The "Historic Local Sports News: Part I - Stumpf Field" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Right there on page 1 of the Lancaster newspaper's sports section was the story telling of the sale of Lancaster, Pennsylvania's first professional baseball stadium.  

Ed Stumpf's Field as it appeared in 1965.

Same ballpark I have written about in the past telling of all the fun I had as a young boy living a few blocks from the park and having the chance to get into many a summer game for just the cost of a ball hit over the fence during pre-game practice.  The ballpark was located along a major north-south route, aka the Fruitville Pike, and many a foul ball landed on the road during the summer.  Always wondered how many cars received balls through the windshield during the lifetime of the ballpark.  

Stumpf field's third base bleachers.

Stumpf Field was built in 1938 with open bleachers on the 1st and 3rd base lines as well as a covered set of bleachers behind home plate.  The field was built as the home of the Lancaster Red Roses who played on the field from 1938 to 1961 while members of the Double A Eastern League.  My hero, Willie Mays, played at Stumpf Field before heading to the New York Giants in 1950.  I might have only been 6 years old at the time, but my dad assured me he was going to be a great player.  

Red Roses team in the year I was born. Names unavailable.

One of the really unusual things about the stadium was the placement of home plate.  It faced toward the setting sun and many a night the game was delayed for almost half an hour as the sun set in left-center field.  The fence was 350 feet from home plate to all fields with an 8 foot wooden wall.  After the Red Roses folded in 1961, I can remember a few football games played there when I was a senior in high school at nearby Manheim Township High School.  

View of the field today from the third base bleachers.

Eventually the field served as home of the Millersville University Marauders baseball team until their new stadium was completed in 2007.  Softball games fill the ballpark now.  And now, on the 80th anniversary of the ballpark, it is for sale!  The ballfield at 1350 Fruitville Pike was offered for sale last week for $5,000,000.  What cost perhaps a few thousand dollars in 1938 is going to bring big money for the 11.4-acre property which is zoned for industrial use.  It's been many years since I watched a ballgame at Stumpf Field.  My oldest son played a Midget tournament game on the field in the late 1980's.  Probably the last time I attended a game there, but I did stop from time to time just to sit in the bleachers, trying to remember the glory days of the park when I was a young boy watching greats Willie Mays, Brooks Robinson, Robin Roberts, and Juan Marichal grow into major league ballplayers right in front of my eyes.  Boy, I'm going to miss the place!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The field and 11.4 acres of land was purchased years ago by Lancaster Malleable after the team disbanded in 1961.  They used the land for extra parking for their business nearby. 

View of what used to be Lancaster County's minor league baseball stadium, Stumpf Field.