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s read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide from wikipedia the free encyclopedia baseball stadium ban johnson park whittington park mckee park 1 ban johnson hof plaque interactive map of ban johnson park former names whittington park 1894 1920 1924 1935 mckee park 1921 23 location 870 whittington ave hot springs arkansas united states coordinates 34 30 54 n 93 04 27 w 34 51510 n 93 07403 w 34 51510 93 07403 owner weyerhauser company current capacity 1 400 1913 2 000 1939 surface grass field size 260 rf 400 cf 340 lf construction groundbreaking 1894 opened 1894 renovated 1910 1930 1936 1938 expanded 1910 1930 1938 closed 1947 demolished c 1947 tenants spring training cleveland spiders 1896 1898 1899 chicago cubs 1896 st louis cardinals nl 1900 pittsburgh pirates nl 1896 1901 1916 1926 detroit tigers 1908 new york yankees 1908 brooklyn dodgers 1910 12 1917 1918 boston red sox 1920 1923 minor league baseball hot springs vapors 1906 hot springs vaporites 1908 09 hot springs bathers 1894 1897 98 1938 41 negro leagues hot springs arlingtons 1896 1903 hot spring blues 1904 baseball schools ray doan baseball school 1933 1938 george barr umpire school 1935 1947 rogers hornsby baseball college 1939 1947 2 ban johnson park was a baseball stadium located in hot springs arkansas it was also known as whittington park and mckee park the ballpark was located within today s whittington park historic district and directly across from the still active arkansas alligator farm and petting zoo 3 4 5 originally known as whittington park the ballpark was the spring training site for numerous major league baseball teams hosting spring training games and served as home for hot springs minor league teams over 130 major league baseball hall of fame inductees played at whittington park in 1918 babe ruth then a pitcher for the boston red sox hit a 573 foot home run at the park the park was also home to the ever first umpire school in 1935 whittington park was renamed after hall of fame baseball pioneer ban johnson founder of the american league 6 7 history edit early baseball in hot springs edit beginning with the spring of 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 the players to have training and fitness before the start of the regular season this move gave credit to hot springs being called the birthplace of spring training baseball both spalding and anson liked the city and the natural springs for their players they first played in an area behind what is now the garland county courthouse on ouachita avenue and was called the hot springs baseball grounds many other teams followed and began training in hot springs springs 8 in 1894 whittington park opened as a replacement for the hot springs baseball grounds along with majestic park built in 1909 and nearby fogel field built in 1912 hot springs developed training venues to meet the demand for major league teams 9 10 later another venue sam guinn field was built in 1933 at 497 crescent avenue to host negro leagues spring training 11 12 the original playing field was estimated to be between 500 600 feet 150 180 m to center field in 1910 the original grandstand was demolished and home plate moved giving the field shorter dimensions in 1938 the right field fence was heightened by 15 feet 4 6 m because right field distance was only 260 feet 79 m 5 over 130 major league baseball hall of fame players including babe ruth cy young cap anson honus wagner ty cobb tris speaker walter johnson rogers hornsby mel ott jimmie foxx stan musial and satchel paige were involved in training or spring training games at whittington park 13 the park was also utilized by the house of david teams and for baseball schools the bearded house of david traveling baseball team used whittington field and hot springs for their training site 14 15 16 major league teams training at whittington park between 1896 and 1926 were the cleveland spiders chicago cubs st louis cardinals pittsburgh pirates detroit tigers new york yankees brooklyn dodgers and boston red sox 7 whittington park was home to the negro league hot springs arlingtons from 1896 to 1903 and the hot springs blues in 1904 17 babe ruth s historic alligator farm home run edit hot springs alligator farm 1924 st patrick s day 1918 is nicknamed the day that changed baseball forever 10 on that day babe ruth hit a long home run into the arkansas alligator farm and petting zoo the story goes that on march 17 1918 babe ruth then an accomplished 23 year old boston red sox left handed pitcher altered the course of baseball history red sox first baseman dick hoblitzel was unable to play in the opening exhibition game against brooklyn at whittington park ruth coming off a 24 13 season was a last minute replacement at first base his first time at a position other than pitcher ruth would hit two long home runs