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I've always been intrigued by the idea of baseball being played in the Orange Bowl. The story that is most often told is of Satchel Paige and the 1956 Miami Marlins playing in front of a (still) minor league record 57,000 fans at the Orange Bowl.
The lesser known story is of Miami Field, which was built before the Orange Bowl. It sat on the SE corner of the site and hosted minor league baseball through the 40s. It was largely unused during the 50s after Miami Stadium became the hub for professional baseball in Miami. It was demolished in the 60s after falling into disrepair and the Orange Bowl's footprint continued to expand.
I've posted these before, but here's a refresher:
This is circa the early 40s before the upper deck was constructed:
Sometime in the 50s:
Exploring the Google archives, I've found a few other tidbits I knew little about or never heard of.
On December 3, 1974, the Miami News reported Miami mayor Maurice Ferre was contacted by an unnamed major league team about playing baseball at the Orange Bowl.
Maurice Ferre tried to lure the Baltimore Orioles to the OB in 1975. The city would have eventually built a baseball stadium downtown with rapid transit line access. (Wow, Ferre was decades ahead of his time. Metro-Rail was still a pie in the sky idea and the prevailing wisdom back then was for suburban ballparks with lots of parking for cars.)
On May 16, 1979, the St. Petersburg Times reported A's owner Charles Finley was in negotiations to sell the Athletics to a LA businessman that would have moved the team to the Miami.
Unrelated to the OB, but in 1979 Miami purchased land around Miami Stadium to accommodate a 35,000 seat expansion to lure MLB.
More Maurice Ferre stadium shenanigans.
Baseball, hockey, football, basketball and Olympics!
The following year a study by the City of Miami determined retrofitting the Orange Bowl would be unfeasible and suggested someone pour money into making 'Joe Robbie's Dolphin Stadium' baseball friendly. The plan would have removed most of the north stands.
In 1990, the Caribbean Series was played at the Orange Bowl and everyone hated it. A 35 foot 'Orange Monster' was constructed in leftfield and the infield was all grass. Dimensions were 250 to left, 310 to CF, 335 to RCF, and 340 to right. Any balls to land in the first 15 rows down the leftfield line were called ground rule doubles.
The lesser known story is of Miami Field, which was built before the Orange Bowl. It sat on the SE corner of the site and hosted minor league baseball through the 40s. It was largely unused during the 50s after Miami Stadium became the hub for professional baseball in Miami. It was demolished in the 60s after falling into disrepair and the Orange Bowl's footprint continued to expand.
I've posted these before, but here's a refresher:
This is circa the early 40s before the upper deck was constructed:
Sometime in the 50s:
Exploring the Google archives, I've found a few other tidbits I knew little about or never heard of.
On December 3, 1974, the Miami News reported Miami mayor Maurice Ferre was contacted by an unnamed major league team about playing baseball at the Orange Bowl.
Maurice Ferre tried to lure the Baltimore Orioles to the OB in 1975. The city would have eventually built a baseball stadium downtown with rapid transit line access. (Wow, Ferre was decades ahead of his time. Metro-Rail was still a pie in the sky idea and the prevailing wisdom back then was for suburban ballparks with lots of parking for cars.)
On May 16, 1979, the St. Petersburg Times reported A's owner Charles Finley was in negotiations to sell the Athletics to a LA businessman that would have moved the team to the Miami.
Unrelated to the OB, but in 1979 Miami purchased land around Miami Stadium to accommodate a 35,000 seat expansion to lure MLB.
More Maurice Ferre stadium shenanigans.
Baseball, hockey, football, basketball and Olympics!
The following year a study by the City of Miami determined retrofitting the Orange Bowl would be unfeasible and suggested someone pour money into making 'Joe Robbie's Dolphin Stadium' baseball friendly. The plan would have removed most of the north stands.
In 1990, the Caribbean Series was played at the Orange Bowl and everyone hated it. A 35 foot 'Orange Monster' was constructed in leftfield and the infield was all grass. Dimensions were 250 to left, 310 to CF, 335 to RCF, and 340 to right. Any balls to land in the first 15 rows down the leftfield line were called ground rule doubles.
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