Pullman Park

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Pullman Park
nickname =


location = Butler, Pennsylvania
broke ground =
opened = 1934 reopened 2008
closed = 2005-2007 (rebuilding)
owner =
operator =
surface = Turf
construction_cost = $5,000,000 (2008 rebuilding)
architect = [http://www.ligoarchitects.com/ Ligo Architects] (2008 rebuilding)
former_names =
tenants = Butler High School Golden Tornado
Butler Indians (Cleveland Indians) (1935)
Butler Yankees (New York Yankees) (1936-1946)
Butler Tigers (Detroit Tigers) (1949-1950)
Butler Pirates (Pittsburgh Pirates) (1950)
seating_capacity = 4,000
Pullman Park is a baseball stadium located in Butler, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1934, and rebuilt in 2008, the ballpark hosted minor league teams that were affiliated with the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Today, the ballpark hosts the Butler High School Golden Tornado. The ballpark originally had a seating capacity of 1,300, but was increased to 4,000 seats in 2008. [ [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06233/715078-54.stm] , "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", 2006-08-21. Accessed 2008-03-03.] Butler officials hope that the renovation, and rebuilding of the ballpark will attract a new minor league baseball team to the city.

History

1934-2004

Pullman Park hosted minor league baseball from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Notable players such as Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, and Whitey Ford played at the stadium while the Yankees farm team (Butler Yankees) was in Butler. Joe Namath, Terry Hanratty, and Rich Saul also played at Pullman during their high school football years. The ballpark itself was named after the Pullman-Standard Company which was located near the field.Fact|date=March 2008

2005-2007 Renovation

The ballpark closed after the 2004 baseball season, and sat vacant for two years while necessary funds were raised to rebuild it. Construction began in the fall of 2007, and work was finally completed in June of 2008.

The New Pullman Park

On July 2, 2008, Pullman Park hosted a boxing match, televised on ESPN2. Butler native, Brian Minto knocked out John Poore 2:23 in the first round of the main fight. The match was the first major event to be hosted at the ballpark after the restoration and the first nationally televised event in Butler.

References

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Pullman_Park Pullman Park at Baseball Reference.com] , the online baseball encyclopedia
* [http://www.digitalballparks.com/Defunct/Pullman.html Digital Ballparks page on Pullman Park]