In 1924, Mayor Lang convinced the New York Yankees to bring the Yankees to St. Petersburg for two reasons: its weather and protecting their players from the temptations in New Orleans. We still have the great weather, but St. Petersburg is no longer “God’s Waiting Room.” The New York Yankees trained in Crescent Lake Field (later Miller Huggins, then Huggins-Stengel) from 1925-1961, followed by the New York Mets (1962-1987), and the Baltimore Orioles (1992-1995). Huggins-Stengel Field is named after New York Yankees manager Miller Huggins and New York Yankees/New York Mets manager Casey Stengel. Baseball greats such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Cal Ripken Jr., Roger Maris, Tom Seaver, Daryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Nolan Ryan, and Willie Mays played at Huggins-Stengel Field. The field has not been raised or lowered and is virtually the same field baseball legends played on since 1925.
The field was dedicated in 1925 by St. Petersburg Mayor Al Lang and was “made to measure” for Babe Ruth who was the home run king at the time. Right field is about 390 feet from home plate to outer rim. The field was filled in and sodded to allow for a deep right field otherwise Babe Ruth’s drives would end up in the swamp.
The 1920’s Yankees clubhouse was torn down in the early 1960s and replaced by the current clubhouse. The original lockers were moved to the new clubhouse. In 2003, the clubhouse underwent renovations to house the City’s Teen Arts, Sports, and Cultural Opportunities (TASCO) offices. Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association has held its meetings in the clubhouse since its inception. When you walk into the building, lockers from the original clubhouse greet you with memorabilia from a time when baseball greats came every year to Crescent Lake Park for spring training.
In April 2018, Crescent Lake Neighborhood Association filed a Local Landmark Designation Application for Huggins-Stengel Field. One of the recommendations of the 1994 Crescent Lake Neighborhood Plan was to pursue city landmark designation for Huggins-Stengel Field and the Crescent Lake Water Tower. Crescent Lake Water Tower was designated a local historic landmark in 2008. Finally, pursuant to our application, the City of St. Petersburg designated Huggins-Stengel Field a local historic landmark in 2018. In 2019, it was listed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. Below is a link to the Huggins-Stengel Field local landmark application, which contains a more thorough history and historical photographs:
https://clnastpete.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Huggins-Stengel-Field-LLDA-final.pdf
You can also see find some historical images of the Yankees and Mets at Huggins-Stengel Field through the below link:
Article on the New York Mets’ first spring training in 1962 at Huggins-Stengel Field:
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/sports/baseball/remembering-the-mets-first-spring-in-1962.html
Bibliography:
Chick, Bob. “Spring Training in St. Pete Through the Years.” Tampa Bay Tribune, 2 June 2013, http://www.tbo.com/sports/sports/2008/feb/24/sp-spring-training-in-st-pete-through-the-years-s-ar-148926/
Dodd, Mike. “St. Pete Home to Boys of Spring, Legends of Summer.” USA Today, 23 October 2008, https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/playoffs/2008-10-23-st-pete-spring-training-roots_N.htm
Noble, Marty. “Huggins-Stengel Field Houses Memories of Springs Past.” mlb.com, 11 March 2013, Web. 12 November 2017, http://m.mlb.com/news/article/42608152/huggins-stengel-field-houses-memories-of-springs-past/
“Crescent Lake Diamond ‘Made to Measure’ for Babe Ruth’s Long Flies.” St. Petersburg Times, 24 February 1925