Jack Russell Memorial Stadium

Jack Russell Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Clearwater, Florida. It opened as Jack Russell Stadium in 1955. It had a capacity of 4,744 when it opened; in 2003 seating capacity was 6,942 people. It was the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team from 1955 through 2003. Since 2017, it has been home to the Clearwater High School and St. Petersburg College baseball teams.[1]

Jack Russell Memorial Stadium
Jack Russell Stadium in 1950s
Former namesJack Russell Stadium (1955–1990)
Location800 Phillies Drive, Clearwater, Florida 33755, United States
Coordinates27°58′28″N 82°47′21″W
OwnerCity of Clearwater
Capacity4,744 (1955)
4,808 (1967)
5,368 (1985)
6,942 (2003)
1,200 (2018)
Field sizeLeft – 340 ft.
Center – 400 ft.
Right – 340 ft.
Surfacegrass
Construction
Broke ground1954
OpenedMarch 10, 1955
RenovatedJuly 21, 2007
Construction cost$317,653
ArchitectMarr and Holliman (Nashville, Tennessee)
General contractorClearwater Construction Company
Tenants
Philadelphia Phillies (MLB) (spring training) (1955–2003)
Clearwater Bombers (ASA) (1955–1984)
Clearwater Phillies (FSL) (1985–2003)
St. Petersburg College (NJCAA) (2017-present)
Clearwater High School (2017-present)
Dunedin Blue Jays (FSL) (2019)

The Clearwater Bombers, a softball team that won 10 National Amateur Softball Association titles between 1950 and 1973, played their home games there from 1955 through 1984. The name of the stadium was changed to Jack Russell Memorial Stadium following Jack Russell's death in November 1990.

In 2004, the Philadelphia Phillies moved to Bright House Networks Field, 4 miles to the east. Most of the ballpark was demolished on July 21, 2007.[2] The dugouts, offices, and other elements were retained as the field has continued to be used for amateur baseball.

In 2019 it served as the temporary home field of the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Name

Jack Russell played in the Major Leagues from 1926 through 1940. He was introduced to Pinellas County while training in the area as a member of the Cleveland IndiansCleveland American League club. Russell settled in Clearwater after his career where he became a Union Oil Co. distributor and Clearwater Chamber of Commerce president.[3] The Phillies moved their training to Clearwater for the 1947 season and played at Clearwater Athletic Field. Russell became a Clearwater city commissioner, a position he held from 1951 to 1955, and was a vocal advocate for a new ballpark for Clearwater. In 1954, the Clearwater city council approved the building of the park which would serve as the spring home of the Phillies. In 1955, Clearwater Mayor Herbert M. Brown surprised Russell when he announced that the stadium would be named in his honor.[4]

History

Jack Russell was instrumental in the conception of the ballpark. Russell had the blueprints and plans drawn up himself in 1954 and then approached the Clearwater mayor and city commission with the plans in July 1954. The mayor and commissioners approved of the idea and then Russell obtained legal rights from the Florida state supreme court in Tallahassee to raise the money to build the stadium through revenue bonds. Work began in fall 1954.[5]

The stadium was dedicated on March 10, 1955.[6] Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick, National League president Warren Giles, American League president Will Harridge, Clearwater mayor Herbert M. Brown, and other city dignitaries were in attendance.[7] The Phillies played their first game at the stadium on the day of the dedication. Robin Roberts started for the Phillies against the Detroit Tigers. The Phillies won 4-2 on a two-run double by Willie Jones before 4,209 attendees.[4]

Jack Russell Stadium in early-1970s.

The Florida Winter Instructional Rookie League played in October and November. The Baltimore Orioles team played their home games at Jack Russell in 1959[8] and the Kansas City A's played at the ballpark in 1960.[9] The Orioles and Yankees shared the ballpark in 1970[10] and 1971.[11]

The Tokyo Giants trained with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Vero Beach in 1971. The Phillies played the Giants at Jack Russell on March 15, 1971.[12]

The 1987 HBO film Long Gone shot many of the movie's road games at Jack Russell Stadium in November 1986.[13]

The City of Clearwater added additional seating during the 1989–1990 off-season raising capacity from 5,300 to close to 7,000.[14]

In its final spring training in 2003, parking cost $3 and game tickets cost $8, $6, and $5.[15]

The Phillies played their final spring training game at the ballpark on March 28, 2003 against the New York Yankees. Robin Roberts threw out the ceremonial first pitch, the sell out attendance was 7,224, and the Yankees beat the Phillies 2–0.[16]

Clearwater Phillies

Clearwater city officials first approached the Philadelphia Phillies as early as 1981 about placing a full season Phillies minor league affiliate at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater. In a visit to Philadelphia in July 1982, Clearwater city officials and the president of the Florida State League invited the Philadelphia Phillies to affiliate with an FSL franchise in Clearwater.

