Some explanation of the subject matter in my latest poem. First, I was finally able to post. That's the good news.
The bad news? Well, unless you're a career historian at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, most of what I'm writing about would be very difficult for a lot of people to figure out. I will try to do that.
I got the idea from "Once there was a ballpark here" from reading about the old Major League Baseball parks online. Since I'm something of a history/nostalgia buff, the older parks were especially interesting to me.
Two of the ballparks were in Boston (aka Beantown)and are now both part of two differnt college campuses. The park where Cy Young waits for the sign is now part of the Northeastern University campus (a statue of Young is near the site of the old ball park's home plate) and the football stadium at Boston College is part of the old right feild stands at Braves Field, where the Boston Braves played before moving to Milwaukee and Atlanta.
Forbes Field (where Mazeroski won the game) is now part of the University of Pittsburgh campus, while the left field wall at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium where Hank Aaron's 715th home run (the record-breaker) cleared was left standing and is now part of the parking lot at the Braves' new home, Turner Field.
Griffin Stadium served as teh home of the Washington Senators until their move to Minnesota in 1961 and was the home for a new Washington franchise (which later became the Texas Rangers) in its first season of existance. One of the stars of that early Washington team was pitcher Walter Johnson, who was nicknamed "The Big Train". That field is now part of Howard University Hospital complex.
When the original Senators moved to Minnesota, they played at Metropolitan Stadium for their first 20 years in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Mall of America now stands on that ballpark site. The big star on those Twins teams was Harmon Killebrew, aka "The Killer".
Crosley Field was in Cincinnati and Sportsman's Park was in St. Louis, while the Cleveland Inians spent part of their first 50 years as a team playing in League Park.
The St. Louis and Cleveland ballpakrs are now part of inner-city Boys' Clubs, while a street extension felled Crosley Field two years after the Reds left in 1970.
Sorry for the lengthy entry. I just hope you get a better idea of what I was writing about.
