Owen J. "Donie" Bush Stadium is the name of a
stadiumA modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
formerly used by
minor league baseballMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team
Indianapolis IndiansThe Indianapolis Indians are a minor league baseball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club. The Indians play at Victory Field, located in downtown Indianapolis...
in
Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. Its street address is 1501 West 16th Street. It was home to the
Indianapolis IndiansThe Indianapolis Indians are a minor league baseball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club. The Indians play at Victory Field, located in downtown Indianapolis...
, who have operated at the highest level of minor league ball for many decades, in three different leagues:
American AssociationThe American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
,
Pacific Coast LeagueThe Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
and
International LeagueThe International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
. It was also home to a few Negro League teams, as well as a
Continental Football LeagueThe Continental Football League was a professional minor American football league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside of the...
team, the Indianapolis Capitols, who won the league championship in 1969.
It started in life as
Perry Stadium, named for Norm Perry, the club owner who built it in 1931. It was renamed
Victory Field in 1942 in reference to
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1967 the ballpark was sold to the city, and later that same year it was renamed for former
major league baseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player and Indianapolis native
Donie BushOwen Joseph "Donie" Bush , was a Major League Baseball shortstop in the American League for the Detroit Tigers and the Washington Senators...
, who had served as president of the Indians from 1955 to 1969.
It had ivy growing on its brick walls, as with
Wrigley FieldWrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
and
Forbes FieldForbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
. During 1987 it was dressed up in different ways and used as the stand-in for both
Comiskey ParkComiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
and
Crosley FieldCrosley Field was a Major League Baseball park located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second and third American Football League...
during the filming of
Eight Men OutEight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on Eliot Asinof 1963 book 8 Men Out. It was written and directed by John Sayles....
, which focused on the "
Black Sox ScandalThe Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
", the throwing of the 1919
World SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. It was abandoned by the ballclub when they moved to the new downtown ballpark
Victory FieldVictory Field is the name of the current minor league baseball park that is the home of the Indianapolis Indians of the International League. It is located in Indianapolis, Indiana....
in mid-season 1996. The official site states that the older Victory Field was given that name "celebrating the United States’ victory in World War II". Given the date the name was first used (1942), the name initially would have been about
encouraging victory (as with the famous
victory gardenVictory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply...
s).
Indianapolis hosted the
Pan Am Games in 1987The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event which was celebrated in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, from 7 August to 23 August 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas competed in 30 sports earning...
and the baseball events were held at Bush Stadium.
In 1997, Bush was converted to include a dirt track for midget auto racing and renamed the 16th Street Speedway, as with Philadelphia's
Baker BowlBaker Bowl is the best-known popular name of a baseball park that formerly stood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its formal name, painted on its outer wall, was National League Park. It was also initially known as Philadelphia Park or Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds.It was on a small...
several decades earlier; and like Baker Bowl, the auto racing venture failed (after two years) and the stadium fell into disrepair, with no apparent future. Currently, a study is underway to determine what to do with the property. The Indy Parks Department has control of the land, which is zoned as a park. Renovations, which would include removal of asbestos and lead paint, could cost around $10 million.
As of 2011 it was proposed the Stadium be turned into an apartment complex.
Dimensions
Original
- Left Field - 350 ft (106.7 m)
- Center Field Corner - 500 ft (152.4 m)
- Right Field - 350 ft (106.7 m)
Later
- Left Field - 335 ft (102.1 m)
- Left Center Field - 350 ft (106.7 m)
- Center Field Corner - 470 ft (143.3 m)
- Right Center Field - 350 ft (106.7 m)
- Right Field - 335 ft (102.1 m)
Final
- Left Field - 335 ft (102.1 m)
- Left Center Field - 350 ft (106.7 m)
- Deep Left Center - 405 ft (123.4 m)
- Center Field Inner Fence - 395 ft (120.4 m)
- Deep Right Center - 405 ft (123.4 m)
- Right Center Field - 350 ft (106.7 m)
- Right Field - 335 ft (102.1 m)
External links