Municipal Ball Park, Porterville, Calif.

Porterville Municipal Ball Park

Porterville Ball Park, as seen from down the right-field line, Aug-2008.

The original grandstand has been torn out; the building to the right is a concession stand
for community baseball.

The view from behind the plate.

Quick Facts:

Location: Fig and Garden streets, Porterville, Calif.
Opened: 1949 (or earlier)
Home team: Porterville Packers, Sunset League (1949-50); Porterville Comets, Southwest International League (part of 1952)
Capacity: 1,000 (approx., 2008)

Porterville saw three seasons of professional baseball at this facility. The Packers played in the Sunset League in 1949-50, and folded when the league was merged into the Southwest International League (the Arizona-Texas League joined in the merger). In 1952, the Southwest International League tried something different: they fielded all-black teams. (This was six years after the integration of organized baseball.) The Porterville Comets started the season in Riverside, moved to Porterville in late April, and disbanded at the beginning of August.

When I arrived in the summer of 2008, the original grandstand had been torn out, although its supporting building, which apparently once contained ticket booths and still contains restroom facilities, was still in place. A fairly modern concession stand next to the old grandstand along the third-base side serves the Porterville Babe Ruth League, the park's primary tenant today.

There is also a third-base bleacher which is in extreme disrepair. The first five rows have been retrofitted with aluminum bleachers, while the rest of the bleacher has no seats.

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