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? ? * flifflSBR Old pa By M*? Chtbbaro Q?m*cocfc Staff Writ* Anyone who has been an avid baseball fan during the past decade must be aware, if not irked hv thp ? ? ~J "Jf*" emergence of numerous ultra-modern, multi-million dollar, plush athletic facilities. UNfVi ~r tv1in uic ucuuil UI these lavish profit-oriented arenas has come the near total destruction of the many old ball parks around the country which are so rich in the flavor and heritage of the sport. While viewing the recent major league baseball allstar eamp nlavpH in o , vv. Seattle's Kingdome, one could not help but feel as though the game of baseball had lost some of its original beauty. The ultra-modern and highly synthetic setting for the annual classic led one to anticipate a relief pitcher coming in from the bullpen on a space shuttle. What has happened to the ball park where the fans U/PfP ohlo fool 00 fliAnrth IT v/? V UM1V/ w 1VV/1 UO UiV/Ugn they were part of the game? .v. |:5 JhHHBF># ilii'l The old hand Meado wbrook t r k tilled Parks like Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, Cincinnati's Crosley Field and Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium have yielded to the destructive forces of modernization. JLocated only a few blacks from downtown Greenville are the bare remains of a historic and memory-filled baseball park. Meadowbrook Park was constructed in 1939, and for nearly forty years it was the home of several semiprofessional, minor league, American Legion and high school baseball teams. All of the little things which make baseball the American pastime could be found at Meadowbrook. At Meadowbrook, there was no artificial surface, no piichinno/^ cnofc ma ^auKIo vuutinwiiv/vi ovah]| 1 ivy UUUU1C" knit uniforms, and no million dollar message boards. There was just plain old baseball. Baseball the way that Abner Doubleday probably intended for it to be played. Meadowbrook housed ' ! ' ' . ' . ..:: ! :'.': v:::: I m MIM1 MM MlffSMI operated scoreboi stands sentinel ove with be rvriiro ^/\ln ?? - ? ~? I/tivavcijr owiiCU llllllUr league teams for the Milwaukee Braves (196164), New York Mets (196567), Boston Red Sox (196771) and Texas Rangers (1972). The park was also a favorite stopping place for several major league clubs as they were traveling north from spring training. A *1 ?? s\uiuug me pars s honored guests are such immortals as Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Joe McCartney, Leo Durocher and Casey Stengel, just to name a few. In 1966, Meadowbrook boasted a fireballing young righthander named Nolan Ryan. While pitching for the Greenville Mets, Ryan posted a 17-2 mark and set a Western Carolinas League strikeout record. The park itself probably resembled hundreds of other minor league parks around the country. A large wooden grandstand provided the park with about 3 ooo spate Whprt MHMMm ME* CNbbaro - 0AMI:COCK ird at tr a silen t park. AOCUCU1 * teams like the 1939 Yankees < came to town, however, ; crowds usually doubled the seating capacity. 1 The first four rows of the i grandstand were red box 1 seats which had originally ; been taken from New York's Yankee Stadium. ] The remainder of the ; grandstand seats were i wooden bleachers covered I with an army-green colored 1 paint. The playing surface was { always kept immaculate. ; Before each game, the dirt i portion of the infield was ; soaked with water and ] i i " Kerosene ana men set on ] fire. This was the ground- ? skeeper's unique method of i providing a smooth dust- i free infield. ] The outfield wall was perhaps the park's most outstanding feature. It ] consisted of many multi- 1 colored billboards which 1 provided timely advertising for local merchants. < Located above the cen- ] terxield wall was a large ] hand-operated scoreboard, t The remains of this s At Meadowbrook, th surface, no cushioned . uniforms and no mih boards. There was jus Baseball the way tha probably intended for it scoreboard are the only recognizable feature of the ( park tnat is standing today, i The dugouts were sunk j deep into the earth and < after a heavy rainstorm > they were usually knee- ; deep in water. i High atop the grandstand i was an ancient looking ( pressbox, which was only t accessible by a shaky ( 1^1^ ~ . 1 muuci. dciuw uie jji essuux i was the park's office. Inside I the glass-fronted office a c heavy-set gentleman t named Verner Ross could usually be found. It was f through Ross' efforts and r his alone that professional t baseball remained alive in f Greenville for as long as it i did. t The park was located in a s very unpicturesque section ? li~ r: ? * kji uri ccuviuc, un uic Ilibi i base side it was flanked by x a orison and alone its third r base walls stood a junkyard \ that always seemed to be ihnc+c overflowing with rusty old jalopies. But once a baseball fan was between the green walls of Meadowbrook, *eality seemed to slip away ind baseball took over. The coziness of VIeadowbrook Park allowed an irate fan to yell at the lmpire and feel confidpnt hat he was being heard by lis prey. Foul balls hit into the grandstand were a true idventure. Kids and adults vould race desperately ifter the treasured possession. Those un ortunate kids who could not ifford the admission price vould roam the parking lot vaiting for balls to clear the mark's outer bounds. On St. Valentine's Day in L 972, a fire gutted VIeadowbrook, leaving the listoric park mangled and >roken. Verner Ross tried lesperately to keep the )ark alive. He installed )ortable bleachers and kept ne park open for a final ieason. ere was no artificial seats, no double-knit ion dollar message t plain old baseball. I# Drti ?/i/or/o * / & #-iwf lui tyi/Miyicuu y to /be played. The eventual destruction )f Meadowbrook came as 10 surprise. It has hap>ened all across the country. The Polo Grounds, vhich housed such greats is McGraw, Ott and Mays s now a New York housing >roject. Cincinnati's >osley Field was used by he city to impound stolen :ars before its eventual lestruction. Ebbet's Field, Forbes Field, Connie Mack md many others have all >een demolished. Today, the weed-covered ield at the former site of H 1 ? ? ? /icauoworooK rarK is used >y local residents for riendly softball games. But t just doesn't seem right hat John Doe who plays oftball for the Washington Itreet rookies is trampling tVtn pnm/i ? 4 ?vi uic oaiuc giuuiiU llldl vas once covered by )iMaggio, Mantle and Villiams. It just doesn't seem right.