Meiklejohn Stadium
Encyclopedia
Meiklejohn Stadium is a ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. It is on the University of Pennsylvania
campus and is the home field for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers varsity baseball team.
The field is near Franklin Field
along the eastern edge of the university's campus, along the Schuylkill River
. The ballpark is tucked away near the intersection of the Schuylkill Expressway
and University Avenue. The CSX railroad tracks
run behind home plate and are still in use; I-76
(the Schuylkill Expressway) runs parallel to the outfield wall with exit 41 visible from home plate. The right field foul line is kept tight by a large power plant that has two rising cooling tanks and a fence around its perimeter. When it opened, the dimensions were reported to be 289 feet to the left field foul pole, 317 feet to the right field foul pole, and 385 feet to dead center field. The first game was played on March 23, 2000, against St. Joseph's University; Penn beat St. Joe's 13 to 12. The ballpark does not have lights, so all games are played during the day.
The stadium opened in 2000 and was originally called Murphy Field after the athletic fields on which the ballpark was built. The university referred it to as "Penn Stadium at Murphy Field" in Athletic Department publications. These fields were named for Mike Murphy
, an early Penn track coach (1896-1901 and 1905-1913) who won eight intercollegiate track championships at Penn. It was renamed Meiklejohn Stadium in 2006 to honor Penn-donor William Meiklejohn, a 1942 graduate of the Wharton school
and his wife, Louise. Their contributions to the University included $10 million in 2005 to help renovate the baseball field including the addition of a new scoreboard. The field was officially renamed on April 1, 2006, prior to a double-header against Brown University
.
Penn baseball had previously played at Bower Field which was known to be a pitchers' ballpark. Bower was 330 feet down the line in left field, 340 feet down the line to right, 410 feet to dead-center, and had a 25-foot high fence extending from left-center to right-center. Franklin Field
served as Penn's home baseball field early in its history. Records show that the Penn varsity baseball team played at Franklin Field from 1895 until at least 1924 if not later.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. It is on the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
campus and is the home field for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers varsity baseball team.
The field is near Franklin Field
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...
along the eastern edge of the university's campus, along the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
. The ballpark is tucked away near the intersection of the Schuylkill Expressway
Schuylkill Expressway
The Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as the Schuylkill, is a freeway through southwestern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania...
and University Avenue. The CSX railroad tracks
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
run behind home plate and are still in use; I-76
Interstate 76 (east)
Interstate 76 is an Interstate Highway in the United States, running 435 miles from an interchange with Interstate 71 west of Akron, Ohio, east to Interstate 295 near Camden, New Jersey....
(the Schuylkill Expressway) runs parallel to the outfield wall with exit 41 visible from home plate. The right field foul line is kept tight by a large power plant that has two rising cooling tanks and a fence around its perimeter. When it opened, the dimensions were reported to be 289 feet to the left field foul pole, 317 feet to the right field foul pole, and 385 feet to dead center field. The first game was played on March 23, 2000, against St. Joseph's University; Penn beat St. Joe's 13 to 12. The ballpark does not have lights, so all games are played during the day.
The stadium opened in 2000 and was originally called Murphy Field after the athletic fields on which the ballpark was built. The university referred it to as "Penn Stadium at Murphy Field" in Athletic Department publications. These fields were named for Mike Murphy
Mike Murphy (trainer and coach)
Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy was an athletic trainer and coach at Yale University , the Detroit Athletic Club , the University of Michigan , the University of Pennsylvania , and the New York Athletic Club...
, an early Penn track coach (1896-1901 and 1905-1913) who won eight intercollegiate track championships at Penn. It was renamed Meiklejohn Stadium in 2006 to honor Penn-donor William Meiklejohn, a 1942 graduate of the Wharton school
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
and his wife, Louise. Their contributions to the University included $10 million in 2005 to help renovate the baseball field including the addition of a new scoreboard. The field was officially renamed on April 1, 2006, prior to a double-header against Brown University
Brown Bears
The Brown Bears is a name shared by all sports teams at Brown University, a university located in Providence, Rhode Island in the United States. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 37 National...
.
Penn baseball had previously played at Bower Field which was known to be a pitchers' ballpark. Bower was 330 feet down the line in left field, 340 feet down the line to right, 410 feet to dead-center, and had a 25-foot high fence extending from left-center to right-center. Franklin Field
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...
served as Penn's home baseball field early in its history. Records show that the Penn varsity baseball team played at Franklin Field from 1895 until at least 1924 if not later.