Meiklejohn Stadium is a ballpark in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. It is on the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
campus and is the home field for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers varsity baseball team. It opened in March 2000.
The field is about half a mile south-southeast of
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for American football, foo ...
, along the eastern edge of the university's campus, along the
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...
. The ballpark is tucked away near the intersection of the
Schuylkill Expressway
The Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as "the Schuylkill", is a freeway through southern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 (I-76) in the U.S. state of Pennsyl ...
and University Avenue. The
CSX railroad tracks run behind home plate and are still in use.
I-76
Interstate 76 may refer to:
Interstate Highways in the United States
* Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska)
* Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey), running through Pennsylvania
Video gaming
* ''Interstate '76
''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular ...
(the Schuylkill Expressway) runs parallel to the outfield wall with exit 41 visible from home plate. The right field foul line is kept tight by a large power plant that has two rising cooling tanks and a fence around its perimeter. River Field Drive, which fronts the railroad tracks to the north, is so close that there are only a couple of rows of seats available on the third base side.
History
The field opened in 2000 and was originally called Murphy Field after the athletic fields on which the ballpark was built. The university referred it to as "Penn Stadium at Murphy Field" in Athletic Department publications. These fields were named for
Mike Murphy
Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', '' Winning Streak'' and '' The Bi ...
, an early Penn track coach (1896–1901 and 1905–1913) who won eight intercollegiate track championships at Penn.
When it opened, the dimensions were reported to be 289 feet to the left field foul pole, 317 feet to the right field foul pole, and 385 feet to dead center field, and 38 feet from home-plate to the backstop.
The first game was played on March 23, 2000, against
St. Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...
; Penn beat St. Joe's 13–12. The ballpark was officially dedicated on April 15, 2000; former Penn baseball player
Doug Glanville
Douglas Metunwa Glanville (born August 25, 1970) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers. He is also a broadcast color analyst ...
threw out the first pitch.
It was renamed Meiklejohn Stadium in 2006 to honor Penn-donor William Meiklejohn, a 1942 graduate of the
Wharton school
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...
and his wife, Louise. Their contributions to the University included $10 million in 2005 to help renovate the baseball field including the addition of a new scoreboard. The field was officially renamed on April 1, 2006, prior to a double-header against
Brown University.
The ballpark does not have lights, so all games are played during the day.
Predecessors
From at least 1875 through the first few games of 1895, the team staged its home games at Penn's multi-purpose athletic grounds, aka University Grounds. The field was on the block southeast of the 37th and Spruce intersection, a few blocks west of the eventual site of Franklin Field. That site is now occupied by dormitories and a quadrangle
Thisis a photo of the baseball field. When a fire destroyed the
Philadelphia Phillies' home ballpark in August of 1894, the Phillies played some home games her
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for American football, foo ...
served as Penn's home baseball field starting on April 22, 1895. Records show that the Penn varsity baseball team played at Franklin Field from 1895 through 1939. The diamond was tucked into the south corner, with left and center fields spacious and right field very close, possibly less than 250 feet
Thisis a photo of baseball at Franklin Field.
River Field, another campus multi-sports facility, opened a baseball diamond in 1940, allowing the baseball team to vacate Franklin Field.
hiladelphia Inquirer, Feb 14, 1940 Penn played at Murphy Field in 1961.
Bower Field, which opened in May 1979, was Penn baseball's home field immediately prior to Meiklejohn. It was known to be a pitchers' ballpark. Bower was 330 feet down the line in left field, 340 feet down the line to right, 410 feet to dead-center, and had a 25-foot high fence extending from left-center to right-center.
The field site, across the railroad tracks east-southeast of Franklin Field, is now occupied by the Hamlin Tennis Center.
See also
*
List of NCAA Division I baseball venues
*
Schuylkill Arsenal Railroad Bridge
Schuylkill Arsenal Railroad Bridge is a wrought iron, two-track, deck truss swing bridge across the Schuylkill River between the University City and Grays Ferry neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1885–86 by the Pennsyl ...
References
External links
University of Pennsylvania Athletics: Meiklejohn StadiumUniversity of Pennsylvania Athletics: Directions to Meiklejohn Stadium
{{Pennsylvania NCAA Division I college baseball venue navbox
College baseball venues in the United States
Penn Quakers baseball
Sports venues in Philadelphia
Baseball in Philadelphia
Baseball venues in Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania campus
2000 establishments in Pennsylvania
Sports venues completed in 2000