Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Restoring icons
Historic Hunts Park, Forsgren Field get upgrades.
FORT SMITH — This was supposed to be a showcase year for prep baseball in Fort Smith with it set to host the Class 6A state baseball tournament in May.
Those plans, like the rest of the spring sports schedule in the state, were shelved in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. At some point, though, prep sports will return including baseball. And when it does, a pair of local diamonds will show off new upgrades thanks to the Fort Smith Boys & Girls Club.
Historic Hunts Park, the home of the Fort Smith Northside baseball team, is set to complete construction on a $2.5 million upgrade by the end of May that will include plush synthetic turf. Forsgren Field, the home of the Fort Smith Southside baseball team, is getting a turf infield that is expected to be finished this month.
“A lot of kids travel to other areas whether it be Tulsa or Northwest Arkansas and are playing on nicer facilities
than we have in Fort Smith,” said Jerry Glidewell, Executive Director of the Fort Smith Boys & Girls Club. “It’s finally a time when we can live up to or surpass those standards. It adds a lot of pride for the players and the community.”
Hunts Park, built in 1947, is used for Boys & Girls Club football games, Babe Ruth League baseball, American Legion baseball and Northside baseball. The park also hosts soccer games and flag football games among other activities, and it could be used in the future by private schools in the area for soccer, football or baseball.
Last August, crews began the dismantling of Hunts Park for the renovation. It is also getting improvements to the locker rooms, restrooms, concessions, seating areas, batting cages and to the press box among other upgrades. This has been the project the facility has been needing to bring Hunts Park back to its glory days, Glidewell said.
“It’s an iconic field in the community,” Glidewell said. “There have been thousands and thousands of ball games played there. There have been incredible athletes throughout the years who have participated on that field. It has a rich history we are wanting to preserve and the vibe of the facility. It has been long overdue for a major-league face-lift.”
Funds raised for the projects were private, as the Boys & Girls Club doesn’t receive state or city money. The fundraising goal for Hunts Park was met back in January with a big assist from First National Bank of Fort Smith, which donated $1 million for the project. Sam Sicard, president and CEO of the bank, said he felt a calling to help with the project.
“I drive by there every day going to work,” Sicard said. “I kept looking at it and looking at it. When it was built, it was a nice complex, but the times have changed. We did the best we could with it over the years, but it wasn’t staying current with what other communities have done upgrading athletic facilities.”
Hunts Park, located on Old Greenwood Road, holds special memories for Sicard. It’s a place he is very familiar with growing up in the area, and it’s a place that has brought a lot of joy to his family throughout the years, he said.
“The park means a lot because it is a generational place,” Sicard said. “It’s the center of our community in a visible place. It has so much history. I have a very fond memory of playing there when I was a kid. My dad played there, and my son played there, too. A lot of great ballplayers have played there.”
Sicard and the bank felt it was a no-brainer to help with the Hunts Park improvements, which will now be renamed First National Field at Hunts Park. It was a project that they felt was a very worthy cause for Fort Smith.
“We wanted to make a statement of reinvesting in our community and kids,” Sicard said. “This was a reinvestment, but also a celebration of our history. I think that’s what we did. Pardon the pun, but I think we hit a home run with this one with the impact it will have with the community. We at First National Bank feel blessed to be the lead donor. We talk about being a community bank and want to show that with our actions.”
Hunts Park is getting a financial commitment that it hasn’t seen ever, and that has Glidewell proud for the future of the field that will host many, many more athletes and games as it has in the past 73 years.
“It is getting the love it deserves,” Glidewell said. “Back in 1947, the facility was purchased for $4,000 by the Boys & Girls Club board. Once the land was purchased, the Hunts family gave $10,000 for the facilities to be upgraded. That puts into the perspective the donations we were able to get for this renovation.
“We are hoping Hunts Park will be able to serve the community for the next four or five decades.”
