Orlando’s Tinker Field History Plaza memorializes civil rights and baseball
Baseball legends and civil rights icons will be forever commemorated at Orlando’s freshly minted Tinker Field History Plaza along Tampa Avenue.
Orlando officials cut the ribbon Wednesday on the $400,000 historic park in the shadow of Camping World Stadium. It stands on the same ground as the former ballpark, which had fallen into disrepair before it was demolished in 2015.
“I’m just almost a big ball of tears,” said Pamela Newton, whose husband, James Newton, helped organize a local Jackie Robinson Little League that held opening ceremonies at the stadium. On a timeline encompassing Tinker Field’s place in Orlando history, James Newton is listed alongside the likes of Robinson, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Cal Ripken Jr., who all played games there.
Tinker Field was also where James Newton routinely brought his Little Leaguers to see the pros
play and even to see Michael Jordan in the 1990s during a minor-league stint with the Birmingham Barons. James Newton died in 2010; Wednesday would have been the couple’s 33rd wedding anniversary.
The plaza has a replica baseball diamond with granite blocks cemented into the ground, listing 160 baseball Hall of Famers who played there organized by position.
The ballpark is also credited as the birthplace for integration in Orlando and was the site of a speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964.
More than 100 people gathered along with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and City Commissioner Regina Hill for Wednesday’s ceremony. Also in attendance were local families who grew up attending games at the park.
For Teuruhei Buchin, the grand opening brought her back to her youth in the 1980s, when she and her brother would run around while friends were inside watching the game.
“My brother and I liked to go on the outside and catch the foul balls,” said Buchin, a monument designer. “Actually, one time I caught one out of luck, and we’d get free popcorn. We thought that was the best thing.”
Built in 1923 by former big-leaguer and real-estate developer Joe Tinker, the ballpark thrived for decades as a hub for baseball and sports in Orlando.
When Robinson came to town to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Bob Biggers remembers sitting on the visitor’s side to watch the game.
“It was hot as heck at that game,” said Biggers, 70. “Orlando kind of integrated that day. … This was the talk of the black neighborhoods, that’s why so many people came to that game.”
When King came for his only visit, he drew a crowd of 2,000 to hear him speak on the need for racial integration. A statue is displayed at the site in his honor.
Evangelist Billy Graham conducted a revival at the stadium in 1951, and scenes from the Steve Martin movie “Parenthood” were filmed there in 1989. The Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and Washington Senators held spring training at the iconic venue.
Once the then-Citrus Bowl expanded and encroached on Tinker Field’s outfield, officials decided the ballpark was not suitable for baseball. The wooden stadium had fallen into disrepair through the years, and the city estimated it would cost $10 million to have it back in playing shape. Thus, it was earmarked for demolition.
The decision was met with opposition from preservationists, baseball fans and the black community.
However, a year before bulldozers tore down the grandstands, the City Council declared Tinker’s diamond and field a historic place. In 2004 it had already been added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Now with the plaza open to the public, Hill, who spearheaded the effort to build it, declared, “Baseball will always live in the city of Orlando at Tinker Field.”
Buchin said she is happy to see the history live on.
“We all wondered what would happen to Tinker Field because it kind of became a parking lot,” Buchin said. “So it’s good that we have a place to sit back and remember. I know I’m going to bring my nephews here.”