that day while playing the field for the first time his first home run was a long blast that landed in a wood pile however his second home run is legendary in its record setting length and eventual effect on ruth it was a grand slam a shot that traveled an astonishing estimated 573 feet 175 m 18 19 sailing out of the park across the entire span of whittington avenue landing in a pond the alligator farm across the street even the dodgers stood and cheered amazingly ruth would prove it was no fluke as he hit another home run into the alligator farm a week later while pitching for the red sox 20 on march 15 2011 an event was held to recognize and celebrate the famous ruth home run at the site 20 bill jenkinson a noted baseball historian was part of the event visited the site and helped to authenticate the 573 foot 175 m home run 21 about the home run distance jenkins said no one can confirm it with complete certainty but the data points in that direction as an historian i must remain objective and i am simply stating that either way what ruth did that day was literally amazing 20 ruth s performance that day at whittington park led to a change in ruth s career and a major change in baseball history as a result of his hitting the red sox began rethinking ruth s dual abilities during and after 1918 to begin ruth would alternate in the 1918 season pitching less and playing the field often his dual abilities helped lead the red sox to the 1918 world series championship hitting more regularly in 1918 ruth hit a league leading 11 home runs to go with a 13 7 record and two wins in the series 22 eventually ruth stopped pitching and became a hitter with results of legend that exploded after his 1920 sale to the new york yankees lifetime 342 average 714 home runs 2062 rbi s 2174 runs scored 1 164 ops 13 20 22 23 24 honus wagner 1911 batting minor league baseball edit along with hosting eight major league teams whittington park was the home to hot springs minor league teams the hot springs bathers played in the cotton states league from 1938 to 1941 as an affiliate of the chicago cubs 1938 and the detroit tigers 1939 1941 and an earlier team called the bathers played in the arkansas state league in 1894 and 1897 and the southwestern league in 1898 the hot springs vaporites 1908 1909 and hot springs vapors 1906 also played in the arkansas state league 25 a p martin s barber college team vs vapor city tigers at whittington park baseball ad baseball schools edit babe ruth red sox 1918 in spring training 1918 pitcher babe ruth hit a ball 573 feet 175 m the ball landed in the alligator farm across the street from whittington park from 1933 to 1938 ray l doan operated the all star baseball school at the park 26 the school attracted thousands of younger players with 1938 topping at 450 attendees instructors included rogers hornsby grover cleveland alexander red faber dizzy dean george sisler bob feller tris speaker and burleigh grimes attendees included legendary female athlete babe didrickson who attended in 1934 after already being an olympic gold medalist in the 1932 summer olympic games 27 future major league player sam narron also enrolled in 1936 doan installed lights at the park to begin night usage and games 10 28 boston red sox players in hot springs arkansas for spring training left to right olaf hendrikson larry gardner buck o brien heinie wagner steve yerkes and hugh bradley boarding train to coincide with doan s baseball school major league umpire george barr operated his george barr umpire school which is recognized as the first ever umpire instructional school future major league umpires bill mckinley and scotty robb were attendees 29 in 1939 hornsby took over for doan and started the rogers hornsby baseball college hornsby s operation was housed at majestic field but utilized whittington park and other fields in hot springs including whittington park and fogel field which was located behind the alligator farm hornsby s college operated until 1952 hornsby s college would attract 100 200 prospective professionals with scouts present for six week sessions hornsby had legendary instructors cy young jimmie foxx tris speaker and schoolboy rowe 7 30 end of the ball field 1947 edit after world war ii halted many baseball leagues the bathers were gone and major league teams had moved to warmer climates for spring training in 1942 the st louis browns and pittsburgh pirates outlined plans to move their spring training from california to ban johnson park 31 however those plans never materialized and the future use of ban johnson field was affected in 1947 with no baseball tenants the whittington park speedway racetrack began operation on the site to replace ban johnson field jaycee park was built at the majestic field site on the corner of belding avenue and carson street later from 1948 to 1951 the chicago white sox would return spring training