J. Polk Brooks Stadium is a baseball stadium in Paducah, Kentucky. It is the home of the Paducah Chiefs. It is also used by college baseball, high school baseball (including the home field for nearby Paducah Tilghman High School),[3] American Legion Baseball, and other amateur teams. It was built in 1948 and 1949 for the original Paducah Chiefs, who folded in 1955. The community kept the ballpark up over the years using it for amateur baseball, before the Chiefs were reorganized in 2016 in the Ohio Valley Summer Collegiate Baseball League.[4][5]
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  J. Polk Brooks Stadium Location within Kentucky  J. Polk Brooks Stadium J. Polk Brooks Stadium (the United States) | |
| Address | 2400 Brooks Stadium Drive, Paducah, KY 42001 |
|---|---|
| Location | Paducah, Kentucky |
| Coordinates | 37°04′06″N 88°37′04″W / 37.068307°N 88.617849°W |
| Owner | City of Paducah |
| Operator | Brooks Stadium Commission |
| Capacity | 1,200 |
| Field size | Left field: 330 ft (100 m) Center field: 400 ft (120 m) Right field: 330 ft (100 m)[1] |
| Surface | grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | May 1948[2] |
| Opened | May 8, 1949[2] |
| Construction cost | $75,000 (1948–1949)[2] |
| Tenants | |
| Paducah Chiefs Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado | |
| Website | |
| brooksstadium | |
The park was named for J. Polk Brooks, a local bus line operator, who was the president of the Paducah Baseball Association. He was the person who singlehandedly got the stadium built, even if it meant doing the manual labor himself.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ "Racers and Wildcats Face-Off at Brooks". Murray State University Athletics. May 14, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c Craig, Berry (April–May 2009). "The House That Brooks Built" (PDF). Paducah Life Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2020 – via BrooksStadium.com.
- ^ "Brooks Stadium and PTHS Revised Schedule 2017" (PDF). BrooksStadium.com. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
- ^ "Brooks Stadium". Kitty League. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ^ "Paducah Chiefs Join OVL For 2016!!!". Madisonville Miners Baseball Club (Press release). October 29, 2015.
- ^ "Excavation to Start for New Ballpark" (PDF). BrooksStadium.com. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ^ "House That Brooks Built" (PDF). BrooksStadium.com. Retrieved May 9, 2018.