Category: Tampa Bay
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Coffee Pot Ballpark, Part 9
Huggins v. Rickey As mentioned earlier Miller Huggins and Branch Rickey likely met in 1904. Huggins had a successful rookie year. Rickey was called to the majors for the first time late in the season. Rickey, as he was known for, refused to play on Sundays even then. The manager, Joe Kelley, refused to play…
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Coffee Pot Ballpark, Part 8
Food & Entertainment The lodging atthe brand-new 5th Ave. Hotel built for baseball got old in a hurry, and so did the food. As I mentioned with the Hotel, the smell from underneath as well as the food was so bad that the Phillies pulled out mid-training in 1916. Even earlier, the Browns owner had…
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Coffee Pot Ballpark, Part 7
Lodging Besides a suitable ball field, St. Petersburg lacked one other item for hosting a major league team for spring training: lodging. St. Pete’s winter tourism already taxed the existing lodging options, and none would provide a reduced rate to house a full team and give up full price bookings. Real estate was very reasonable…
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1946 Florida State Negro Baseball League
A missing season? Baseball Wiki is the only place I’ve found that has attempted to provide the teams in the league from 1945 through 1954. Wiki states that it is unknown if the league played this year. So, here you go… Standings through 9/29/46 Team Won Lost Pct. Tampa 21 6 .778 Lakeland 16 9…
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Coffee Pot Ballpark, Part 6
Rickey Builds a Modern Field As a playing field was constructed that would match any being used for spring training, it is the rest of the complex that helps St. Pete’s facility shine. To the north of the field (third base/left field line) was the teaching facility. Rickey will have installed four handball courts, three…
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Two I Coached
I was a head high school baseball coach in Pinellas County with three different schools for ten seasons. At my first two stops I had the pleasure of coaching future major leaguers. I got a first-hand view of what some of these guys look like when they are younger. Although both are big and strong…
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Coffee Pot Ballpark, Part 5
Rickey Builds a Modern Field The Snell and Hamlett Company fulfills their obligations for the property in short order. The trees and stumps are removed, holes filled and the property is leveled. Rickey draws up his ideal design and sends the St. Louis ballparks head groundskeeper, Sam Barnes, to handle the development of the playing…
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1945 Florida State Negro Baseball League
League Re-forms – Final Regular Season Standings W L Pct Orlando All-Stars 16 3 .843 Daytona Beach Black Cats 13 4 .765 Bradenton Nine Devils 15 6 .714 West Palm Beach Black Yankees 11 7 .611 Lakeland Tigers 12 9 .571 Tampa American All-Stars 5 15 .250 Bartow Polk County All-Stars 4 15 .215…
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Coffee Pot Ballpark, Part 2
Late 1912 The first article in the Coffee Pot series was intended to mark the beginning of the piece. Circumstances took me back a bit in history and I found some fascinating information relating to St. Pete’s quest for Spring Training baseball. This information comes primarily from the archives of the St. Petersburg Daily Times…
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Sisler Field
A Pictorial Guide Nestled in the Southern end of the Tarpon Springs community is the little league complex. It sprung out of a gender gesture. The city recruited the St. Louis Browns back to Pinellas County in 1925. (The Browns, for their part, brought hall of famer George Sisler to town as the player/manager and…