to hot springs utilizing jaycee field as their training site 7 32 wagner donates uniforms edit the pittsburgh pirates trained for over a decade at whittington park hall of fame shortstop honus wagner became a fixture in the city as evidence of this wagner purchased and donated basketball uniforms and equipment to hot springs high school in 1912 the uniforms were in the pittsburgh pirates colors of black and gold and subsequently the high school switched permanently to those colors wagner also refereed a basketball game for the school that season something he would later repeat 33 the first boys of spring documentary edit whittington park and ruth s home run are featured prominently in the documentary the first boys of spring 2015 produced by larry foley the documentary on hot springs spring training is narrated by actor billy bob thornton a hot springs area native 34 35 36 the documentary began airing nationally on the mlb network in february 2016 37 today edit baseball trail park at 1201 whittington ave is part of the city of hot springs park system it is named in tribute to the hot springs historic baseball trail and the ball fields that once existed nearby sam guinn field whittington park and fogel field 38 today the whittington park ban johnson park site is an asphalt parking lot for the weyerhaeuser company there is a home plate marker in the parking lot 39 a section of cement bleachers remains visible in the adjacent hillside the cement bleachers on the side of the hill was a fan section called the wolves den the arkansas alligator farm and petting zoo is still across the street with a marker for the landing spot of ruth s st patrick s day home run 19 40 41 artifacts related to ban johnson park are on display at the hot springs baseball museum on march 24 2018 a ceremony was held at the whittington park site to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the babe ruth home run babe ruth s family was in attendance related events included hall of fame inductee ferguson jenkins and former all star al hrabosky as well as noted baseball historians bill jenkinson and tim reid 42 historic markers edit today there are four plaques at the site as part of the hot springs historic baseball trail whittington park mel ott honus wagner and babe ruth the whittington park marker reads more baseball was played in the ballpark on this corner than anywhere else in hot springs built here in 1894 and used until 1942 whittington park which was later named ban johnson field was the epicenter of baseball in hot springs a partial list of those who played classic games here includes cy young honus wagner buck freeman sam crawford walter johnson tris speaker and babe ruth 43 the mel ott plaque reads as follows this hall of fame outfielder personally tutored by john mugsy mcgraw played his entire career with the new york giants hitting 511 home runs on his 30th birthday march 2 1939 in an intra squad game here at whittington park master melvin belted three homers over the right field fence he played alongside hall of famers bill terry and carl hubbell to lift the hal schumacher team over the carl hubbell team 10 6 44 the plaque for honus wagner states no player left a bigger legacy in hot springs than the flying dutchman he enjoyed the baths and all the activities hot springs had to offer he also participated in civic functions and coached the high school basketball team honus played in dozens of classic baseball games at whittington park on march 19 1911 he recorded a single triple and home run while his hall of fame manager fred clarke hit two home runs 45 the plaque for babe ruth at the arkansas alligator farm frontage states ruth trained here nine times and became a very familiar face around hot springs he hiked the mountains took the baths played golf patronized the casinos and visited the racetrack on march 17 1918 st patrick s day he launched a mammoth home run from whittington park that landed on the fly inside the arkansas alligator farm it has been measured at 573 feet baseball s first 500 foot plus drive 46 references edit dodgers rise up to smite yankees the new york times march 26 1921 p 12 spring training in hot springs by year arkansas baseball encyclopedia retrieved march 16 2016 whittington park historic district the encyclopedia of arkansas history and culture retrieved march 16 2016 whittington park national park service retrieved march 16 2016 1 2 ban johnson field baseball in arkansas project retrieved march 16 2016 johnson ban baseball hall of fame national baseball hall of fame and museum retrieved march 16 2016 1 2 3 4 ban johnson field arkansas baseball encyclopedia archived from the original on march 4 2016 retrieved march 16 2016 major league spring training in hot springs encyclopedia of arkansas history and culture retrieved march 16 2016 ban johnson park wh...
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