Bowman Field

Opened in 1926, Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, stands as the second oldest running minor league baseball park in the United States and the oldest ballpark in Pennsylvania. In its history, Bowman Field was the home field to teams such as the Williamsport Grays, Tigers, Athletics, Pirates, Tomahawks, Bills, and presently, the Williamsport Crosscutters. Williamsport's historic ballpark has hosted multiple members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in players like Ralph Kiner, Whitey Ford, Nolan Ryan, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Buck Leonard. Furthermore, local baseball stars, Don Manno, Ed Ott, and Mike Mussina played games at Bowman Field in their established professional careers. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission declared Bowman Field a state historic site in 2000.

Prior to Bowman Field's construction in the early 20th century, Williamsport's professional baseball teams played at Williamsport's Athletic Park and later, at the Williamsport Area High School Athletic Field. In 1923, the Williamsport's pro baseball club of the Tri-State League, the Williamsport Millionaires, joined the New York-Pennsylvania League. To accommodate the team's move to a new league, local businessman, J. Walton Bowman, and Sheriff, Thomas Gray, led a campaign to fund the construction of a new $75,000 ballpark in Williamsport. Shortly after the campaign's start, Gray died suddenly of a heart attack, leading the team to be renamed the "Williamsport Grays" in his honor. In Gray's absence, J. Walton Bowman became the president of the Williamsport Baseball Club and led the construction of the new stadium.

Upon its completion in 1926, the ballpark was named "Memorial Field" to honor the benefactors who donated funds for the stadium's construction. Memorial Field would later be renamed "Bowman Field" in 1929 to honor J. Walton Bowman, shortly after his death. Bowman Field's seating capacity allowed for 4,000 spectators to attend games. The fields dimensions were 367 feet to the left field fence from home plate, 450 feet to center field, and 400 feet to right field. A rather large field, Williamsport's Grit newspaper wrote, "there will be fewer home runs and more triples hit this season." In fact, until the field's dimensions were reduced by 50-60 feet prior to the 1934 season, only 10 homeruns were hit at Bowman Field in its first 8 seasons.

Bowman Field hosted its first baseball game on April 22, 1926, when the Williamsport Grays defeated Bucknell 5-3 in an exhibition game. In another exhibition 5 days later on April 27, 1926, hall of famer, Oscar Charleston, of the Harrisburg Colored Giants hit the first home run at Bowman Field. The Williamsport Grays' opened their first New York-Pennsylvania League season against the Shamokin Indians at Bowman Field on May 4, 1926. To celebrate the stadium's opening, the city of Williamsport held a parade and raised the Grays' league championship pennants from the 1923 and 1924 seasons.

After 30 years of use, Bowman Field fell into disrepair by the late 1950s. In 1957, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry condemned the stadium's wooden bleachers and parts of its grandstand, limiting its use to the local West Branch League. With repairs amounting to about $100,000, the city of Williamsport offered the stadium to Little League Baseball Inc. to use as the site for the Little League World Series. Little League rejected the offer, however, leading to proposals to utilize Bowman Field for local night football games and concerts. Following repairs, professional baseball returned to Williamsport in 1958. As a minor league of affiliate of the New York Mets in 1964, the light towers from the New York Baseball Giants and New York Mets' Polo Grounds were transported to Bowman Field to replace its lights installed in 1932.

From 1973-1986, Bowman Field experienced an absence of professional baseball. In 1987, however, pro baseball returned, requiring over a half a million dollars in repairs and renovations that endured into the 21st century. In 2017, Major League Baseball created the "MLB Little League Classic," an annual game at Bowman Field between two major league teams during the Little League World Series. Major League Baseball funded major renovations to match stadium standards expected for a big league game. The Little League Classic has hosted teams such as the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies, contributing to the list of baseball greats that have played at Bowman Field.

In its history, championship teams, hall of fame players, and local baseball stars have played at Bowman Field. Under the leadership of J. Walton Bowman and Thomas Gray, the ballpark began as a community project. Through continued support from the Williamsport community, Bowman Field has endured for nearly 100 years. With the recent establishment of the Little League Classic, both Major League Baseball and Little League Baseball have recognized Williamsport's devotion to professional baseball and Bowman Field's significance in baseball history.

“Billtown Phillies Head for Home.” Sunday Grit, January 11, 1987.

“Dedicate Field: Williamsport Grays to Open New Park, May 4.” Grit, May 2, 1926.

Little League. "Little League® to Welcome Red Sox, Orioles to Williamsport for 2020 “MLB Little League Classic Presented by GEICO." Littleleague.org. https://www.littleleague.org/news/little-league-to-welcome-red-sox-orioles-to-williamsport-for-2020-mlb-little-league-classic-presented-by-geico/ (accessed 5/1/2022).

Lycoming County Visitors Bureau. "Historic Bowman Field." Visitlycomingcounty.com. https://www.littleleague.org/news/little-league-to-welcome-red-sox-orioles-to-williamsport-for-2020-mlb-little-league-classic-presented-by-geico/ (accessed 5/1/2022).

“Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field History.” Milb.com. https://www.milb.com/williamsport/ballpark/history (accessed 2/4/22).

Quigel Jr., James P., and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr. Gateway to the Majors: Williamsport and Minor League Baseball. University Park, PA: Keystone Books, 2003.

Quigel Jr., James P., and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr. Williamsport’s Baseball Heritage. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 1998.

“To Name Board For Operating Bowman Field.” Grit, August 4, 1957.