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Ray Winder Field

Coordinates: 34°44′43″N 92°19′39″W / 34.74528°N 92.32750°W / 34.74528; -92.32750
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Ray Winder Field
Map
Former namesTravler Field (1932-1966)
Location400 Broadway Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
OwnerCity of Little Rock
OperatorArkansas Travelers Baseball, Inc.
Capacity6,083
Field sizeLeft Field: 330 feet
Center Field: 390 feet
Right Field: 345 feet
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground1931
OpenedApril 13, 1932
ClosedSeptember 3, 2006
Demolished2012
Construction cost$100,000
($2.23 million in 2025 dollars[1])
ArchitectThompson, Sanders & Ginocchio
General contractorMcGregor & Pickett
Tenants
Arkansas Travelers
An Arkansas Travelers game at Ray Winder Field against the Tulsa Drillers in August 2006 during the Travelers last ever home stand at the stadium.

Ray Winder Field was a baseball park in Little Rock, Arkansas. The ballpark was constructed during 1931, as a new home field for the Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball team. The Travelers vacated Kavanaugh Field, near Little Rock Central High School, and opened their 1932 season on April 13 at the newly completed ballpark, which was initially called Travelers Field for the team name.

The ballpark sits with home plate in roughly the north-northwest corner of the property. The current boundaries of the park are Interstate 630 (south, right field); Jonesboro Drive (west, right field corner); South Monroe Street (west, first base stands); buildings on driveway extended from Ray Winder Drive (north, third base stands); buildings bordering South Palm Street (east, right field).

On August 26, 1966, Traveler Field was renamed Ray Winder Field, after a man who had devoted most of his life to minor league baseball in Little Rock. Winder started as a ticket seller in 1915, was named as the Arkansas Traveler business manager in 1931, and became part owner in 1944. The Traveler franchise was moved to Shreveport following the 1958 season, leaving Little Rock without a baseball club for the first time since 1914. Traveler Field sat empty during the 1959 season while efforts continued to return minor league baseball to Little Rock. After a public stock drive raised funds to purchase a bankrupt New Orleans franchise, the Travelers were resurrected in Little Rock for the 1960 season. Ray Winder was again asked to manage the day to day details of rebuilding the club.

In 1976, Bill Valentine, a former American League umpire, was chosen as general manager for the Travelers. Faced with an aging ballpark and limited funds, Valentine began to promote the historic nature of Ray Winder Field. The ballpark gained recognition as one of the oldest still active parks in minor league baseball, and fans traveled to Little Rock to experience the nostalgia and sample the baseball history represented by Ray Winder Field. The home of the Arkansas Travelers was regarded as a great place to see old-time baseball, wholesome entertainment aimed squarely at the family market.

In 2005, construction began on a new ballpark in North Little Rock which would eventually become the home of the Arkansas Travelers. On September 3, 2006, the final game of the 2006 season, a capacity crowd filled Ray Winder Field as fans returned for the last Traveler game at Ray Winder Field. During this game, which concluded 74 years of minor league baseball at this ballpark, the Travelers beat the Springfield Cardinals by a score of 7 to 3. Beginning with the 2007 season, the Arkansas Travelers home ballpark is Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.

Commemorative ticket for the Arkansas Travelers final game in Ray Winder Field.

Ray Winder Field sat vacant for almost five years while forces outside of organized baseball determined the future of this historic ballpark. Many recognized the ballpark as a historic structure both for the City of Little Rock and for baseball, and it was proposed that the park be restored as a functional baseball field for city and college teams. Others proposed demolishing the historic ballpark in order to utilize the area as a parking lot for the nearby University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The Arkansas Zoological Foundation wanted the Little Rock Zoo to expand into Ray Winder by refitting the grandstand as a viewing area for an Asian elephant exhibit. During all of these discussions, the underlying atmosphere from the City of Little Rock was one of disinterest and apathy, with no apparent recognition of the park's historic ties to baseball's golden era, and no interest in assisting in the landmark ballpark's preservation.

Ultimately, and somewhat predictably, the decision was made to sell the park to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, with all structures to be razed and the land cleared for use as a parking lot. The City of Little Rock again confirmed that the city had no interest in helping to turn Ray Winder Field into a landmark ball park as had been done with Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Several sales were held to disperse remaining artifacts to baseball fans from across the country who had visited this ballpark, and on May 14, 2011, the park was opened for a final time when the remaining wooden seats, dating to 1932, were dismantled and given to fans on a first-come, first-served basis.

References

  • Turner, Terry (2004). Baseball in Little Rock. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-3300-9.
  • Bailey, Jim (1997). Travelers Baseball - 90 Years. Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas Travelers Baseball Club.
  • Traub, Todd (2006). The Last At-Bat, Arkansas Travelers at Ray Winder Field. Little Rock, Arkansas: WHECO Publishing.
  • "LR to Give Away 1,000 Seats From Ray Winder Field". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Little Rock, Arkansas. May 11, 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: year (link)

34°44′43″N 92°19′39″W / 34.74528°N 92.32750°W / 34.74528; -92.32750