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PARK HISTORY
Lane Field was the original home of the San Diego Padres, when they were in the Pacific Coast League, from 1936-1957. In 2015 it was dedicated as a city park, now Lane Field Park.
The stadium was originally built in 1925 as a U.S. Navy athletic field, and later had football bleachers and a track for auto and motorcycle races added. In 1936, Bill "Hardpan" Lane, who moved his Hollywood Stars to San Diego to become the Padres, had the Works Progress Administration (WPA) rebuild the venue into a baseball park.
LANE FIELD PARK HISTORY
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1927
Field Expansion
Later, The field was equipped with football-style bleachers and a track for motorcycle and auto races.
Ted Williams
Park attendance was boosted due to a PCL pennant-winning team and the attraction of a budding 17-year-old local star named Ted Williams.
1948
Johnny Ritchey
Johnny Ritchey became the first African-American player in the Pacific Coast League when he joined the Padres in 1948. Other notable African-American players who joined the San Diego team included Luke Easter, Minnie Miñoso, Harry "Suitcase" Simpson, and Sam Jones, all of whom went on to have successful careers in the major leagues.
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1925
U.S. Navy
The park began its life as a U.S. Navy athletic field.
1936
San Diego Padres
Bill "Hardpan" Lane moved his minor league baseball team, the "Hollywood Stars," from the Los Angeles area to become the Pacific Coast League's "San Diego Padres" in 1936.
Boddy Doerr
During that period, the Padres also had second baseman Bobby Doerr, another future Hall of Famer, on the ’36 club.
1945
Jackie Robinson
Lane Field played a small part in the Jackie Robinson integration story. On October 7, two weeks before Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey formally announced the signing of Robinson to a Montreal Royals contract, three black baseball players from a California barnstorming team called the Kansas City Royals went through various batting, running, and fielding drills in their Royals uniforms at Lane Field. One of the players was Jackie Robinson.
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1954
Padres Win 2nd PCL Pennant
The San Diego Padres won another Pacific Coast League pennant in 1954 at Lane Field.
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1957
Abandonment
The Padres abandoned Lane Field after the 1957 PCL season. The wooden park, so close to the waterfront, constantly needed repair and replacement of its boards, which tended to rot quickly in the sea air.
The site of Lane Field was transformed into a parking lot located between Pacific Highway and Harbor Drive, which was utilized by cruise ship passengers.
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2003
Plaque Placed
A plaque was placed in 2003 at the corner of Broadway and Pacific Highway to commemorate the former ballpark.
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2012
Park Approval
IIn 2012, the San Diego Port Commissioners approved a hotel complex project that included a park dedicated to Lane Field.
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2015
Park Dedication
The park was dedicated in 2015, featuring an outline of the batters’ boxes. The plaque was moved to the home plate site, featuring a quote from Ted Williams and a silhouette of him batting.
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1958
Padres Relocate
The team moved to Westgate Park, later known as Jack Murphy Stadium, and Qualcomm Stadium, now SDCCU Stadium, located in San Diego’s Mission Valley area.
2018
Lane Field Park Market
The best artisanal street food and craft market in downtown San Diego began operating at Lane Field Park in 2018.
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