Clemens Field is a baseball stadium located at 403 Warren Barrett Drive, at the south end of downtown

Hannibal, Missouri Hannibal is a city along the Mississippi River in Marion and Ralls counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 17,312, making it the largest city in Marion County. The bulk of the city is in Mario ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The stadium was named for author

Samuel Clemens Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

(who wrote under the name

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

), a Hannibal resident. Built in 1938 (to replace the first field that was destroyed by fire), Clemens Field has served as a home for numerous minor league baseball teams. The ballpark underwent extensive renovations in 2008, and was most recently the home of the Hannibal Hoots of the collegiate summer

Prospect League The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their colleg ...

. Clemens Field was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2008.

History

First erected in 1924, the original Clemens Field was destroyed by fire on August 14, 1936. The replacement stadium was built as a

Works Project Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

project in 1936-38. The park is listed on the

. The park has a limestone wall around the entire perimeter and a grandstand behind home plate. The same plans were used for Carson Park, a ballpark in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire (; ) (French for "clear water") is a city mostly located in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat, and with a small portion in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the stat ...

, which is also on the National Register. (includes 15 photographs from 2008) Clemens Field tenants include the Hannibal Citizens (1955); Hannibal Cardinals (1953–1954); Hannibal Stags (1952) and Hannibal Pilots (1947–48) of the

Mississippi–Ohio Valley League The Mississippi–Ohio Valley League was a Class-D American minor league baseball league. Evolving from the renamed Illinois State League (1947-1948), the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League operated for seven seasons, from 1949 through 1955. In 195 ...

(1952–1955) and

Central Association The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. It began operations in 1908, as it was essentially renamed from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association ran continuously through 1917. It was reorganized thirty yea ...

(1947–1948), the two leagues that simply changed names and were the direct predecessors of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. Hannibal teams were affiliates of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

(1953–1954) and

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

(1947). In 1944 the stadium was used as a German prisoner-of-war camp. The 200 POW's lived in tents, were surrounded by barbed wire and sorted military shoes for repair and reuse. Clemens Field was used infrequently after minor league baseball left Hannibal in 1955. In 2008, Clemens Field received a major renovation that preserved the original grandstand and brick wall perimeter, added 2,500 seats and modern amenities. The Hannibal Cavemen of the

folded after the conclusion of the 2016 season, and were replaced by the Hannibal Hoots in 2018. Flooding forced the Hoots franchise to relocate south to O'Fallon, Missouri after the 2019 season. As of 2020, Clemens Field now hosts local area youth and 16U summer leagues.

Renovations

On June 10, 2008 a ceremony was held and renovations began on the ballpark. In the fall of 2007, Hannibal Baseball LLC worked with the City of Hannibal to bring a collegiate league team to Hannibal, targeting Clemens Field for renovations in the process. The 2007 Board of Directors for the upcoming Hannibal team and renovations included Arizona Diamondbacks GM

Roland Hemond Roland A. Hemond (October 26, 1929 – December 12, 2021) was an American professional baseball executive who worked in Major League Baseball. He served as the scouting director of the California Angels, general manager of the Chicago White Sox ...

, St. Louis Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty, Philadelphia Phillies executive Lee Thomas, former Cardinals player and manager Red Schoendienst, and former Kansas City Royals player Frank White. The project was completed and the Hannibal Cavemen of the

began play in 2009. The 3.3 million renovations project was honored in a presentation at the Missouri State Capital in 2010. The project received the Preserve Missouri Award from Missouri Preservation. A new scoreboard and press box were installed prior to the 2012 season. In 2016, a new entrance gate was added to the ballpark. Called the Jake Beckley .308 Gate, the gate was named for

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

player, Jake Beckley, who was a Hannibal player and native. The grandstand roof was also replaced for the 2016 season.

References

{{authority control Baseball venues in Missouri Minor league baseball venues Mississippi-Ohio Valley League Mark Twain Hannibal, Missouri Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Sports venues completed in 1939 National Register of Historic Places in Marion County, Missouri Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Hannibal, Missouri micropolitan area Marion County, Missouri Defunct Midwest League ballparks