Historic American Buildings Survey,
Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey
Related
Hamtramck Stadium, Veterans Park, 3128 Goodsin Street, Hamtramck, Wayne County, MI
- Title: Hamtramck Stadium, Veterans Park, 3128 Goodsin Street, Hamtramck, Wayne County, MI
- Other Title: Roesink Stadium
- Creator(s): Historic American Landscapes Survey, creator
- Related Names:
Detroit Stars
Negro National League (NNL)
Kansas City Monarchs
Chicago American Giants
Stearnes, Norman "Turkey"
Dandridge, Ray
Cooper, Andy
Hill, Pete
Torriente, Cristobal
St. Louis Stars
Detroit Wolves
Bell, James "Cool Papa"
Williams, Joe
Suttles, George "Mule"
Brown, Raymond
Paige, Leroy "Satchel"
Charleston, Oscar
Mackey, Raleigh "Biz"
Gibson, Josh
Dihigo, Martin
Foster, Andrew "Rube"
Roesink , John
Stevens, Christopher M. , transmitter
Baas, Christopher , faculty sponsor
Strecker, Geralyn M. , faculty sponsor
Ball State University, Department of Landscape Architecture , sponsor
James, Eric M. , historian - Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 2000
- Medium: Data Page(s): 8
- Reproduction Number: ---
- Rights Advisory:
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
- Call Number: HALS MI-4
- Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
- Notes:
- Significance: Whether it is the sterling ball clubs that appeared there, the spectacular games played on the field, the introduction of night baseball, or the reputation of the players who graced the bases, Hamtramck Stadium is a major site for both baseball and black culture in 20th-century Michigan. This ballpark was the home field for many incarnations of the Detroit Stars, and fans were never disappointed by the baseball battles waged at Hamtramck Stadium. This historic landscape hosted many thrilling ballgames between Negro League giants. The teams ranged from barnstorming and local clubs to Negro National League (NNL) icons such as the Kansas City Monarchs, the Chicago American Giants, and many more clubs on the NNL circuit. The players who passed through Hamtramck Stadium were of a caliber that placed them on the same level as their white counterparts. The Detroit Stars alone had a roster that included five future Hall of Famers. This is significant because, to date only 35 people associated with the Negro Leagues have been enshrined in Cooperstown. Norman “Turkey” Stearnes was one of the best Negro Leaguers of all times. He signed with the Stars in 1923 and played a record 9 seasons with them. He had a lifetime batting average of .352 against black teams, .313 against white teams, .474 in playoff games, and holds the record for hitting the most home runs of anyone who played Negro League Baseball. He was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.4 Playing alongside Stearnes was talent such as Ray Dandridge (the 10th Negro Leaguer to be inducted – 1987), Andy Cooper, Pete Hill, and Cristobal Torriente (all inducted in 2006). In 1932, the Detroit Stars did not have a team, so the city fielded a club comprised of mostly St. Louis Stars. Dubbed the Detroit Wolves, this power-packed group of players included five more future Hall of Famers: James “Cool Papa” Bell (1974 inductee), Willie “The Devil” Wells (1997 inductee), “Smokey” Joe Williams (1999 inductee), George “Mule” Suttles (2006 inductee), and Raymond Brown (2006 inductee). Such a tremendous group of players adds great significance to Hamtramck Stadium. Also playing at Hamtramck Stadium, as members of the visiting teams, were other Hall of Famers such as Leroy “Satchel” Paige with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Oscar Charleston and Raleigh “Biz” Mackey with the Indianapolis ABCs, Josh Gibson with the Homestead Grays, and Martin Dihigo with the traveling Cuban Stars. At least 18 Hall of Famers played Negro League baseball at Hamtramck Stadium. A number of significant games were played at Hamtramck Stadium, but the series that stands apart from the rest was the 1930 Negro National League Championship Series between the Detroit Stars and the St. Louis Stars. Out of the 7-game series, games 5, 6, and the championship game 7 were decided at Hamtramck Stadium. In the end, the Stars lost, but it was the closest they ever came to a championship pennant through all their seasons. Finally, Hamtramck Stadium is a significant American landscape because it was the site of the first night baseball game played in Detroit and possibly Michigan. The game was played on June 28, 1930, against the Kansas City Monarchs, who traveled with a portable light system. They attached telescoping 50-foot towers to the back of trucks parked around the perimeter of the park and placed more lights on top of the grandstand to flood the field in artificial light. This changed the game of baseball, allowing players and fans to enjoy games at virtually any time of the day, opening up more playing time and more games to the financially distraught teams of the period. This historic game occurred 5 years before the Cincinnati Reds installed lights in their stadium, and 18 years before the Tigers did the same, placing Hamtramck Stadium and the games played there far ahead of Major League Baseball.
- Survey number: HALS MI-4
- Building/structure dates: ca. 1930 Initial Construction
- Building/structure dates: ca. 1940 Subsequent Work
- Building/structure dates: ca. 1953 Subsequent Work
- Building/structure dates: ca. 1970 Subsequent Work
- Subjects:
- Place:
- Latitude/Longitude: 42.390041, -83.050559
- Collections:
- Part of: Historic American Landscapes Survey (Library of Congress)
- Bookmark This Record:
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mi0734/
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- Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
- Reproduction Number: ---
- Call Number: HALS MI-4
- Medium: Data Page(s): 8
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- Call Number: HALS MI-4
- Medium: Data Page(s): 8
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