Robin Roberts Stadium

Walking in to Lanphier Park just after game time, Aug-1995.

At the viewer’s right is a park within a park – a mini-wooded area beyond the center-field wall but inside the main fence.

Chronological Tour: Stop 87

• Location: North Grand near 11th Street, Springfield, Ill.
• Opened: 1925 (renovated 1977)
• Home team: Springfield Senators, Three-I League (1925-32, 1935), Mississippi Valley League (1933); Springfield Browns, Three-I League (1938-49); Springfield Sallies, All American Girls Professional Baseball League (1948-50); Springfield Redbirds, American Association (1978-81); Springfield Cardinals (1982-93), Sultans of Springfield (1994-95), Midwest League; Springfield Capitals, Frontier League (1996-2001)
• Capacity: 5,000

Rating: 3 baseballs

One of the more appealing parts of the ball field is the park within a park in the outfield. A ball hit directly to center field stands a chance of landing in the vegetation.

In 1995, the Sultans of Springfield (one of my favorite names of a ball club, probably because I like the Dire Straits song “Sultans of Swing”) were bought and moved out of town; they became the Lansing Lugnuts. The park was used by the independent Springfield Capitals for the next six years.

Most recently, the ballpark has been seen hosting the Prospect League, a college summer league.