Muzzy Field

Muzzy Field
Location	Park Street and Muzzy Street, Bristol, Connecticut, USA
Coordinates	41°40′23″N 72°57′34″W / 41.673176°N 72.959459°W / 41.673176; -72.959459Coordinates: 41°40′23″N 72°57′34″W / 41.673176°N 72.959459°W / 41.673176; -72.959459
Built	Muzzy Field has been in use since 1912 for both baseball and football. The grandstand, which still stands today, was built in 1939.
Capacity	4,900
Field dimensions	339 ft. (LF), 359 ft. (Left center), 402 ft. (CF), 369 ft. (Deep right center), 330 ft. (Right center), 326 (RF)
Tenants
Bristol Collegiate Baseball Club (NECBL) (2010-present) Bristol Nighthawks (NECBL) (1994-1995) Bristol Red Sox (AA EL) (1972-1982) Bristol Owls (Colonial League) (1949-1950) Bristol Central High School, Bristol Eastern High School, Saint Paul Catholic High School baseball and football

Muzzy Field is a stadium in Bristol, Connecticut. The ballpark, which is adjacent to the city's Rockwell Park, was built in 1939 and has a capacity of 4,900 people. In 2010 it was the home to the Bristol Collegiate Baseball Club of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. It is also used for high school sports, primarily baseball and football. Currently three high schools employ the field: Bristol Central High School, Bristol Eastern High School, and Saint Paul Catholic High School. The stadium features a ring of tall pine trees that line the outside of the outfield wall and the brickfaced grandstand.

Muzzy Field was the home of the Double-A Bristol Red Sox of the Eastern League from 1972 to 1982. Former Boston Red Sox stars Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, and Butch Hobson honed their skills while members of the "BriSox." The ballpark also housed the old Bristol Owls of the Class-B Colonial League in 1949 and 1950, as well as various amateur baseball teams, notably the Bristol En-Dees and the local American Legion team. The Bristol Nighthawks, a now defunct franchise of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, played their home games at Muzzy Field during both 1994 and 1995.

Muzzy Field was the site of the Big East Conference baseball championship tournament for a number of years in the 1980s and 1990s.

In 2004 the stadium was also the site of an American Idol audition. (See The Bristol Press, August 7, 2004.)

A local, though probably apocryphal, legend holds that Babe Ruth hit the first home run in Muzzy Field when traveling with a barnstorming baseball team in the late 1930s or early 1940s.

Muzzy Field is also the location of the annual "Battle for the Bell" contested by the two city public high schools, Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central. The two meet annually on Thanksgiving morning, with the winner holding claim for the bell for the following year.