The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 26, 1979, Page Page 5, Image 5
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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
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emergence of numerous
ultra-modern, multi-million
dollar, plush athletic
facilities.
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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
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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
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they were part of the game?
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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
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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
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operated scoreboi
stands sentinel ove
with be
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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.
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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
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ird at
tr a silen t park.
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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 (
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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 ?
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base side it was flanked by x
a orison and alone its third r
base walls stood a junkyard \
that always seemed to be
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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.
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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
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/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
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vas once covered by
)iMaggio, Mantle and
Villiams.
It just doesn't seem right.