On Saturday, April 30, 2011, at the corner of Riverside Avenue and Intervale Road in Burlington, the current location of Charlebois Truck Parts, the Friends of U.V.M. Baseball held a dedication ceremony for the following State of Vermont historical marker:
ATHLETIC PARK
Located on the streetcar line between Burlington and Winooski, Athletic Park was the home of the University of Vermont's baseball and football teams and track-and-field events from 1887 until Centennial Field opened in 1906. It was also where Burlington's baseball team in the first Northern League played from 1901 to 1906. Among the baseball players who graced its diamond were future major leaguers Bert Abbey, Arlie Pond, Ed Reulbach, Jean Dubuc, Ray Collins, Larry Gardner, and Eddie Collins, and Negro stars such as Frank Grant, George Stovey, and William Clarence Matthews.
The weather was glorious, a home plate and bases were laid out at their approximate locations, and more than 100 people enjoyed a cookout in "foul territory" to the accompaniment of period music. Local baseball historian and artist Dick Leyden presented photos, diagrams, and his artistic portrayals of what Athletic Park looked like, and Tom Simon, author of The Wonder Team in the White City, talked about the 1893 U.V.M. team and its experience at the first College World Series. The day's events were capped off by the unveiling of the marker, which was performed by several descendants of Bert Abbey, the "Father of U.V.M. Baseball."
February 7, 2012
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