Felton Little Park (originally Auburn City Park) is a municipal park in Auburn, Alabama, United States. Felton Little Park is the oldest park in Auburn. From 1949 until 1968, the park was the home stadium of the Auburn High School Tigers football team, and from 1949 through 1967, the Auburn High School baseball team.[1] Today, Felton Little Park has three softball fields for youth leagues. The park is named for Felton Little, an Auburn city councilman who donated the land for the park.[2]
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| Former names | Auburn City Park (1949–1955) |
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| Location | 341 East Glenn Avenue Auburn, Alabama, United States |
| Coordinates | 32°36′38″N 85°28′37″W / 32.61056°N 85.47694°W |
| Owner | City of Auburn |
| Operator | City of Auburn |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1949 |
| Opened | September 30, 1949 |
| Renovated | 2003 |
| Closed | October 4, 1968 |
| Tenants | |
| Auburn High School Tigers (AHSAA) (1949–1968) | |
History
editIn the late 1940s the city of Auburn decided that the town needed a centrally-located park and football and baseball facilities for Auburn High School, which had previously been playing home matches at nearby Auburn University. The nearest property suitable for such a park to downtown was owned by Felton Little, who donated the land to the city in September 1947.[3] On September 30, 1949, the park was dedicated as Auburn City Park as the Auburn High football team played Tuskegee High School. As the football field was equipped with outdoor lights, this was the first night football game to be played in Auburn.[4]
In 1955, the park was renamed "Felton Little Park" after its benefactor. In 1967, the Auburn High baseball team moved from the park to a new facility on the high school campus (today Sam Welborn Field), and on October 4, 1968, the football team played its final game at Felton Little before inaugurating its new stadium, Duck Samford Stadium. In the early 1970s, the park was converted to house three youth-league baseball fields, and in 2003 the park underwent a major renovation which converted the three fields to softball fields.[5]
Records
editAuburn High School's football team played 20 seasons at Felton Little, compiling a 42–42–8 record.[6]
References
edit- ^ Lee County Bulletin, September 28, 1949; Lee County Bulletin, October 2, 1968; Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, February 1967.
- ^ Alabama Department of Archives and History, Alabama Official and Statistical Register, (Montgomery, Ala.: State of Alabama, 1931), 303.
- ^ "Eight Acres Is Given City For Park By Little Heirs", Lee County Bulletin, September 4, 1947.
- ^ Lee County Bulletin, September 28, 1949.
- ^ Auburn and Opelika Tourism Bureau, Auburn-Opelika Sporting Facilities Guide (2006), 2; Lee County Bulletin, October 2, 1968.
- ^ AHSFHS.org, Auburn Yearly Record, retrieved August 16, 2008.
See also
edit- Felton Little Park – official site