Photo: 17 November 2018
Tingley Field
There has been an athletic field of one kind or another occupying the block
bounded by 8th Street SW, 10th Street SW, Atlantic Avenue SW, and Stover
Avenue SW since the early 20th Century.
In 1937 the stadium was upgraded by
the Works Progress Administration (WPA) for professional minor leaque
baseball as home to the Albuquerque Cardinals. During World War II the
stadium was used for Amy ball games, and then was a minor-league stadium
again until
1969, when it was demolished and replaced by sports park shown
in these photos.
References
- Tingley Field,
Wikipedia, accessed 27 November 2018.
- Sports,
Albuquerque Tricentennial website, accessed 27 November 2018: "During the
Depression, Gov. Clyde Tingley secured federal WPA funding to build
bleachers and a 4,000-seat concrete grandstand at the ballpark at 10th and
Atlantic in the Barelas Neighborhood. When it opened in 1937, Branch
Rickey, general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, had high praise for
Tingley and the Works Progress Administration. The Albuquerque Cardinals
then lost an exhibition game to the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1938 the
park was named Tingley Field. Tingley Field had a capacity of 3,000 seats,
but often 5,000 fans overflowed the stadium. When the batter hit a home run,
he strolled along the bleachers, and fans handed him money. The Albuquerque
Cardinals were a farm club to the St. Louis Cardinals from 1937 to
1941. During World War II Tingley Field closed from 1942 until
1946. Baseball fans were entertained by semi-pro clubs and Kirtland's Flying
Kellys, which included major and minor league players."