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Cardines Field, "a small urban gem of a ballpark",〔Jeffery Staats quoted in ''Field of Dreams''〕 is a baseball stadium located at 20 America’s Cup Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. It is believed to be one of the oldest ballparks in the United States. The field serves as a buffer between the residential and commercial sections of an older part of Newport. The oddly shaped outfield fence and dimensions are created by the close proximity of residential housing, while the spectator side of the park is contained by America's Cup Avenue and West Marlborough Street.〔Wikimapia〕 Originally called Basin Field, references to the field can be found as early as 1893. At that time, the property was used by local railroads as a drainage and supply basin for steam engines. Complaints from neighbors about the stagnant water and mosquitoes prompted the drainage of the basin area, permitting baseball to be played. A local historical debate continues as to whether baseball was played prior to 1900, making Cardines one of the oldest existing ballparks in the country, or if play didn't begin until 1908, the earliest documented proof of stadium construction. The Basin Field ballpark was later renamed for Bernardo Cardines, a Newport baseball player who was Newport's first citizen to die in World War I. Today, the ballpark continues to be the home of the historic Sunset League, as well as the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. ==History== Built for unofficial sandlot baseball games by railroad workers from the adjacent Old Colony Division of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Line, the field hosted many barnstorming all-stars, including Negro League teams like the Baltimore Elite Giants, Boston Royal Giants and the New York Black Yankees. Satchel Paige once played at Cardines. The original backstop dates back to as early as 1908, when the city organized its first six-team league at the park.〔Field of Dreams〕 Cardines Field is a smaller cousin of other notable ballparks of that era, such as Ebbets Field, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, with a stone facade and wooden bleachers with unique outfield angles. The exterior's elliptical arches reflect the facade of the original Yankee Stadium.〔 In 1936, the city of Newport took over ownership. Stone and concrete bleachers were built along the third-base line by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1936-1937. The plaque at the entrance that reads "1937" refers to this date.〔 The current grandstand was built by the WPA following the devastating hurricane of 1938. The distinctive curving grandstand section behind home plate was built in 1939.〔 Over the coming decades, the park continued to grow through construction projects to increase capacity, eventually creating the patchwork, overlapping stadium seen today. During World War II, many former professional ball players were stationed at Naval Station Newport. Many of these players, including Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, and Bob Feller〔 participated in Newport's George Donnelly Sunset League, an amateur league formed in 1919. Wednesday night all-star games drew thousands and required construction of temporary bleachers in the outfield. The Sunset League was named because games began at 5:30 p.m. and ended at dusk, prior to the addition of lights at the park. It is the oldest continuous amateur baseball league in the country. With black players such as Larry Doby and Luke Easter, the Sunset League was integrated several years before Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.〔 The league continues today as key chapter of Cardines' history. 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「Cardines Field」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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