J. Fred Johnson Stadium, Kingsport, Tenn.

The K-Mets Played Here

Exterior of J. Fred Johnson Stadium, Jul-2005.

The baseball seating bowl.

You can see the broken wall and the visitors’ football stand here.

Quick Facts:

Location: Fort Smith Drive and Eastman Road, Kingsport, Tenn.
Opened: Before 1951
Home team: Kingsport Cherokees, Appalachian League (1943?-52, 1955), Mountain States League (1953-54); Kingsport Orioles (1957), Pirates (1960-63), Royals (1969-73), Braves (1974-79), Mets (1980-94), Appalachian League

Kingsport was a member of the Appalachian League in the early 1950s and used this facility. A plaque outside the park was dedicated by the six members of the Appy League to the memory of H. Joseph Higgins in 1951.

There are actually two stadium structures here. These photos show the baseball stadium; however, there is also a football stadium on the premises. It appears that the left-field wall of the original baseball park has been removed to accommodate football. It is likely that when pro ball was played here after the football stadium was built, a temporary fence was erected; otherwise, the left-field wall would be more than 550 feet away.

Today, the stadium is part of the campus of Dobyns-Bennett High School, which uses it for both baseball and football. The Kingsport Mets moved to Hunter Wright Stadium in 1995.

Return to the Stadiums page
Return to Charlie’s home page
Send us feedback