Remembering Baseball in Sunshine Park, 1914-1919
Spectators watching game between Phillies and Browns, 1915, at ballpark located near Coffee Pot Bayou on 22nd Ave. N. Photos courtesy of the St. Petersburg Museum of History
By Tina Stewart Brakebill By 1914, St. Pete’s population had grown to over 7,000, from only 1,600 people in 1900. Numerous new homes, businesses, and public works also changed the shape and feel of the city. New roads, rails, and
trolleys made getting around a lot easier. and for a few short months in 1914, brave souls could even arrive via air on the St. PetersburgTampa Airboat Line. St. Pete leaders, contrary to those in other growing cities of the era, chose not to rely on industrial development; instead, they staked the town’s future on tourism. “America’s favorite pastime” was seen as a potentially powerful magnet to attract winter visitors to the Sunshine City.
“The Sunshine City has the inside track” Led by Al Lang, boosters found a team looking for a change: the last-place St. Louis Browns. St. Pete’s weather and local connections were rumored to have put it on “the inside track.” As a further enticement, the newly formed St. Petersburg Baseball & Amusement Co. promised the team free room and board and a new training facility and baseball stadium. This sealed the deal. Soon after, Sunshine Park began to emerge from the overgrown lot adjacent to Coffee Pot Bayou. Workers cleared the Florida pines, planted grass, and packed fine-grade clay imported from Jacksonville around the bases in order to “protect base runners from scratches and bruises when rolling and
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GREENBENCHMONTHLY.COM / AUGUST 2022