Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium 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 ...

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

, USA, 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 ...

. The facility is named after former

Major League Baseball 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), ...

player

Thurman Munson Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional baseball catcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Mun ...

, who grew up in Canton. Munson was a

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who was killed when his private plane was attempting to land at Akron-Canton Regional Airport in Summit County on August 2, 1979. Munson's number 15 is displayed on the center field wall. The ballpark has a capacity of 5,700 people (as of 1996) and opened in . It is constructed almost entirely of

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

. It is the former home of the

Canton–Akron Indians The Canton–Akron Indians are a defunct Minor League Baseball team. They played in the Eastern League at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton, Ohio from 1989 to 1996. They were affiliated with the Cleveland Indians. History Prior to their ...

, the Double-A

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 ...

affiliate of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, which played at the ballpark from to . The team was renamed the

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

and moved into their new ballpark in downtown Akron in . When they moved out, the ballpark became the home of the

Canton Crocodiles Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

, a team of the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

, through . In , the Crocodiles left the stadium and it became the home ballpark of the

Canton Coyotes Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

, also of the Frontier League. After one season in Canton, the Coyotes moved to

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

and changed its name to the

Mid-Missouri Mavericks {{Infobox Minor League Baseball , name = Mid-Missouri Mavericks , firstseason = 1994 , lastseason = 2005 , allyears = , city = , misc = Columbia, Missouri (2003-2005)Canton, Ohio (2002)London, Ontario (1999-2001)Kalamazoo, Michigan (1996-199 ...

. The stadium currently serves as home for the Ohio Men's Senior Baseball League and also hosts high school games and tournaments throughout the season. The stadium is currently leased and managed by the Ohio Men's Senior Baseball League, an amateur adult baseball league whose offices are housed in the stadium. Since the Canton McKinley boys baseball team moved from Don Scott Field to Thurman Munson Stadium Canton City Schools have done significant upgrades and signed a 25 year lease with the city of Canton https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/2021/01/05/thurman-munson-stadium-undergo-significant-upgrades/4123922001/ Thurman Munson Stadium undergo significant upgrades

Notes

External links

Stadium web site

at ballparkreviews.com

at minorleagueballparks.com Minor league baseball venues Sports in Canton, Ohio Baseball venues in Ohio Canton-Akron Indians Buildings and structures in Canton, Ohio 1989 establishments in Ohio Sports venues completed in 1989 College baseball venues in the United States {{Ohio-baseball-venue-stub

See also

Notes

External links