Katy Park was a baseball park located in Waco, TX and was used by many minor league baseball teams as well as the Baylor Bears

Baylor Bears baseball

The Baylor Bears baseball team represents Baylor University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team belongs to the Big 12 Conference and plays home games at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears are currently led by head coach Steve Smith. The 2010 season marked Steve Smith's 16th year at the rule of...

 for a short time.

Significant Moments

• The New York Yankees
  New York Yankees
  The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
  
   played an exhibition game against the Waco Cubs on April 4, 1929.
• The first night game in Texas
  Texas
  Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
  
   took place at Katy Park between the Kansas City Monarchs
  Kansas City Monarchs
  The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro Leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri and owned by J.L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J.L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time...
  
   and Waco Black Cardinals under the Monarchs' portable light system on May 5, 1930. The perennial Monarchs won the game, 8-0.
• The first night game in Texas League
  Texas League
  The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
  
   history was played at Katy Park on June 20, 1930 between the Waco Cubs and the Fort Worth Cats
  Fort Worth Cats
  The Fort Worth Cats are a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats are a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 2002 season the Cats...
  
  . Waco beat Fort Worth 13-0. This photo shows Katy Park's famous lighting system:

• On August 6, 1930, Gene Rye hit 3 home runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. He hit a solo home run in his first at-bat, a 3-run HR in his 2nd AB, and a grand slam in his last AB. Waco was down 6-2 at the beginning of the bottom of the 8th and won the game 20-7.
• The Dallas Rebels of the Texas League held their initial three "home" dates at Katy Park because Rebel Stadium was not finished.
• The Waco Pirates were in the playoffs many different times while they existed. They made the playoffs in 1948, 1953 (as the Longview Cherokees), and 1956. In 1949 and 1954, they captured the Big State League crown. In 1956, the Waco club finished as the runners-up to the Port Arthur Sea Hawks.
• In May 1953, a tornado came through Waco and destroyed most of Katy Park. During the natural disaster, then-General Manager Buster Chatham of the Waco Pirates, who had complained about the trains that went by the park's west side, found refuge in large engine car; he never had a problem with the trains after the tornado. Also, In the aftermath of the tornado, the Pirates moved to Longview to become the Cherokees for the rest of the season, then returned the next season at Katy Park. A game scheduled for May 12, 1953, between TCU
  TCU Horned Frogs baseball
  The TCU Horned Frogs baseball team represents Texas Christian University and competes in the Mountain West Conference of NCAA Division I. Since 2002, they have played their home games at Lupton Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, and holds 3,500...
  
   and Baylor
  Baylor University
  Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
  
   was canceled. For a while, a Texas "colored" championship had taken place at Katy Park as well, but that year's game was moved to Fort Worth due to the devastation of the ballpark.
  
• In 1954, the park re-opened for baseball, having been completely rebuilt after the previous year's tornado. This photo shows the new grandstands.
  
• In 1961, the Texas Longhorns
  Texas Longhorns baseball
  The Texas Longhorns baseball team represents The University of Texas at Austin and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I.The Texas Longhorns are the winningest program in college baseball history in terms of win percentage with .740 and ranks second all-time in total wins to the...
  
  ' Bibb Falk refused to play a game at Katy Park because for many reasons. The last game of the season fell on the day of final exams, and according to the rules at the time, no games could held during final exams. The second reason was that Manager Falk did not want to play in a stadium with lights; the lights were one mile away from the ballpark. In the end, the game was not played. The Longhorns won the Southwest Conference by one game over the Baylor Bears with an 11-3 record. Waco was infuriated; Austin
  Austin
  Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
  
   was joyed.

Location

The ballpark was located at the corner of 8th and Webster and sat adjacent to Baylor Stadium and the Cotton Palace Fair Grounds. The park was razed for a junkyard.

Sources

• "Baseball in the Lone Star State: Texas League's Greatest Hits," Tom Kayser and David King, Trinity University Press 2005
• "Texas Almanac 2008-2009," The Dallas Morning News, c.2008
• "Southwest Conference's Greatest Hits," Neal Farmer, c.1996