User:Woodshed/Katy Park/working

Katy Park was a minor-league ballpark located in Waco, Texas from 1905-1965. As the home stadium for Waco teams in several Texas leagues, it hosted some of the first night baseball games in 1930. Largely destroyed by the 1953 Waco tornado, a rebuilt park was home the next season to the Branch Rickey-boosted Waco Pirates of the Big State League, regarded as one of the greatest minor-league baseball teams of all time.

Dozens of future Hall-of-Famers played at Katy Park in the first half of the 20th century, in both the Texas League and during the barnstorming era. Most notably, the park hosted an exhibition between the local Waco Cubs and the New York Yankees, featuring Babe Ruth, in 1929.

The park also hosted many Negro baseball tournaments and exhibitions, an all-star-caliber team of enlisted major leaguers stationed in Waco during World War II, and was briefly home to the Baylor Bears baseball team.

Planning & Design
''We have a few sentences from the #Building section above. Is this enough to validate having a separate section?''

Opening

 * No info on when, for certain, the first game was, but major league exhibition played there on March 11, 1905, which would seem to be before Texas League games began.

The first game at Katy Park was an intrasquad exhibition by the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League, who were conducting spring training nearby.

After Waco had fielded six short-lived minor-league baseball teams from 1889-1903, teams playing at Katy Park competed in the Texas League from 1905-1919 and 1925-1930, during the circuit's formative years.

In 1905, Dallas team owner Joe W. Gardner wanted to expand the league from four to six teams, and he financed a new Waco ballclub. He stipulated that Waco would need to construct a baseball park with a grandstand, giving his OK to a site located adjacent to the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad depot.

Professional stadium groundskeeper Henry Fabian, who laid claim to inventing the pitcher's mound, was manager of the team and responsible for the construction of its new stadium, which he built in the style of professional parks of the time. It included private boxes and a press area.

The original Katy Park tenants, the 1905 Waco Tigers, were renamed the Waco Navigators for the 1906 season, as a reference to industrial attempts to make the Brazos River navigable from Waco to the Texas Gulf Coast. The Navigators played at Katy Park until 1919, when the team was sold and moved to Wichita Falls.

Fabian note

 * Induction Day at Cooperstown: A History of the Baseball Hall of Fame Ceremony
 * http://books.google.com/books?id=3dF2PsAeDeYC&lpg=PP2&ots=SphT-FbF3G&dq=%22henry%20fabian%22%20waco&lr&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q=%22henry%20fabian%22&f=false
 * "leading groundskeeper in baseball" (1939)


 * Waco Tigers - Texas League
 * Sher/Den Tigers had moved to Waco 1897 ... (TXL 323)
 * Dallas owner Joe Gardner (TXL 324)
 * Sunday baseball fiasco?
 * Roosevelt visit?

Playing field
Do notes on dimensions & the gas station in outfield go here?

Seating & Tickets
Can't imagine we have enough info to fill this section up, but might be able to find more info on prices

Alterations
''See Renovations

Closing & Demolition
''See Last Game & KP Sold

Memorials
Not Applicable

All-Star Games
Not Applicable

Major league exhibitions
See Exhibitions

No-hitters and perfect games
Katy Park was the setting for at least eight no-hit games, the first of which took place on April 28, 1906. Carl Hiatt of the Waco Navigators threw a no-hitter against the Temple Boll Weevils in the opening game of that season, the newly renamed Navigators' first home game at Katy Park. Hiatt struck out seven and walked three, and did not allow any Temple runners to advance past second base. The Waco club won, 2-0.

On July 7, 1909, John Blakeney of the Houston Pirates threw a no-hitter against the Navigators. He did, however walk eight batters, and also hit two. Waco runners reached third base four times, with one of them scoring on an error, yielding a final score of 4-1.

Hatton "Professor" Ogle of the Navigators tossed a no-hitter against the Galveston Sand Crabs on June 25, 1912, walking only a single Galveston player. The final score was 11-0. The next year, O.K. "Ducky" Swan of the Beaumont Oilers no-hit the Navigators on August 16, walking one and striking out seven, winning the game 4-0. Later in the decade, Harry Stewart of the San Antonio Bronchos threw a no-hitter against the Navigators on May 11, 1916. Stewart struck nine batters out, walking three. The Bronchos won 2-0.

The new Waco Cubs had a no-hitter in their inaugural season when Oscar Tuero blanked the Shreveport Sports on June 24, 1925. Tuero struck out eight and walked four, with a final score of 4-0.

Near the end of World War II, Hoot Gibson of the Waco Army Air Field Wolves threw a no-hitter against the Childress Army Air Field team in the first round of the state semipro tournament on July 29, 1945. The final score was 12-0.

The last known no-hitter took place on May 1, 1948. Don Harbuck of the Baylor Cubs (the freshman squad of the Baylor Bears) threw a no-hitter against the SMU freshman team. However, his performance was spoiled by an overthrown ball when trying to pick off a runner, allowing SMU to score. The final score was 5-1.


 * Needs further editing/formatting

Other notable events
Do we put things like the Tornado, first night game, Babe Ruth here or somewhere else?

Football
See Football in KP

Boxing et al
See Boxing

Stadium Usage
See Teams & Negro teams

Architecture
No info on architecture per se, other than descriptions of the field & renovations

Scoreboard
No info

Facilities
Talk about offices being in the 2nd floor??

Critical Reaction
Don't know - maybe refer to the reputation as a bandbox?

Ground rules
No info