Hooker Field

Looking through the visitors’ bullpen at the field, Jul-2002.

A better view of the box seats behind the plate and the press box.

Nothing spectacular to look at here, but it’s nice and pleasant.

Chronological Tour: Stop 95

• Location: Chatham Heights Road at Commonwealth Boulevard, Martinsville, Va.
• Opened: 1988 as English Field
• Home team: Martinsville Phillies (1988-2000), Astros (2001-03), Appalachian League
• Capacity: 3,200

Rating: 2 baseballs

I showed up at Hooker Field to watch a July 1996 doubleheader in which a friend of mine was pitching the first game for what were then the Martinsville Phillies. So did about a thousand other people on a pleasant evening.

Hooker Field, owned by the City of Martinsville, is built on land donated by the Hooker Furniture Company, whose main plant is down the hill from the field. Its odd configuration consists of a small main grandstand (five or six rows) behind the plate, flanked by two small sections of box seats. The dugout areas are next, followed by a line of bleachers built into the hill on the left-field side and a set of aluminum bleachers on the right-field side. None of the stands are covered; to compensate, the club generally didn’t schedule games to start earlier than 6, although my 1996 doubleheader began at 4.

The entrance is at the top of the hill, and one walks down into the stands from there. No, you can’t see the famous Martinsville Speedway from the field, but the view is laconic, as it should be. Most of all, everybody seemed to be having fun watching the rookies take the first steps toward honing their skills.

In a move that caught many by surprise, the Astros announced that they were relocating to Greeneville, Tenn., for 2004, and would play at Tusculum College. A new stadium at that site opened in 2004 and was complete for 2005.

Meanwhile, the summer college wood-bat Coastal Plain League has moved a team into Martinsville. The club was active as of 2005.