Midwest League Reference Book

Midwest League Ballparks

These pages have information about the ballparks of the Midwest League. Some ballparks have better documentation than others; in general, it's easier to find information about the current ballyards than the abandoned fields. I add information about parks as I locate it.

Directions to the park are included for those fields which are now in use by MWL teams. Most of the directions are based on those given in the team yearbooks.

STATS, Inc. published statistical charts about minor league ballparks from 1993 through 1997. I've included some brief comments which attempt to interpret those numbers into plain English.

Midwest League Ballparks

• Appleton
  • Goodland Field
  • Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium [photo]
• Battle Creek
  • C.O. Brown Stadium [photo]
• Belleville
  • Athletic Field
• Beloit
  • Pohlman Field [photo]
• Burlington
  • Community Field [photos]
• Canton
  • unknown ballyard
• Cedar Rapids
  • (Old) Veterans Memorial Stadium [photo]
  • Veterans Memorial Stadium [photo]
• Centralia
  • Fan's Field
• Clinton
  • Alliant Energy Field [photos]
• Danville
  • Danville Stadium [photo]
• Davenport
  • Modern Woodmen Park [photo]
• Dayton
  • Fifth Third Field [photo]
• Decatur
  • Fans Field
• Dubuque
  • John Petrakis Field
• Fort Wayne
  • Memorial Stadium
• Geneva
  • Elfstrom Stadium [photo]
• Grand Rapids
  • Fifth Third Ballpark [photo]
• Hannibal
  • Clemens Field [photo]
• Kenosha
  • Simmons Field [photo]
• Keokuk
  • Joyce Park
• Kokomo
  • Highland Park Stadium
• Lafayette
  • Columbian Park
• Lansing
  • Oldsmobile Park [photo]
• Madison
  • Warner Park [photos]
• Marion
  • Marion City Park
• Mattoon
  • Mattoon Baseball Park [photo]
• Michigan City
  • Ames Field
• Midland
  • Dow Diamond [photo]
• Mount Vernon
  • Veterans Park
• Paducah
  • Brooks Stadium
• Paris
  • Twin Lakes Park
• Peoria
  • Vonachen Stadium
  • O'Brien Field
• Quincy
  • Q Stadium
• Rockford
  • Marinelli Field
• South Bend
  • Coveleski Stadium [photo]
• Springfield
  • Lanphier Park
  • Fitzpatrick Stadium
• Vincennes
  • Nehi Park
• Waterloo
  • Municipal Stadium [photos]
• Wausau
  • Athletic Park [photos]
• West Frankfort
  • Memorial Stadium
• Wisconsin Rapids
  • Witter Field [photo]

Compiler's Note

Source Inconsistencies

The sources have some inconsistencies. For any given year the information tends to be identical from source to source, but there are unexpected differences from year to year and occasional deviations within a given year. This is particularly true of both the ballpark capacity--these sometimes seem to reflect either whim or wish--and the outfield fences. Some of the deviations appear to be typographical errors.

Even "built dates" are surprisingly difficult, though they seem like they'd be obvious. This is partly because some of the League's parks are new facilities at old locations. Nonetheless, various sources, for instance, show South Bend's Cove, a truly new ballyard, as new in 1986 (when construction began), 1987 (when it was first used), or 1988 (when MWL play began).

In case of disagreement, I've selected the one I believe to be correct.

Sources:

• Adelson, Bruce, et al. The Minor League Baseball Book. New York: Macmillan, 1995. [USA Today]
• Blahnik, Judith & Phillip S Schulz. Mud Hens and Mavericks. New York: Viking, 1995.
• Lowry, Philip J. Green Cathedrals. Cooperstown: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), 1986.
• Assorted yearbooks for several teams.
• Assorted Baseball Blue Books
• Assorted Baseball America ballpark calendars.
• Minor League Handbook. Skokie, IL: STATS, [Annual].
• Corey Seeman (National Baseball Hall of Fame).
• Midwest League Media Guide & Record Book. Beloit: Midwest League [Annual]
• Paul Spyhalski (1972 Cedar Rapids program; source of 1972 dimensions)
• Paul Spyhalski (1978 Wisconsin Rapids program; source of much information)
• Gord Brown (SABR Minor League Committee).

Another reason I value my SABR membership:
I found a delightful package from Gordon Brown in my mail one winter morning. The information on these pages owes a great deal to his help.