Martin Stadium (Memphis)
 | |
| Former names | Lewis Park |
|---|---|
| Address | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Coordinates | 35°7′28″N 90°2′48″W / 35.12444°N 90.04667°W |
| Owner | W.S. Martin |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1923 |
| Expanded | 1947 |
| Demolished | 1961 |
| Construction cost | $200,000 (1947) |
| Tenants | |
| Memphis Red Sox (1923-1959) | |
Martin Stadium, originally known as Lewis Park, was a baseball park in Memphis, Tennessee, which served as the home stadium of the Memphis Red Sox, a Negro league baseball team, in the 1920s through 1959.[1][2][3] The park was built in 1923 by the team owner, local businessman Robert S. Lewis.[4] The Red Sox were one of only a few teams in the Negro leagues to have owned their own stadium,[5] allowing them scheduling flexibility not widely enjoyed by their peers and removing the cost of gate fees on leased facilities.[1]
The ballpark was included in the 1927 sale of the baseball team from Lewis to the Martin brothers, including W.S. Martin and J.B. Martin, resulting in the name being changed to reference the new owners.[1][2] The facility was enlarged, and the stadium was built in 1947 at a cost of US$200,000.[4] After spending decades more acting as the home of the Red Sox and as a space for community events,[1] the Martin brothers sold the stadium in 1960 after disbanding the baseball team, whereupon it was demolished the next year.[2] The site is now home to a semi-truck dealer and has an historical marker.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Devry Becker Jones (October 12, 2020). "Martin Stadium". HMdb.org. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
- ^ a b c Marie Tedesco (March 1, 2018). "Negro Leagues Baseball". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Tennessee Historical Society. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
- ^ McBee, Kurt (August 2001). They Also Played the Game: A Historical Examination of the Memphis Red Sox Baseball Organization, 1922-1959 (PhD Dissertation). The University of Memphis.
- ^ a b "Top Negro Baseball Stars Played at Martin Stadium". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis. January 29, 1961. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gary Ashwill (May 5, 2010). "Lewis Park, 1927". Reconstructing Negro League & Latin American Baseball History. Agate Type. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
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