 Main entrance to the baseball stadium at Memorial Park, Aug-2010. |
 The unusual narrow grandstand, flanked by picnic tables on the terraces. |
 Looking out at the field from behind the plate. |
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Main entrance to the baseball stadium at Memorial Park, Aug-2010. |
The unusual narrow grandstand, flanked by picnic tables on the terraces. |
Looking out at the field from behind the plate. |
The pheasant is South Dakota’s state bird, and it’s a good game bird as well. Hunting season begins in mid-October, and the city and much of the state are overrun by hunters for much of the fall. In commemoration of this, a statue known as the World’s Largest Pheasant is mounted on a building on 4 Street North at Jersey Avenue.
Directly across Jersey Avenue from the pheasant, you find a rare bird among ballparks. Memorial Park in Huron has stood since 1950, when it was financed with a donation from a service club known as Sertoma. The field is at the base of an amphitheater, and a narrow strip of seats extends about 20 rows up from field level to street level, directly behind the plate. The land alongside the seats has been terraced to allow for the placement of picnic tables. Also notable is that the light stanchions are located in the field of play (yes, their bases are padded).
I have to investigate usage of the field prior to 1965. It is possible that the field saw use in outlaw leagues prior to its six seasons of use for the Northern League. It again saw independent league action in 1994, with the short-lived Huron Heaters.