Heritage Park at Progressive Field
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
A plaque commemorating Heritage Park.
The entrance to Heritage Park.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Progressive Field,
originally Jacobs Field, was built in 1994 to replace Municipal Stadium as the
home of the Cleveland Indians. It hosted the World Series in 1995 (Cleveland
Indians v. Atlanta Braves) and 1997 (Cleveland Indians v. Florida Marlins).
Between June 1995 and April 2001, Progressive Field had a (then) record 455
straight sellout games.
In 2007, a picnic area in center field was removed to make room for Heritage
Park, the home of the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. It is bordered by
landscaping so that it is not visible from the stands. The entrance is in a
walkway behind the outfield. Heritage Park has two levels. One level honors
Indians’ ball players who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of
Fame; the second level contains individual plaques for the players inducted
into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. Included are Larry Doby, the first
African-American player in the American League (began playing in 1946-just
months after Jackie Robinson), and Satchel Paige, who was brought in as a
"rookie" in 1948. Paige was well into his forties at the time.
He had had a remarkable career in the Negro Leagues.
The most recent inductee is Omar Vizquel, the Indians shortstop from 1994-2004.
He was inducted on June 21, 2014.