McClure Field Isn't Number Two? Say It Ain't So!

Detail of a panoramic photograph taken by the G.L. Hall Optical Company of Norfolk on opening day of the Athletic Stadium, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, on June 12, 1920.  In 1944, the stadium was renamed for Captain Henry McClure, a Navy Cross recipient and the base's commanding officer at the time (Hampton Roads Naval Museum Collection).

 

Like the setting of any competitive sport, the field of history is contested ground.

Never take it for granted that what you read or hear is the absolute truth, keeping in mind that the very concept of “truth” is something of an abstraction, much like the value of a negative number or the meaning of the slogan, “Louisiana Fast™.”  Accepted truths in history are frequently the result of an argument won, and some arguments reignite when new facts come to light.  And so it goes with sports history as well as naval history.  This week’s post deals with a Hampton Roads landmark well known to regular readers of this blog as significant to both.

In the performance of my duties as a public servant, many research assignments I take on are prompted by members of the public.  A recent email sent to the museum was different than most others we have received lately in that while most emails come in as queries, this one was more like a cease-and-desist order.

 

“Your description of McClure Field as being second only to Wrigley Field as the oldest brick ball field is incorrect,” its author tersely informed us, adding a reference to a Wikipedia page.

 

“Bosse Field in Evansville, IN, was built in 1915 and has been in continuous operation since,” the message continued.  “That would make McClure Field third to Wrigley Field as the oldest brick ballpark.”

 

“Please correct your literature and signage.”  

Bosse Field, built in 14 months on the orders of Evansville Mayor Benjamin Bosse after the collapse of a grandstand in another part of the city, is seen here during the 1920s.  Photographs of the stadium's construction on other parts of the "Historic Evansville" web site show only concrete being used as a building material (Willard Library-Knecht via historicevansville.com).     

Such a message would of course warrant scrutiny and due diligence on my part before changing said literature and signage.  After exercising due diligence in subjecting the claim in the message to scrutiny, this is what I have to report:

A cursory look at the Wikipedia entry on Bosse Field mentions that it opened on June 17, 1915, just shy of five years before McClure Field.  In this, the Wikipedia entry does seem to establish this “fact” definitively.  But does this entry convey the “truth” that the author of the message meant to convey when he instructed us to change all of our descriptions of this Norfolk landmark?  I frankly found the Wikipedia entry wanting, so I searched further.     

Thanks to early pictures of the Indiana ball field posted online and F.J. Reitz High School history teacher Jon Carl on the web site Feel the History, we now know that Bosse Field isn’t necessarily an older brick ball field than McClure Field.      

“The original stadium did not look as it appears today,” said Mr. Carl.  “It was not covered with brick but with white stucco.  The brick façade that you see today when you come to Bosse Field, was done during a renovation during the 1930s.  Due to the quick pace of construction,” Carl continued, “the concrete was not allowed to cure properly during the 1914-1915 construction.  In 1957, the entire inside of the stadium, all the seating area, had to be torn out and redone because it was structurally unsound.  The wooden seats you sit in today when you go to Bosse Field were put in during that 1957 renovation.” 
 

This postcard shows the grandstand of a brickless Bosse Field during the 1920s.  The brick facing covering the stadium today would be added during the 1930s (ballpark digest.com) 

To be clear, it is not our position at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum that McClure Field is the oldest ball park in North America by any stretch.  According to the Guinness Book of World Records, “The oldest baseball diamond is Labatt Park in London, Ontario, Canada, which was established in 1877 and has hosted baseball games to the present day.”  Construction on what was simply known then as the Athletic Stadium at what was then called the Naval Operating Base started in August 1918 under the direction of Navy Yards and Docks Project Manager Lincoln Rogers.  It was to be the centerpiece of a multi-use sports facility encompassing not only a baseball field but also a track and football field.  A swimming pool was also added to the complex in 1942. 

The caption to this panoramic photograph by the G.L. Hall Optical Company of Norfolk, Virginia, reads:

“OPENING OF ATHLETIC STADIUM.  IN FOREGROUND READY FOR CONTEST, NAVAL TRAINING STATION & NAVAL AIR STATION BASE BALL CLUBS.  NAVAL OPERATING BASE, HAMPTON ROADS, VA, JUNE 12, 1920.”  The flattened look of the stands above stems from the type of camera used.  In this case, a panoramic camera lens swiveled during the exposure, viewing each section of the stands from essentially the same perspective as it rotated (Hampton Roads Naval Museum Collection). 

 

Off-duty Sailors play at McClure Field on the afternoon of September 1, 2015 (Clayton Farrington, HRNM).

As you can see by the less ostentatious roof and railings adorning the stands today, some things have changed during the 95 years the ballpark has been in operation, but the solid brick foundation remains the same. 

So does our longstanding claim. 

 

McClure Field is still the second-oldest American brick ball field in continuous operation.  Though by no means a professional stadium, designed solely for the Sailors defending our nation in mind, it has nevertheless hosted some of the greats of American baseball history, many of whom actually joined the Navy during World War II.  

History remains contested ground; the product of continuous research and dialogue, along with a generous helping of argumentation.  To borrow an expression from former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the known-knowns aren’t always known as well as you think you know them, myself included.  Therefore, if other verifiable information comes to light challenging McClure’s vaunted position in the annals of baseball history, I am standing by to receive it.

Meanwhile, fans of McClure Field, rest easy for now in the knowledge that you can still proclaim:

McClure Field’s still number two (albeit in its own particular way)! 

And that’s the truth.  

 

 

Baseball in World War II

I'm a Baltimore Orioles fan, so those of you who follow baseball will know that I'm pretty excited this year. As my fellow Orioles fans and I prepare ourselves for what we hope will be a great postseason, I will be writing several posts about the Norfolk Navy's World War II baseball teams, and I'll also be sharing some images that many people haven't seen before.

After the United States entered the Second World War, baseball fans across the country worried that their sport would end, much like it had in World War I in 1918. President Franklin Roosevelt thought differently. On January 15, 1942, Roosevelt wrote a letter to the head of baseball, saying, "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going." He added that he would like to see more night games for people to attend, and that, though the quality of the teams might be lowered by the greater use of older players replacing young men going into military service, this would not dampen the popularity of the sport.

While major league baseball continued throughout the war, more than 500 major league baseball players swapped their baseball uniforms for military uniforms. Players such as Bob Feller, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, "Pee Wee" Reese, "Ace" Parker, Phil Rizzuto, and Fred Hutchinson joined the military, and several of these famous players came right here to Norfolk for their military service. Some of those players played the game at the athletic field shown below, at present-day Naval Station Norfolk. This athletic field is the second-oldest brick baseball stadium in the country, beat only by Chicago's Wrigley Field.

Present-day photograph of McClure Field's main entrance.

In 1944, the athletic field was named "McClure Field" in honor of Navy Cross-recipient Captain Henry McClure, the commanding officer of Naval Training Station Norfolk from 1941 to 1944. McClure had little knowledge of the game itself, but he loved it and knew baseball's value in raising his sailors' morale. In 1943, McClure sent a message to the field, telling the players to start the game but "not to score until he got there"!

This 1944 photograph of Captain McClure shows him watching Dom DiMaggio during batting practice at McClure Field. Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto and Eddie Robinson stand next to McClure. (Norfolk Public Library image)