It’s a celebration worth noting: Bristol’s Muzzy Field will be the focus of a 100-year anniversary this summer, with events planned at the former MiLB ballpark.
Muzzy Field was the center of sports in Bristol for the majority of those hundred years, hosting the Bristol Owls (Class B; Colonial League) in 1949-50 and the Bristol Red Sox (Class AA; Eastern League) from 1973-82. Muzzy Field was also the site of many baseball and football games, including barnstorming MLB teams: Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees once appeared, as did notables like Jimmie Foxx, Minnie Minoso, Jackie Mitchell, Warren Spahn, Lefty Gomez, Casey Stengel, Bill McKechnie, Max Carey, Paul Waner, Kiki Cuyler and Pie Traynor all played there for the Boston Red Sox (1919 and 1922), Pittsburgh Pirates (1926), Boston Braves (1943 and 1944), Philadelphia Phillies (1943 and 1944) and New York Yankees (1945). Negro Leagues teams and other barnstormers, like 1934 All-Star Ranger Girls of Chicago and the House of David, also made appearances. Pro football teams also played there, including the 1943 Green Bay Packers, New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers. You can read of all these exploits in Douglas Malan’s Muzzy Field: Tales from a Forgotten Ballpark. (Thanks to Doug for passing along these images and information about the ballpark.)
The initial plan calls for an all-day festival on July 5 that would feature a celebrity ballgame, vendors, a carnival, an old-time baseball game, a concert by an as-yet-unidentified band whose hits reached the Top 40, fireworks and more….
Given to the city in 1912 by Commissioner Adrian Muzzy in memory of his two sons, Muzzy Field is located on Muzzy Street, next door to Rockwell Park. Its first real game took place on July 8, 1914.
Martin said there is a chance there may be a nationally televised vintage baseball game at the ballpark on July 15. He said he’ll know within a few months. The city is reserving the date in case it happens.
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