Top 50 Reasons Mobile Alabama Is A Great City
Historic Stan Galle Field @ Spring Hill College in historic Mobile, Alabama
Top 10 things you probably didn't know about Stan Galle Field...
- The location of the baseball field is unique as it is situated right next to one of the administration buildings. In right field, there is a pavilion that offers a nice view on the field. It is the oldest continuous used diamond in the United States. In 1954, it was the first college in the south to allow black students to attend.
- It is the home of the Spring Hill College Badgers, and is known to all who have played there as "the Pit." Spring Hill College is located in Mobile, Alabama and was founded in 1830 by the bishop of Mobile, Most Rev. Michael Portier.
- The very first game at historic Stan Galle Field was played in 1889 at its current location in Mobile, AL. The stadium is named after Stan Galle, born Stanley Joseph Galaszewski, a former baseball player, who had a cup of coffee with the Washington Senators in 1942, and was a long time coach at Spring Hill at the Mobile, Alabama school. Galle died on January 28, 2006 in Mobile, AL just days before he would have turned 87. He is buried at the Catholic Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama.
- In 1910, the Chicago Cubs visited Mobile for two days during their spring training. A special day with a parade was organized to honor the team. The Cubs took on the Spring Hill Badgers in a five-inning game and won 4-1.
- Joe Tinker, yes the one of the famous baseball poem “Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance”, umpired the game. Babe Ruth was even here in 1921 as well as several other Yankees. Ruth and his teammates took batting practice with the college team and showed them some of their hitting philosophies.
- Spring Hill College students played baseball on the Pit, well before 1864. The first official Badgers team started playing ball in 1891, and played local semi-pro teams like the Mobiles, the Crescents, and the Dixies since there were not very many teams in the Mobile area to play.
- Spring Hill College is the cradle of baseball in Cuba. Two alumni, Ernesto and Nemesio Guilló returned to Havana in 1864 and introduced the game of baseball to the island after they had learned it at the Pit.
- Eventually, the two brothers established the Habana Baseball Club which later became the Cuban National Baseball Team. They are recognized as the fathers of Cuban Baseball. So some can say the existence of baseball in Cuba comes from all places…Mobile, Alabama.
- Their biggest rival has to be against the University of Mobile. Spring Hill College recently has moved up to NCAA Division II. As of the spring of 2017 both coaches in the rivalry have combined for coaching for 57 seasons. The current head coach for Spring Hill College is Frank Sims, and for the University of Mobile it is Mike Jacobs.
- Equally cool is the campus has a golf course on it. The Spring Hill Golf Course was built in 1930, and was completely renovated in 2009 with a maximum yardage of 6,700. It is located just off Dauphin Street in Mobile, Alabama.