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This image of the Sandusky Baseball Field is from page 72 of the 1905 Sanborn Map, which was added as an additional page in January,
1911. The Sandusky Base Ball Park was then located at South Columbus Avenue,
adjacent to the old interurban car barns. From about 1907 to 1912, the ball
field at this location was known as League Park. An article in the March 19,
1907 issue of the Sandusky Register
reported that John H. Smith was the contractor for the grandstand. It was built in three sections, and could hold 1200 people. The roof of the grandstand
was to be patterned after Cleveland’s League Park, with the slant in front to
keep water out. The bleacher section could seat 2000 people. There were to be
no horses on the grounds, but automobiles were allowed. The Lake Shore Electric Railway Company built a spur track to the ballpark, so that anyone who wanted to attend the ball games could
arrive on the trolley. Box seats sold for thirty five cents.
The
first game at League Park on April 22, 1907 was between the Detroit American
League team and the Sandusky Schlemans. Ty Cobb was then relatively unknown, playing in right field for Detroit. Detroit
beat the Sandusky team 18 to 1. The Sandusky Schlemans went on to play several semi-pro
and minor league teams from throughout the midwestern U.S.
In early November of 1907, the Sandusky
Athletic Club defeated the Toledo Colts on a muddy field at League Park.
By 1912, League Park, Sandusky’s only
enclosed athletic grounds were being dismantled. In 1931, the Sandusky
Merchants amateur baseball league had a team that played baseball on the site
of the old League Park, then known as Esmond Athletic Field. Below is an
advertisement for a doubleheader between the Cleveland Rosenblooms and the
Sandusky Cloverleafs in August of 1931.
A news article in the sports section
of the April 3, 1936 Sandusky Register
reported that the Esmond Athletic Field was to be the home to the Sandusky baseball
club of the Ohio State League. Plans were made to renovated the stands, and
have night lighting to allow for evening ball games. Baseball and football
games, as well as boxing and wrestling matches were all held at the Esmond
Field. Notes in our historical files indicate that there was a large Esmond
Dairy sign painted on the wall of the grandstand. By 1938, the field was known as Medusa Park,
and eight class A and B teams played under the auspices of the Sandusky
Baseball Federation. This article from the Sandusky
Register of August 30, 1938, reported about an exhibition at Medusa Park in which Jesse Owens ran hurdles, while locals Geno
Balconi and Jim Rosemund ran without jumping hurdles. Jesse Owens beat all the competitors.
It is believed that the grandstand at the former baseball field on South Columbus Avenue were torn down in the 1940s. By the mid-1950s, there were circuses held on that site. The many different baseball teams throughout Sandusky’s history played in a variety of locations, and were affiliated with many different leagues through the years.
To learn more about baseball in Sandusky, see the Charles E. Frohman index to the Sandusky Register and Star Journal housed on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The heading “baseball”will lead you to dozens of articles about baseball games played in Sandusky. Stop by the Reference Services area for more information.
