McCormick Field
Encyclopedia
McCormick Field is a baseball
stadium
in Asheville, North Carolina
. It is the home field of the Asheville Tourists
minor league baseball
team. As befits the hilly city of Asheville, the ballpark sits on a section of level ground partway up one of the city's hills, providing a picturesque atmosphere. The park features an amusing scoreboard which reads "Visitors" in the guest slot and "Tourists" in the home slot.
The ballpark was built in 1924 and was named after Asheville resident Dr. Lewis McCormick. Lights were installed for night time play prior to the 1930 season. Since then it has been home to the various incarnations of the Asheville Tourists team, and also served as home field for the Asheville Blues of the Negro Southern League
during the 1940s. The facility was renovated in 1959, and then rebuilt in concrete between the 1991 and 1992 seasons, replacing the largely wood structure which had developed a leaky roof. The 1992 ballpark kept a similar layout to the original McCormick Field. The facility included new expanded restrooms and larger concession stands. New clubhouses were built and lights erected as player and field enhancements. The height of the fence behind the cozy right field area, which was in the vicinity of just 300 feet (91.4 m) away from home plate, was more than tripled, as it now stands 36 feet (11 m) tall (nearly the same height as Fenway Park
's "Green Monster
").
The ballpark served as one of the settings for the 1988 film
Bull Durham
.
Farther up the hill, behind the left field area, is Asheville Memorial Stadium, a football and soccer facility. Its bleacher seating structure is visible from McCormick Field.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. It is the home field of the Asheville Tourists
Asheville Tourists
The Asheville Tourists are a minor league baseball team based in Asheville, North Carolina, USA. They play in the Class A South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Colorado Rockies since 1994....
minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team. As befits the hilly city of Asheville, the ballpark sits on a section of level ground partway up one of the city's hills, providing a picturesque atmosphere. The park features an amusing scoreboard which reads "Visitors" in the guest slot and "Tourists" in the home slot.
The ballpark was built in 1924 and was named after Asheville resident Dr. Lewis McCormick. Lights were installed for night time play prior to the 1930 season. Since then it has been home to the various incarnations of the Asheville Tourists team, and also served as home field for the Asheville Blues of the Negro Southern League
Negro Southern League
The Negro Southern League was a Negro baseball league organized in 1920 that lasted into the 1940s. Negro leagues in Southern United States were far less organized and lucrative than those in the north due to Jim Crow laws. Tom Wilson organized the Negro Southern League in .For most of its...
during the 1940s. The facility was renovated in 1959, and then rebuilt in concrete between the 1991 and 1992 seasons, replacing the largely wood structure which had developed a leaky roof. The 1992 ballpark kept a similar layout to the original McCormick Field. The facility included new expanded restrooms and larger concession stands. New clubhouses were built and lights erected as player and field enhancements. The height of the fence behind the cozy right field area, which was in the vicinity of just 300 feet (91.4 m) away from home plate, was more than tripled, as it now stands 36 feet (11 m) tall (nearly the same height as Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
's "Green Monster
Green Monster
The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the thirty-seven foot , two-inch high left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team...
").
The ballpark served as one of the settings for the 1988 film
1988 in film
-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
Bull Durham
Bull Durham
Bull Durham is a 1988 American romantic comedy baseball film. It is based upon the minor league experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team in Durham, North Carolina....
.
Farther up the hill, behind the left field area, is Asheville Memorial Stadium, a football and soccer facility. Its bleacher seating structure is visible from McCormick Field.