palm Beach Indians (FECL) (1940–1942); (FIL) (1946–1954); (FSL) (1955)
West Palm Beach Sun Chiefs (FSL) (1956)
West Palm Beach Braves (FSL) (1965–1968)

The stadium was built in 1924 and initially named Municipal Athletic Field. It hosted its first event, a football game, in October 1924. The first baseball game was played in December 1924.[1]

It was renamed Wright Field in 1927 for West Palm Beach City Manager George C. Wright, then was renamed Connie Mack Field in 1952 in honor of long-time Philadelphia Athletics owner and manager Connie Mack.

The grandstands originally held about 2,000; black fans were allowed to watch from a small section in the right-field corner. Total capacity was about 3,500.[2]

Record attendance for baseball was on March 20, 1949, when 6,988 fans saw the A's defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers in a spring training game, by a 6-0 decision, which featured Jackie Robinson on the field and then-Secretary of State General of the Army George C. Marshall in attendance.[3]

The stadium was replaced in 1962 by West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium although the grandstand remained until 1973. The ball field continued to be regularly used by neighboring Twin Lakes High School.

The field was bulldozed in 1992 for a parking garage for the new Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts where there is a tribute display in the garage by the main elevator.[4]

References
  1. Eliot Kleinberg (2009-06-18). "Honor To Field's Namesake Was Posthumous". Archived from the original on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  2. Eliot Kleinberg (2007-12-26). "Mack Field Hosted Baseball Greats". Archived from the original on 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  3. McGowen, Roscoe (1949-03-21). "Mackmen triumph over Brooklyn, 6-0". New York Times. p. 27. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  4. Kleinberg, Eliot (2006). Palm Beach Past: The Best of "Post Time". Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. p. 51. ISBN 1-59629-115-X.


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