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The P.R.R. YMCA Athletic Field, also known as Penmar Park and commonly referred to in the 1930s and 1940s as the 44th and Parkside ballpark, was an athletic field and ballpark in West Philadelphia from 1903 to the early 1950s. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA. It was the home of the Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA of Philadelphia football club, often called the "Railroaders", from 1903 through 1905,〔 and the Philadelphia Stars Negro league baseball club from 1936 until 1952. The field was also used as a multi-sport athletic field used by the local community. During the 1930s the field was the site of home football games of Overbrook High School and St. Joseph's Preparatory School. Overbrook also played their home baseball games there. For example, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy held 1906 Commencement Week "Athletic Games" at the field. The independent Norfolk Black Bombers all-black barnstorming football team played the Washington Willow Trees on Thanksgiving Day 1942 at the park. Stars co-owner Eddie Gottlieb organized a semi-professional baseball team called the "All-Phillies" which played at the field in its later years. The field first opened on May 3, 1903.〔 The ballpark itself was erected in the 1920s. Lights were added in 1933 to allow for night games. Behind the park's right-field fence stood the roundhouse of the main yard of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Stars player Stanley Glenn would later recount how smoke and soot from the coal-powered trains would waft into the ballpark. Glenn recalls that the Stars would often stop their games until the smoke had cleared from the field. Players recalled the field being rarely manicured resulting in the grass growing high.〔 〕 Ballpark capacity is said to have been 5,000〔 to 6,000 people. Overflow crowds would bring attendance up to 10,000. ==PRR Football== The Pennsylvania Railroad supported its employees through its sponsorship of the Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA. Philadelphia's Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA building was located at 41st Street and Westminster Avenue in West Philadelphia and was dedicated in 1894. Also that year, the YMCA began to sponsor the Pennsylvania Railroad's employee football team which had existed since 1886. This Railroad-YMCA team played against local college and athletic club teams. Players were former college players employed by the Railroad. (A similar club composed of players who worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad's "Panhandle Division" in Ohio would enter the National Football League as the Columbus Panhandles.) The "Railroaders" played home games until 1902 at a field at 52nd and Jefferson Streets. The YMCA opened their new field at Belmont and Parkside Avenues on May 2, 1903. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「44th and Parkside Ballpark」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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