Bosse Field is a baseball stadium located in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

. Opened in 1915, it was the first municipally owned sports stadium in the United States and is the third-oldest ballpark still in regular use for professional baseball, surpassed only by

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

(1912) in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and Wrigley Field (1914) in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It is the home field for the

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

Evansville Otters The Evansville Otters are a professional baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana. They compete in the West Division of the independent Frontier League. Since their establishment in 1995, the Otters have played at historic Bosse Field, which o ...

of the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

, as well as

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and American Legion games, and in the past hosted spring training for the Detroit Tigers, college baseball, high school, college, and NFL football, college soccer, and concerts. Six Baseball Hall of Fame members played for Evansville teams at Bosse Field during their minor league careers, including

Chuck Klein Charles Herbert Klein (October 7, 1904 – March 28, 1958), nicknamed the "Hoosier Hammer", was an American professional baseball outfielder. Klein played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–, –, –), Chicago Cubs ...

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

Warren Spahn Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...

, Bob Uecker,

Bert Blyleven Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. Blyleven recorded 3,701 ...

and

Jack Morris John Scott Morris (born May 16, 1955) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career. Armed ...

. The historic stadium was also used in 1991 by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

for filming numerous game scenes in the 1992 comedy-drama, ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena ...

.''

History

Benjamin Bosse, mayor of Evansville from 1914 to 1922, reached an agreement with Thomas Garvin's family shortly after taking office in January 1914 to purchase land on the north side of the city for a park. However, the city was in a deficit and could not afford the full $50,000 price. Mayor Bosse conceived of the plan to sell part of the land to the school board who would then build a new stadium to be used for school functions as well as Evansville's baseball team, of which Bosse was a co-owner. When the president of the school board opposed the plan, Bosse had him replaced with a friend, and the new school board both approved the project and also voted to name it Bosse Field in honor of the mayor. Construction was completed the following summer, and Bosse Field opened on June 17, 1915. A Central League record crowd of 8,082 fans attended the stadium dedication and opening game, a 4–0 Evansville victory. Evansville was in third place when they moved to Bosse Field, but went on to win the league championship in 1915. Ten baseball teams other than the Otters have played at Bosse Field. Some of the most famous are the

Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for t ...

(1970–84), Evansville Braves (1946–57), Evas/Pocketeers/Hubs (1919–1931) and the Evansville River Rats (1914–15). The River Rats had played in Evansville previously from (1903–1910) and (1901–1902). The Triplets won the American Association titles in 1972, 1975, and 1979. The River Rats won the Central League title in 1908 and 1915. The Braves won the Three-I League title in 1946, 1948, 1956, and 1957. From 1921 to 1922, Bosse Field was used as a football stadium and was home to the Evansville Crimson Giants of the NFL. The Otters franchise came to Evansville in 1995 and have attracted a record number of fans for the league. In 2006 the Otters won the Frontier League title. Baseball Hall of Fame members

, Edd Roush,

, and Sam Thompson played at Bosse Field during their careers; another 95 Hall of Fame members visited Bosse Field on opposing teams. There have been over 20 Major League Baseball players from Evansville and dozens of Minor Leaguers. Football Hall of Fame member Bob Griese played high school football and American Legion baseball at Bosse Field; Don Mattingly,

Andy Benes Andrew Charles Benes (born August 20, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1989 to 2002, most prominently as a member of the San Diego Padres where he was na ...

, Rob Maurer, Jeff Schulz, Alan Benes and Jamey Carroll all played at Bosse Field during their high school and/or college careers.

Former/current professional teams

Current / former professional teams who have called Bosse Field home, have won a combined 10 league titles.

Concerts

* July 2, 1972: ''Freedom Festival and Ice Cream Social'' with Ike & Tina Turner Revue, Edgar Winter, Dr. John 'The Night Tripper', Cactus, Black Oak Arkansas, Spirit, Country Joe & The Fish, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Boones Farm and New Riders of the Purple Sage * August 20, 1974: Allman Brothers Band, Elvin Bishop, REO Speedwagon

References

External links

Bosse Field at Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau website
{{Coord, 37, 59, 34, N, 87, 33, 44, W, scale:3000, display=title Detroit Tigers spring training venues Minor league baseball venues Defunct National Football League venues High school baseball venues in the United States Sports venues in Evansville, Indiana Spring training ballparks Frontier League ballparks Sports venues completed in 1915 1915 establishments in Indiana Evansville, Indiana Baseball venues in Indiana