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Wilson Field
Negro League Ball field
Main Street
Galesville, Maryland
Anne Arundel County |
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| Located north off Main Street in Galesville,
Anne Arundel County, the Galesville Ball Field (also known as
Wilson Field) was the
home of the Galesville Hot Sox. |
The Galesville Hot Sox began to play ball
on the Wilson field in 1929, some fourteen years after the team
originated. The team
consisted of local players, who made their living during the
week off the bounty of the Chesapeake and played baseball on
the weekends. The players collected between $55 to $100 for the
season, with payment at the end of the season. The members of
the team not only provided the spectators with entertainment,
they also furnished the food served in the concession stand.
Visitors could have hot dogs, chicken, potato salad, and a local
favorite, crab cakes; most treats cost less than twenty-five
cents. (Makell 2000, 93)
In their first year of play at the Wilson field, the Hot Sox suffered only
one loss during the season—to the Black Sox of the Negro Professional Baseball
League. The Galesville team may have played sandlot baseball, but they “always
played at least one Negro Professional League Team per season,” like the
Baltimore Giants and the Indianapolis Clowns. (Makell 2000, 93-95)
Local fans enjoyed a long, continuous playing record that extends even to the
present time. After moving to the Wilson field, the team only faced one major
interruption, World War II, while the players served in our country’s military.
According to John Makell, “[b]etween 1947-58 a total of 798 games were
played with ninety-two games played during the 1948 season. Largest recorded
attendance – 945 fans.” The field has met the local demands, as bleachers
were added between 1946 and 1967. (Makell 2000, 94)
What local visitors saw in Galesville was a smaller version of a phenomenon that
began in the late nineteenth century. The roots of black baseball began in the
1890s as a result of a league ban placed on “Negro” participation
in baseball that remained in place until 1946. Black baseball teams emerged particularly
in the Midwest around Chicago and in the eastern seaboard, between Philadelphia
and New York City. But the Negro National League was not established until 1920,
under the guidance of Rube Foster. The league lived a short life, as its leader
passed away in 1930, leaving it vulnerable to outside pressures, particularly
financial ones, in light of the Great Depression. The league would bounce back
into existence. In 1933, when the second Negro National League came to life,
and four years later, the Negro American League was born. The two leagues played
each other in seven World Series between 1942 and 1948, only to disband after
the last series was played. After Jackie Robinson signed on to play in the Major
National Baseball league, the need for a separate baseball league was no longer
evident; the Galesville Hot Sox integrated in 1967. (McNeil 2001, 1-6) |
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| Still in operation, the stadium includes a 12 feet deep
concession stand and wooden bleachers, consisting of six
rows of seats measuring eleven inches deep. Both features
accommodate the needs of fans for local and visiting teams. |
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| The home and away teams each have a concrete
block dugout. The playing field is 322 feet on the third
base line by 310 feet on the first base line and it is enclosed
by a wooden slate fence. |
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| The Wilson Field is still used today, but not by a local Galesville
team. Teams from surrounding Maryland counties lease the field
and carry out the tradition of playing games on Sundays. Currently,
there are no plans to restore any of the structures at the field. |
Jack Smith (410) 867-1215
Gertrude Makell (410) 867-4612/grandkids_0011@msn.com |
Makell, John, Personal Notes for speech given to Galesville
Heritage Society, 2000.
McNeil, William F., Cool Papas and
Double Duties: The All-Time Greats of the Negro Leagues,
Jefferson, North Carolina:
McFarland and Company, Inc., 2001.
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