Panther Park was the name of two ballparks located in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

. They were the home fields of the

Fort Worth Panthers A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

from 1911 to 1925 and from 1926 onward, respectively. The first park was initially called Morris Park, after club owner J. Walter Morris. The facility replaced Haines Park which existed from 1902 through 1910. By November 1914, after four seasons, Morris sold his interest in the club, and the new owner renamed it Panther Park. Morris/Panther Park (I) seated only 4,000 fans. The third base grandstand initially did not have a canopy to protect the fans from the relentless heat. The first base grandstand had a canopy, and the third base side later had a canopy added. The park was located on the "west side of North Main Street between 6th and 7th Streets". Its more precise location, per the 1925 news article, was North Throckmorton Street (northeast, third base), which is two blocks southeast of Main; Northwest 6th Street (southeast, left field); Northwest 7th Street (northwest, first base); and railroad tracks (southwest, right field). The Panthers won six consecutive

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

crowns from 1920 to 1925. In 1919, they were the runners-up to Shreveport as they lost four games to two in the championship series even though they finished the regular season at the top of the standings.http://texas-league.com/history/accomp/ In 1925, they swept the

Dallas Steers The Dallas Rangers were a high-level minor league baseball team located in Dallas, Texas from 1958 to 1964. The team was known by the Dallas Rangers name in 1958, 1959, and 1964 and as the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers from 1960 to 1963. It played in ...

in a best-of-five series to determine the second half champion, clinching the

title in the process. The field was replaced in 1926 by a new Panther Park (II). That park was located on the east side of North Main Street, five short blocks (Houston, Main, Commerce, Calhoun and Jones Streets) directly east-northeast of the original Panther Park. It seated about 13,000 fans. After the death of Panthers' owner Paul LaGrave in 1929, the second Panther Park was renamed

LaGrave Field LaGrave Field is an abandoned baseball park in Fort Worth, Texas. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home field of the Fort Worth Cats independent minor league baseball team. Its original version was the home of the predecessor Panthers ...

Sources

* "Baseball in the Lone Star State: Texas League's Greatest Hits," Tom Kayser and David King, Trinity University Press 2005 * "When Panthers Roared: The Fort Worth Cats and Minor League Baseball," Jeff Guinn with Bobby Bragan, c.1999 * "Baseball in Fort Worth," Mark Presswood and Chris Holoday, c.2004

References

Defunct baseball venues in the United States Defunct college football venues Defunct sports venues in Texas TCU Horned Frogs football TCU Horned Frogs sports venues American football venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Baseball venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex 1911 establishments in Texas Sports venues completed in 1911 {{Texas-baseball-venue-stub