While the Phillies played their spring training schedule at the stadium every March, the Amateur Softball Association Clearwater Bombers had used Jack Russell Stadium during the summer months when the field would be reconfigured for softball since the stadium's opening in 1955. The placement of a minor league baseball team would force the relocation of the Bombers.[17]

Wilbur Snapp, Jack Russell Stadium organist, in 1985

The Florida State League granted Clearwater a franchise in September 1984 over the protests of the Bombers and their local supporters. A new playing field was built for the Bomers adjacent to the Phillies Carpenter Complex.[18]

For the Clearwater Phillies' first-season in the Florida State League in 1985, a new home clubhouse and additional seating were added to the ballpark. The Clearwater Phillies played their first regular season game at Jack Russell on April 12, 1985 against the Tampa Tarpons.[19]

Wilbur Snapp served as Stadium organist from 1982 through 1996. Snapp had run a music store in Springfield, Ohio and retired to Florida in 1978. He played organ for both spring training and Florida State League games. Snapp received national attention following his ejection from an FSL ballgame in 1985. On June 25, 1985 during a Clearwater Phillies game against the Osceola Astros, an umpire called a close-out against Clearwater. Snapp agreed with the boos of the crowd and began playing "Three Blind Mice."[20] The umpire ejected Snapp, the first time an organist was ejected by an umpire during a game.[21] Willard Scott mentioned it on NBC's Today show, and Paul Harvey talked about it on his syndicated radio program. Clearwater replaced Snapp with recorded music in 1997 but it was reported that Snapp continued to attend home games at the Stadium.[22]

Jack Rusell Stadium was the site of a double no-hitter on August 23, 1992 when the Clearwater Phillies' Andy Carter no-hit the Winter Haven Red Sox whose Scott Bakkum no-hit the Phillies. Cleawater won 1-0 on two seventh inning walked batters and sacrifice bunts.[23] In a spring training game on April 2, 1993, the Boston Red Sox' Frank Viola and Cory Bailey no-hit the Phillies 10-0 at Jack Russell.[24]

The Clearwater Phillies played their last game at the stadium on Saturday night, August 23, 2003. Robin Roberts, who had pitched the first exhibition game in 1955, threw out the first-pitch. 6,472 fans, the second-largest crowd in Clearwater Phillies history, saw the Phillies lose 6-2 to the Sarasota Red Sox.[25]

Non-baseball uses

The ballpark was listed in 1957 as having a seating capacity of 6,500 for concerts.[26]

The Rolling Stones played Jack Russell Stadium on May 6, 1965 during their 22-show 3rd American Tour.[27] That night, Keith Richards found the guitar riff for (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction in his sleep, when he briefly woke up in his room at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, recorded the riff and the phrase "I can't get no satisfaction", and went back to sleep.[28]

The boy band 'N Sync was from Orlando and played a concert at Jack Russell in 1996.[25]

On January 14, 2000, Tampa's Michael "Gold" Rush claimed the vacant National Boxing Association's cruiserweight belt with a technical knockout of Pedro Riveron at 1 minute, 34 seconds into the seventh round in front of 1,500 spectators.

After the Phillies

The Clearwater City Council voted on June 7, 2007 to partially raze the stadium and JVS Contracting Inc of Tampa[29] demolished much of the stadium that summer.[30] Left were the playing field, dugouts, bleachers, batting cages, and original two-story office in the right field corner.

The Winning Inning Baseball Academy, a Christian-based athletic organization, leased the ballpark from the City of Clearwater in 2007. The organization paid rent, utilities, and maintained the field, and while the City of Clearwater paid for structural repairs.[31]

The Winning Inning and City of Clearwater hosted the Clearwater College Invitational in March 2008 at the reconfigured ballpark.[32]

The St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission hosted a Big East/Big Ten Baseball Challenge in February 2009 that brought Big Ten and Big East teams to play a tournament in the area. Jack Russell Stadium was one of five local ballparks hosting Challenge games.[33][34]

Current Use

In 2017 and 2018, the City of Clearwater invested $500,000 and partnered with the Clearwater High School Batter Up Booster Club, the Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, Clearwater for Youth, the Pinellas County School District, Clearwater High School and St. Petersburg College to add an additional clubhouse, a second set of batting cages, seating for 1,200, and installed turf, formerly used in Tropicana Field from 2011 to 2016 by the Tampa Bay Rays, on the training field.[35]

On March 23, 2018, the City of Clearwater and the Phillies dedicated a memorial park at the ballpark to honor the Phillies Hall of Famers Jack Russell, visiting greats, and World Champion 1980 Phillies team who played there.[36]

