Fogel Field

Beginning with spring 1886, when the Chicago White Stockings' (today's Chicago Cubs) President Albert Spalding, the founder of A.G Spalding, and player-manager Cap Anson brought their players to Hot Springs, Arkansas, the concept was for players to have training and improved fitness before the start of the regular season. This move gave credit to Hot Springs being called the "birthplace of spring training baseball".[3][5][6]

Grover Cleveland Alexander

After the White Stockings had a successful season in 1886, winning the National League Pennant, other teams began bringing their players to Hot Springs.[6][7] The St. Louis Browns, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Spiders, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, New York Highlanders, Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox were among the early squads to arrive in Hot Springs. Needing venues to play, Whittington Park, Majestic Park and Fogel Field (1912) were all built in Hot Springs specifically to host Major League teams.[8] Later, Sam Guinn Field was built in 1933 at 497 Crescent Avenue to host Negro league spring training teams.[9][10]

After the Hot Spring Baseball Grounds were used for other purposes, that left Whittington Park and Majestic Park as the only two fields in Hot Springs. Fogel Field was then built by the Hot Springs Park Company in 1912 to meet the demand. Philadelphia Phillies' president and owner Horace Fogel secured the field for his franchise and the field was named after him. The Phillies used the field for the 1912 season.

Located directly across the street from Whittington Park, Fogel Field had a small grandstand. Besides the Phillies and Pirates, the park was used by teams using Whittington Park, due to its convenient proximity. Hall of famers such as Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Honus Wagner, Grover Cleveland Alexander and Pie Traynor were among the roster of players to play at the site.[3][11] Fogel was banned from baseball after the 1912 season for saying that umpires favored the New York Giants and were treating the Phillies unfairly. Thereafter, the park was called Fordyce Field for a time, renamed after the nearby Fordyce Bathhouse, just as Majestic Park had a namesake in the Majestic Hotel.[12][13][14]

Hall of Famer, Pie Traynor, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1922

On St. Patrick's Day, 1918, Babe Ruth played the field for the first time in a spring training game. Playing at Whittington Park with the Boston Red Sox, Ruth hit a home run that traveled an estimated 573 feet. The home run sailed over Whittington Avenue, landing in the Arkansas Alligator Farm, which still exists, mostly unchanged. Fogel Field sits just adjacent to the Alligator Farm. At the time, Ruth had exclusively been a successful left-handed pitcher, but in part due to his home run that day, he soon switched to hitting. Today, the Alligator Farm has a marker recognizing the Ruth home run, near the marker for Fogel Field.[15][16][17]

After the Phillies, with Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, in 1912, the Pirates followed at Fogel Field in 1921, having utilized Whittington Park for many years. The Pirates (1921–23, 1926) trained with rosters that included Baseball Hall of Famers Rabbit Maranville, Kiki Cuyler, Charlie Grimm, Joe Cronin, Paul Waner, Pie Traynor and Max Carey.

Major League teams eventually migrated to the warmer climates of Florida and Arizona for spring training. Fogel Field became then the spring training site for Negro league and Minor League teams. The Negro league Kansas City Monarchs (1928), Homestead Grays (1930–31) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932–35) utilized the site. Later, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Montreal were Minor League franchises that utilized Fogel Field for spring training.[2] From 1938 to 1941 the Hot Springs Bathers used the field for batting practice and other practices, as their Whittington Park home field was just across the street.[18]

Josh Gibson HOF Plaque

The Pittsburgh Crawfords of the Negro leagues utilized Fogel Field for spring training from 1932-35. The 1935 Crawfords team has been called one of the greatest teams ever assembled, eventually winning the 1935 Negro National League Pennant. With a roster full of stars and future Hall-of Fame players, the 1935 Crawfords were nicknamed "the best team money could buy," as many of their players came from other clubs. Their 1935 roster contained Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston and Judy Johnson.[19][20][21]

The Negro league Homestead Grays, which represented the borough of Homestead, Pennsylvania, located 7 miles from Pittsburgh, held spring training at the Field in 1930 and 1931. On their roster were numerous Hall of Fame players: Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Jud Wilson, Bill Foster, Judy Johnson, Smokey Joe Williams and Willie Wells. Franchise owner Cum Posey was also inducted into the Hall of Fame.[22]

The 1928 Kansas City Monarchs who used Fogel Field had Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Andy Cooper and Bullet Rogan.[23]

Among other minor league teams, the 1935 St. Paul Saints trained at the site. A pitcher for the squad was Monty Stratton. Stratton was portrayed by Jimmy Stewart in The Stratton Story. An All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, Stratton lost his leg in an accident during the height of his career and pitched afterwards with a prosthetic leg.[24][25][26]