Bader Field was a baseball

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, United States. It was located at the Bader Field airport and was referred to by the same name as the airfield. It was named after the former mayor of Atlantic City Edward L. Bader, who purchased the land for the airfield. The

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

held spring training at Bader Field in 1944. The

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

considered using the ballpark for 1944 spring training. On November 17, 1943,

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...

examined Bader Field and the National Guard Armory as one possibility. But he knew the Yankees were already considering it. The A's went to McCurdy Field in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...

when the Yankees chose Atlantic City. The Yankees made the 300-room Senator Hotel their headquarters and practiced indoors at the Atlantic City Armory. They played their first exhibition game in Atlantic City on April 1, 1944, and beat the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

5-1, behind a home run by

Johnny Lindell John Harlan Lindell (August 30, 1916 – August 27, 1985) was an American professional baseball player who was an outfielder and pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1950 and from 1953 to 1954 for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinal ...

. The following day, 4,000 fans saw the Yankees beat the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

, 4–3. In 1945, the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

based their spring training at Ansley Park in nearby Pleasantville. The last spring exhibition played at Bader Field was a Red Sox-Yankees game on April 8, 1945. A municipal stadium, John Boyd Stadium, with a football field and track was opened at Bader Field on October 22, 1949. It stood just north of the ballpark's left-field wall and was built at a cost of $350,000. John Boyd Stadium was the home of Atlantic City High School football from 1949 until 1994, and was demolished in February 1998. In 1998, The Sandcastle baseball stadium was built at Bader Field, returning professional baseball to the airport site. The

Atlantic City Surf The Atlantic City Surf were a professional minor league baseball team based in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Surf was most recently a member of the Can-Am League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The Surf played its home gam ...

played at the ballpark through 2008. The ballpark sits unused today amid discussions of redevelopment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bader Field (Ballpark) Buildings and structures in Atlantic City, New Jersey Demolished sports venues in New Jersey New York Yankees spring training venues Defunct sports venues in New Jersey Spring training ballparks Sports venues demolished in 1998 Baseball venues in New Jersey Minor league baseball venues 1998 disestablishments in New Jersey

See also

References