McCurdy Field, located 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 ...

, is the former home of the Frederick Hustlers, Warriors, and Frederick Keys, a class A minor league affiliate of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. The current stadium structure is largely an aluminum superstructure with dual brick buildings on the sides. The field first opened in 1924. McCurdy Field was the home of the Frederick teams of the minor league baseball Blue Ridge League from 1924 to 1930. On Monday, September 6, 1937, the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

played their first Washington-area game following their move from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Washington beat an American Legion All-Star team by a score of 50-0 before a crowd of 1,000 at McCurdy. During World War II, professional baseball teams conducted spring training in the north. The

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

held spring training at McCurdy in 1943 and the Philadelphia Athletics also held spring training in Frederick in 1944 and 1945 and played their exhibition games at McCurdy Field. Lights were installed in 1947. In 1968, the old wooden grandstand was condemned. It was torn down in 1971, leaving just the field. Bob Marendt led an effort to renovate the park, raising $50,000 in donations, and federal and state government paid for the balance. A renovated concrete and steel park opened in 1974, with metal bleachers that sat 1,500 and clubhouse facilities to host the Babe Ruth League 13-year-old national tournament.

References

External links

Ballpark Reviews: McCurdy Field
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{{Authority control Defunct minor league baseball venues Baseball venues in Maryland Spring training ballparks Philadelphia Athletics spring training venues Syracuse Mets 1924 establishments in Maryland Sports venues completed in 1924 Buildings and structures in Frederick, Maryland Sports in Frederick, Maryland