Fleming Field (Gainesville)

The modern University of Florida was established in 1905 and first held classes in Gainesville during the fall semester in 1906. The new campus had limited facilities, however, with additional construction continuing as funding allowed.

The university established an intercollegiate football program and a club-level baseball team immediately upon opening of its new campus. Since the school did not yet have outdoor athletic facilities, the original home field for these sports teams was a municipal park in downtown Gainesville known simply as "The Baseball Park" or "The Ballpark", which they used until 1911. [1]

In the summer of 1911, the university cleared and leveled a field in a stand of pine trees just west of what is now the Murphree Housing area along University Avenue adjacent to the present stadium site. The school added a set of low bleachers, and its football and baseball teams began using what was dubbed University Athletic Field during the fall 1911 semester. The 1911 football team was the first to adopt the nickname "Gators" and the baseball club became an officially sanctioned intercollegiate team during the 1912 spring semester, making University Athletic Field the first true "home of the Gators".[2] Larger bleachers were installed by 1915, when the facility was rechristened "Fleming Field" in honor of former Florida governor Francis P. Fleming.[3]

Florida's football squads posted a 49–7–1 home record during the University Athletic / Fleming Field era, which spanned from 1911 to the first few games of the 1930 season. However, due to the facility's limited capacity (approximately 5,000 with temporary bleachers and standing room) and the relative inaccessibility of Gainesville in the early 20th century, most "home" games against top opponents were scheduled at larger venues in Jacksonville or Tampa, with a few also played in St. Petersburg or Miami.[4][5]

Gator football first earned national prominence in the 1920s, prompting incoming university president John J. Tigert to begin a drive to construct a new and larger stadium upon his arrival in 1928.[6] With an initial capacity of 22,000, Florida Field was completed adjacent to Fleming Field in the fall of 1930 and has been the home stadium for Florida football ever since.

Florida's baseball teams continued to use Fleming Field until 1949, when the university constructed Perry Field nearby. Perry Field at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium remained the home field of Florida baseball until 2020, when the program moved to a new ballpark on the southwest side of campus.[7]

Besides the university's sports teams, Fleming Field hosted Major League Baseball spring training games and practices by the Boston Red Sox, New York Giants, Philadelphia Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Braves during the late 1910s and 1920s, when major league teams usually prepared for the regular season by playing exhibition games in several towns instead of establishing a spring training base as is now the case.[3][8] Among the baseball notables to play and train at Fleming Field were Babe Ruth, Mel Ott, Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, and Casey Stengel. The Gators' most notable player to wield a bat at the site was Lance Richbourg, who returned to coach Florida's baseball team for three seasons between stints in the major leagues.[9]

The university used the proceeds earned by hosting spring training to finish construction on the University Gym, the first permanent home of the Florida Gators basketball program.[10]

Fleming Field was used as a student recreation area for almost 60 years. Tennis and outdoor racquetball courts were built on the east end while the remaining large grassy area was used for general recreation along with intramural sports. However, a major expansion of the north endzone of Florida Field in 1991 extended the stadium structure onto Fleming Field. The courts were removed, and the much of the remaining area was landscaped with trees, sidewalks, and a life-size alligator sculpture on a pedestal.

The former location of Fleming Field is now the main approach to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Steve Spurrier - Florida Field. On football game days, the remaining grassy area is used for tailgating and parking while the brick sidewalk cutting through the approximate center of the Gators' old home field is the site of the Gator Walk, in which the football team and coaches are greeted by thousands of fans as they walk from buses parked on University Avenue to the modern stadium.

• 
  The 1912 Gators practicing at University Athletic Field. Note Thomas Hall in the background
• 
  The same location before a football game in 2019. Note Thomas Hall through the trees, background center