Shuttleworth Park is a

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

Amsterdam, New York Amsterdam () is a city in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,219. The city is named after Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam is bordered on the northern and ea ...

, United States. It is home to the Amsterdam Mohawks of the

Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) is a 16-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 2010. As of 2022, all teams are within the state of New York. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order ...

. The ballpark capacity is 3,000.

History

Shuttleworth Park, formerly Mohawk Mills Park, initially called Crescent Park, opened on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

, 1914. Its original use was as an amusement emporium, with a dance hall, shooting gallery, et cetera - though it also had a baseball park at that time. The first baseball game was played between a local team known as the Empires and the Philadelphia Colored Giants. It had a short left field at only 279 feet but a deep center field at 409 feet. The park later changed its name to Jollyland. In the 1930s, it was sold to Mohawk Carpet Mills. In 1939, the

Amsterdam Rugmakers The Amsterdam Rugmakers were a Canadian–American League baseball team based in Amsterdam, New York, USA, that played from 1938 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1951. They played their home games at Mohawk Mills Park (now Shuttleworth Park) and were affi ...

arrived. The park was their home stadium until 1951. The park burned down on July 12, 1942, eight days before 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 ...

were set to play the Rugmakers in an exhibition. The locals managed to rebuild the stadium in that short time, increasing the park's seating capacity. The Yankees drew a large crowd from the locals, and most local children chased foul balls for a dime. After the Rugmakers left the park, the green walls around the stadium started to rot, and the historic grounds were refurbished in the late 70s. The grandstand section of Shuttleworth Park is original from 1914 when it opened, and it remains one of the oldest ballparks still standing. It has been home to the Amsterdam Mohawks since 2003. The Union College Dutchmen baseball team also plays its home games at Shuttleworth Park.

References

Sports venues in Montgomery County, New York Baseball venues in New York (state) 1914 establishments in New York (state) Sports venues completed in 1914 {{NewYork-baseball-venue-stub