Dudley Field was a baseball park in El Paso, Texas from 1924 to 2005. The field was named after Mayor R. M. Dudley (1862–1925), and originally hosted the El Paso Texans team.[1][2] Later the stadium played home to the El Paso Sun Kings, which later became the El Paso Diablos.[3][4] The Diablos called Dudley home until 1989, when they relocated to a new facility, Cohen Stadium, in the northeast of town. Though an open stadium, it was long jokingly referred to as the "Dudley Dome" by the stadium announcers. Dudley Field had bleachers running down each foul line to complement the covered grandstand, which was made of adobe bricks, and sat behind home plate. It was located on the south side of the city directly next to the El Paso Zoo. Dudley was also the former home of the El Paso Patriots soccer team, which now play in Patriot Stadium. Mickey Mantle and other prominent stars of the era played in Dudley in the 1950s as a member of the New York Yankees. Many had hoped to find a new use for the old facility, but none was forthcoming. Demolition was completed on November 5, 2005. The land was given to the El Paso Zoo for further expansion.[5]
Location | El Paso, Texas |
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Coordinates | 31°46′08″N 106°26′43″W / 31.7689537°N 106.4451757°W |
Capacity | 7,000 |
Field size | Left field: 340 ft (100 m) Center field: 395 ft (120 m) Right field: 340 ft (100 m) |
Construction | |
Opened | 1924 |
Demolished | November 5, 2005 |
Tenants | |
El Paso Texans (ATL, MNL, SIL, WTNML, SWL) 1930–1932, 1937–1941, 1946–1957 El Paso Sun Kings (SL, TL) 1961–1970, 1973 El Paso Dodgers (TL) 1972 El Paso Diablos (TL) 1974–1989 El Paso Patriots (PDL) 2004 |
References
edit- ^ Santillan, Richard A.; Enders, Eric; Lopez, Donovan (2017). Mexican American Baseball in El Paso. Arcadia Publishing. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-4671-2660-1.
- ^ Leibson, Arthur H. (December 1, 1994). "Dudley, Richard M." tshaonline.org. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ^ Rico, José Oswaldo (October 29, 2016). "El Barrio del Diablo: A Look Back at Life in the Projects – Three of a Kind". El Paso Herald-Post. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ Maraniss, David (August 2, 1987). "THE DUDLEY DOME : Even Texas Leaguers Can Wind Up as Home Runs in the Friendly Confines of This El Paso Ballpark". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ Knight, Bill (May 2, 2017). "Diablos Days evoke wonderful memories of Dudley Dome". El Paso Times. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
External links
edit- A Baseball Team by Any Other Name, Borderlands article
- "Dudley Field - El Paso, Texas". ballparkreviews.com.