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| From Baseball's Canadian-American League by David Pietrusza: The McNearney brothers went all out to give Schenectady a first-class facility, operating from the beginning with an Eastern League franchise in mind. McNearney Stadium was a concrete and steel park as opposed to the wooden grandstands that dominated the circuit, save for the two Quebec stadiums. Architecturally, it was similar to their nearby beer distributorship. Among its innovations were a coin-operated turnstile (which took silver dollars—I’m sure everyone was carrying silver dollars in 1947) and a new electric scoreboard. It also was reputed to be the only minor league park with a real restaurant on the grounds. It was lit by the newest of General Electric floodlights, the same as were just being installed at Yankee Stadium. A hundred and sixty of the new bulbs, providing 278,000 watts, made McNearney the best-illuminated field in the league. Management and General Electric were so proud they arranged an exhibition for the press, emphasizing not only the brightness of the new product, but also its durability. “The system,” noted the Schenectady Gazette, “was subjected to a test worse than the Yankees probably will ever give it, when a playground full of teenage ball players at Oneida School batted, pegged, and generally rained balls at the floodlights for a half-hour period. The boys stood only 20 feet distant and put all the steam they had on the ball, but the new floodlight treated the entire procedure as a tin roof treats rain.” In addition to that a local danseuse, Shirley Yaker, was called on to perform a few routines on one of the new floodlights. “The lights’ special glass lens designed to resist baseballs,” attested the Gazette, “can hold the weight of a 200-pound man and thus had no trouble supporting 118-pound Shirley..." While the park had those fine lights from the beginning, it did not have a covered grandstand, as its roof did not arrive until 1948. The locker rooms were another drawback. “They were tiny,” says Wally Habel, “terrible. And they were so hot and humid, after you’d shower and change, you would still be a mess.” Other events could occasionally be booked, as in 1947 when an outfit called M-M-P Enterprises carded a lengthy series of boxing matches at the stadium. After the Can-Am League was deserted in 1950, the stadium, sometime called Schenectady Stadium, was home to an Eastern League franchise from 1951 to 1957. During that last season, fans could actually see work being done on the golf course that was to spell the park’s doom. The “Stadium Golf Course” was opened by Pete McNearney on July 10, 1958, incorporating the grandstand’s shell into the clubhouse’s design. The grandstand seats, bleachers and lights were sold. A “pitch and put” par-three course was even established on the former playing field itself. Sacrilige! |
| McNearney Stadium Schenectady, New York |
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| McNearney Stadium, Schenectady, New York |