Cardinal Park


All that remains today of Cardinal Park, Jan-2022.
A look in toward the plate from behind the third baseman.
One of the dugouts, not likely original but no larger than the original.
Quick Facts:
Ardmore, an old Santa Fe rail line city that is also at the intersection of US 70 and US 77 (and now I-35), had seen action in the minor leagues at several ballparks over the years, but went without a team for two decades until the post-World War II minor league boom. Their original park is now the site of an elementary school, but the team moved to the edge of town for 1956 and settled here for two seasons until their league folded. When a Texas League club based in Victoria, Texas, was forced to move four years later, they found the Ardmore field available and they finished out the season here before relocating to El Paso.

It is entirely possible that these light stanchions (see right) are original to the ballpark, but they are likely the last remaining original structure. I have no idea when the grandstand here was torn out; today, there are not even any bleachers, although there is a small box where a scoreboard operator would sit. The field dimensions are also shorter than they were in the old days; they were short to begin with (371 feet to center), but today the fence is even closer to the plate than that.

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This page updated 18-Jan-2022