Wahconah Park

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Wahconah Park

Wahconah Park is a city-owned baseball park located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and nestled in a working class neighborhood. One of the last remaining ballparks in the United States with a wooden grandstand, it was constructed in 1919 and seats 4,500.

At the end of the 2003 season, the Berkshire Black Bears did not renew their lease. Jim Bouton proposed to renovate the park without any public dollars and bring professional baseball back.

On July 3, 2004, a record crowd of 5,000 attended a vintage baseball game that he organized at Wahconah Park between Pittsfield and Hartford, a game telecast live for over four hours on ESPN Classic as America's Pastime: Vintage Baseball, Live. Commentators included Bouton, Bill Lee, actor Tim Robbins, and baseball historians John Thorn and David Pietrusza.

Pittsfield politics intervened and Bouton was forced out, a saga which will be described in Bouton's new book, "Foul Ball plus Part II," published in paperback by Lyons Press in 2005.

In 2005, Pittsfield city officials reached an agreement with Dan Duquette for the Pittsfield Dukes, a New England Collegiate Baseball League summer team, to play at Wahconah Park.

Field dimensions are 334' to left field, 374' to center field, and 333' to right field. Because the field was constructed before the advent of field lighting, no harm was seen in orienting the diamond due west. One of only two professionally used parks in the U.S. today facing west (the other being Sam Lynn Park in Bakersfield, California built in 1941), games are sometimes temporarily suspended while the sun sets. Lights were not installed until 1946. In 1989 a mesh screen was placed in center field to help shield batters’ eyes.

In 1927, a dike was installed on the Housatonic River in an attempt to prevent recurrent flooding.

In the summer, concerts are held in Wahconah Park. Most recently, Bob Dylan performed there.

It is also home to Varsity Football games for Pittsfield area high schools.

[edit] Professional Teams at Wahconah Park

New England League: Pittsfield Electrics (1913-14)
Eastern League: Pittsfield Hillies (1919-30)
Canadian-American League: Pittsfield Electrics (1941-48), Pittsfield Indians (1949-50), Pittsfield Phillies (1951)
Eastern League: Pittsfield Red Sox (1965-69), Pittsfield Senators (1970-71), Pittsfield Rangers (1972-75), Berkshire Brewers (1976), Pittsfield Cubs (1985-88)
New York - Penn League: Pittsfield Mets (1989-2000), Pittsfield Astros (2001)
Northeast League: Berkshire Black Bears (2002-2003)