Bill Kincannon, one of the American Legion baseball commissioners of this region and a coach of one of the local teams, has been around Hunts Park since he was a nine-year-old in the 1960s. His first experience at the park was as an official scorekeeper when he was just a kid. Kincannon’s appreciation for the park only grew from there.
“My first memory when I walked in the park, I thought it was the biggest place I had ever seen,” Kincannon said. “It was gigantic as far as a baseball field goes. It was magnificent then. As time has gone on, it just seemed like it got left behind. With the improvements, this is going to be a place you are excited and proud to play in. It looks that good.”
Kincannon referred to Hunts Park as an icon in the city, and the upgrades will bring the park back to its rightful place as a jewel in Fort Smith for years to come.
The renovation at Forsgren Field with a new turfed infield was started back in the winter and will be finished soon after a group of fathers who have sons who play high school baseball was able to raise the funds for the project. Glidewell said having two high-quality playing surfaces that are synthetic turf will help in the future to mitigate the impacts of spring weather.
“The weather is a big reason to go with turf,” Glidewell said. “There can be a lot of traffic on the field. We don’t have to worry about irrigation, mowing, fertilization or painting lines for the different sports. The biggest factor is rain. The field dries way quicker. It’s going to help things stay on schedule when there are weather issues.”
Baseball has a rich history in the Arkansas River city. The Fort Smith Twins, a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate, existed in various incarnations from 1887 through 1953, playing a total of 36 seasons. Fort Smith also became the home to high-class semi-professional and African American League teams. Fort Smith’s old Andrews Field played host to many pre-season MLB games as well.
Hunts Park has seen its share of history throughout the years with many different baseball stars playing at the park. It has hosted athletes such as Lance Alworth, Kevin McReynolds, Ryan and Jay Franklin, Brett Goode, Torii Hunter and Craig Gentry to name a few.
The park was the site for a 1973 baseball game when the Arkansas Razorbacks faced the Rice Owls in a Southwest Conference game. Hunts Park also played host to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith’s baseball teams in the 1970s and 1980s.
Ryan Franklin, a 12-year MLB veteran and all-star, recalls fondly his playing time at Hunts Park playing in the American Legion in the early 1990s. It was an experience that shaped him early in his playing days.
“I remember Hunts Park coming from Spiro (Okla.), we felt like it was professional baseball playing there back then,” he said. “It was a really nice place to play. I didn’t know back then, but it felt like the big leagues. It was a great baseball atmosphere throughout the park. I remember making a lot of good friends at that park.”
Ryan Franklin is now a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals. His assignment is to provide information on the best of the up-and-coming pitchers across the country. That has him traveling a lot seeing new ballparks. He said now Hunts Park will be right up there with other top facilities.
“This is awesome for the entire area,” he said. “Not only is it a great investment for the community but it’s a great investment for these kids. They are going to be able to play on a state-of-the-art field.”
Jay Franklin, Ryan’s brother and a professional player turned baseball agent, remembers playing at Hunts Park in the early 1980s. The iconic baseball field with the quirky short left-field fence and massive area in right-centerfield are legendary in baseball circles.
“In the 31 years I’ve spent in professional baseball, people who are familiar with this area know exactly where Hunts Park is located,” Jay Franklin said. “The guys I played with across this entire state talked about playing at that park. Everybody loved it. It has a great feel to it. It carries a lot of tradition in a city that has a lot of history with baseball.”
Jay Franklin said he feels Hunts Park has been a launching pad for athletes to make it to higher levels. That includes himself, as he was drafted in the eighth round of the MLB draft in 1989 and has made a successful career being an agent after his playing days.
“I played for coach Bill Crowder over at Westark, and I think that’s the first place he saw me play was at Hunts Park,” Jay Franklin said. “It has provided a lot of people opportunities in football, baseball and beyond the high school level. A lot of successful people in sports and out of sports have played there.”
When the project is finished later this spring, Hunts Park will retake its rightful place as a true field of dreams in Fort Smith for many years to come.