Danville Stadium, the former home to professional ball and now the home of the Danville Dans (summer collegiate; Prospect League), marked its 65th anniversary yesterday with a big crowd and other festivities.
There were 4,163 fans on hand for the Dans game, where former players and pro alumni were invited to turn out. The press box was renamed in honor of the late Bob Kay, a former Dans broadcater, and former Commercial-News sports editor Fowler Connell, currently a broadcaster for the team.
The ballpark opened in 1946 as the home of the Danville Dodgers in the old Three-I League. The next season saw the Dodgers send some pretty good players to Danville: Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese. (There’s a very good history of the ballpark at the Dans website.)
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