One of the great old ballparks in Minor League Baseball saw action last night, as the Class AA Southern League Home-Run Derby was held at Chattanooga’s Engel Stadium.
Engel Stadium, built by Joe Engel for his Chattanooga Lookouts, opened in 1929 and was one of the great ballparks in Minor League Baseball. Engel was a master promoter, once drawing almost 25,000 fans out for a game where he gave away a house. He also put together the exhibition game with the New York Yankees where a 17-year-old local lass named Jackie Mitchell struck out Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.
(Plug time: Joe Engel and Engel Stadium are prominent in our latest book, Never a Bad Game: Fifty Years of the Southern League, by the dean of Southern League writers, Mark McCarter. Check out the August Publications website for a description of the book and how to buy it.)
Scheduling the home-run competition at Engel Stadium the night before the Southern League All-Star Game at AT&T Field was a nice touch. These old ballparks need to be used every so often and seen by a larger crowd.
RELATED STORIES: Chattanooga rallies to support Engel Stadium
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