Bosse Field
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bosse Field | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | 1701 N. Main St. Evansville, Indiana 47711 |
| Opened | June 17, 1915 |
| Owner | Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation |
| Operator | Evansville Otters |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | $65,000 |
| Tenants | |
| Evansville Otters (1995- ) | |
| Capacity | |
| 5,181 | |
| Dimensions | |
| Left field - 315 ft Center field - 415 ft Right field - 315 ft |
|
Bosse Field, built in 1915, is the third oldest baseball stadium (in regular use) in the United States. It is the current home of the Frontier League Evansville Otters, a minor league baseball team. The stadium is located in Garvin Park just north of downtown Evansville, Indiana.
[edit] History
Bosse Field opened on July 17, 1915. It was named in honor of Benjamin Bosse, mayor of Evansville from 1914 to 1922, who bought Garvin Park and helped to build the stadium. A holiday was declared in honor of the opening of the stadium. A band marched from Sunset Park to the new stadium.
The Otters franchise came to Evansville in 1995. In 1999, they attracted a franchise record number of fans, over 3000 fans per game. Averaging the four years the Otters have been in Evansville, they have attracted roughly 2500 fans per game.
Bosse Field hosts many local high school baseball games. Recently $200,000 was raised by Friends of Bosse Field to renovate Bosse Field.
Nine teams other than the Otters have played at Bosse Field. Some of the most famous are the Triplets (1970-84), Black Braves (1946-57), and the River Rats (1914-15), the River Rats had played in Evansville previously from (1903-10). The Triplets won the American Association titles in 1972, 1975, and 1979. The River Rats won the Central League title in 1915.
Baseball Hall of Fame members Hank Greenberg, Chuck Klein, Edd Roush, Warren Spahn, and Sam Thompson played at Bosse Field during their careers. There have been many other Major League Baseball players from Evansville.
[edit] Trivia
Bosse Field is the third oldest ballpark used for professional baseball on a regular basis in the country, surpassed only by Fenway Park (1912) in Boston and Wrigley Field (1914) in Chicago.
In 1991 the stadium was used by Columbia pictures for game scenes in the movie A League of Their Own.
[edit] External links
- A stadium photo and review from minorleagueballparks.com
- History and Facts about Bosse Field - provides a source for many of the facts listed here.
| Current ballparks in the Frontier League | |||||
| West Division | Central Division | East Division | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosse Field | GCS Ballpark | Marion Stadium | T. R. Hughes Ballpark | Hawkinson Ford Field | Homer Stryker Field | RiverHawks Stadium | Wuerfel Park | Champion Window Field | Falconi Field | Jack Critchfield Park | V.A. Memorial Stadium | |||
