![Dunn field 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Dunn_field_1.jpg)
Dunn Field is a
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in
Elmira, New York
Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...
primarily used for
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
. Located on the banks of the Chemung River at the end of Luce St, it has been the home of various incarnations of the
Elmira Pioneers
The Elmira Pioneers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Elmira, New York. They have been affiliated with many major league teams throughout their history. The current Elmira Pioneers play as members of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseb ...
since its opening in 1939.
History
The first stadium at the site was known as the Maple Avenue Driving Park. On Friday, November 21, 1902, the stadium was the site of the first ever professional football night game. The
Philadelphia Athletics football team, of the
first National Football League, defeated the
Kanaweola Athletic Club, 39–0. The stadium also served as an alternate home for baseball's
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
in the late 19th century.
The Maple Avenue Driving Park was replaced by Recreation Park, which burned down in 1938. A new stadium built to replace it was named after a local businessman
Edward Joseph Dunn who donated some land for the stadium to the city.
Besides being the home field of the
Elmira Pioneers
The Elmira Pioneers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Elmira, New York. They have been affiliated with many major league teams throughout their history. The current Elmira Pioneers play as members of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseb ...
baseball team, a variety of events have taken place in the stadium over the years, such as wrestling and boxing matches, high school sports, and music concerts (
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
played there in 1984).
Dunn Field served as the home field for both Elmira Free Academy and Southside High School football teams for many years until each team built their own stadiums. The
Erie Bell game was often a special occasion at Dunn Field, since both Elmira Free Academy and Southside High School played their home games at Dunn Field.
Many great baseball players played their home games on this field during part of their
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
years, including
Wade Boggs
Wade Anthony Boggs (born June 15, 1958) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the New York Yankees (1993-1997), and the Tampa ...
,
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...
, and
Jim Palmer
James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...
. Former player and
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
manager
Don Zimmer
Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 d ...
was even married on Dunn Field in 1951 (pictured in
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
magazine, and his autobiography).
Stadium Operations Staff
Renovations 2012
![Dunn field 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Dunn_field_2021.jpg)
What was supposed to be $12,000 quickly climbed to almost $40,000 in renovations. The work is being paid for by the City of Elmira, owner of the 73 year old stadium, and will go from the entrance way all the way to some of the seating being done and repainted. Bathrooms without tile will be a thing of the past. Most notable is a section of stadium seating ripped out.
Robbie Nichols is the new co-owner of the Elmira Pioneers, along with his wife Nellie Franco-Nichols. Workers are now working to fill in that hole with new steel. Other sections of the stadium will also need the same repair.
While fans also enjoy a new beer garden just behind 3rd base, with live entertainment during games, the players won't be forgotten. "There were posters hanging in the locker room. You take down a poster and there was either a bat hole or ball hole. We put 10 new sheets of sheet rock up,″ Lewis said. The new locker room and other events are in hopes Dunn Field will return to its once famed reputation for Elmira.
"We want to open it the right way. Have a great impact to the city,” Lewis said.
The Numbers
Dunn Field has a capacity of 4,020 people, including 312 box seats. Its field dimensions are:
* Left - 325'
* Left Center - 358'
* Center - 386'
* Right Center - 358'
* Right - 325'
* Fences are 12' high (20' in LF).
References
External links
Dunn Field
*
ttp://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/historyofnewyorkstate/bio/pt54.html Edward Joseph Dunn -- ''The History of New York State Biographies'', Editor, Dr. James Sullivan{Dead link, date=July 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Sports venues in Chemung County, New York
Minor league baseball venues
Baseball venues in New York (state)
Buildings and structures in Elmira, New York
1939 establishments in New York (state)
Sports venues completed in 1939
College baseball venues in the United States
High school baseball venues in the United States
High school football venues in the United States
American football venues in New York (state)