During renovations to Dunedin Stadium in 2019, the Dunedin Blue Jays used the ballpark as a temporary home field, playing most of their 70 scheduled home games at the park.[37] Attendance in 2019 was 11,757 over 58 games, an average of 203 spectators per-game.[38]

References
  1. McManus, Tracy (September 7, 2017). "Old Tropicana Field turf gets new life in Clearwater". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  2. Associated Press (2007-07-21). "Phillies' old spring training home demolished". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  3. Kornacki, Steve (2007-06-16). "Stadium Is Down To Its Final Out". Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on September 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  4. Lee, Demorris A. (2007-07-15). "Memories Linger". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  5. Kouzmanoff, Tommy (1980-03-16). "Jack Russell Stadium Has Continued To Be Of Benefit To Clearwater". St. Petersburg Times. p. 4. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  6. "Phillies". Miami Daily News. 1955-03-10. p. 12A.
  7. Lewis, Allen (March 1986). "Philadelphia Clearwater '47 '86". 1986 Phillies Spring Training 40th Year in Clearwater. Clearwater, Florida: Philadelphia Phillies: 4, 5.
  8. "Winter League Orioles Open Workouts Today". St. Petersburg Times. 1959-10-08. p. 5-C. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  9. "Clearwater, A's Agree on Stadium". St. Petersburg Times. 1960-09-30. p. 1-C. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  10. "It's 'Play Ball' Time for Winter League". St. Petersburg Evening Independent. 1970-09-28. p. 2-C. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  11. Ellison, Jack (1971-09-11). "Majors Revise Winter League". St. Petersburg Times. pp. 1–C, 2-C. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  12. "Phillies to meet Tokyo in Spring at Clearwater". St. Petersburg Times. 1970-12-02. pp. 3–C. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  13. Persall, Steve (March 23, 2015). "Baseball movie made in Tampa Bay in 1986 is 'Long Gone'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  14. Henry, Kaylois (1989-09-17). "Clearwater gets go-ahead on parking spaces, stadium". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  15. Farrell, Peter; Andrew Kulyk (2007-07-23). "RIP – Jack Russell Stadium". The Ultimate Sports Road Trip. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  16. https://www.espn.com/mlb/game?gameId=230328122
  17. Brew, Tom (1982-09-03). "Minor league team sought for Clearwater". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  18. Brew, Tom (1984-09-26). "It's time for Bombers to move on". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  19. Henderson, Robert (1985-04-09). "Clearwater Phillies' debut is right around the corner". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  20. "Play it again, Wilbur". The Miami News. June 28, 1985. p. 2B. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  21. "Wilbur Snapp, 83; Only Baseball Organist Ousted by an Umpire". Los Angeles Times. 2003-09-10. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  22. "Wilbur Snapp, 83, Organist Ejected by Ump". New York Times. 2003-09-10. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  23. "One for the Books: A Double No-Hitter". New York Times. 1992-08-24. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  24. "Viola, Bailey combine on no-hitter". Chicago Tribune. 1993-04-03. pp. 3 SPORTS.
  25. Reeves, Terri D. (2003-08-25). "Jack Russell Memorial Stadium: Lights out, with a bang". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  26. "The Billboard Outdoor Amusement Directory". Billboard. 1957-04-13. p. 81. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  27. "American Spring Tour, 1965". frayed.org. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  28. "The Rolling Stones: Satisfaction". Guitar Chords Magic. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  29. "Tampa Construction Division". PBTP Construction Services Division Tampa Florida. 2009-10-20.
  30. Lee, Demorris A. (2007-06-06). "Stadium may fall, but memories remain". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  31. Cronan, Carl (2007-02-27). "Safe at home: Stadium survives wrecking ball, for now". The Tampa Bay Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  32. "Red Raider Preview for Clearwater College Invitational". Northwestern College Red Raiders. 2008-03-02. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  33. BIG EAST Conference (2008-10-20). "Schedule For First BIG EAST/Big Ten Baseball Challenge Released". Big East Conference Athletics. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  34. BIG EAST Conference (2009-02-23). "Revised - Big East/Big Ten Challenge Schedule - Revised February 20-22, 2009". Big East Conference Athletics. Archived from the original on 2014-12-30. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  35. Castillo, Piper (April 6, 2017). "St. Petersburg College, Clearwater High right at home in historic Jack Russell Stadium". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  36. Rapps, Matt (March 22, 2018). "Clearwater to unveil Monument Park at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium". Sports Talk Philly. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  37. https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/rays/2018/12/22/rays-tales-no-reason-to-say-uncle-charlie/
  38. https://ballparkdigest.com/2019/09/13/exploring-2019-milb-attendance-trends/
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