View source for J. P. Small Memorial Stadium

{{Short description|Baseball park in Jacksonville, Florida, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox venue
| stadium_name      = J. P. Small Memorial Stadium
| nickname          = Jacksonville's First Municipal Baseball Stadium
| image             = J. P. Small Memorial Stadium.jpg
| location          = 1701 Myrtle Avenue [[Jacksonville, Florida]], United States
| coordinates       = {{coord|30|20|47|N|81|40|30|W|display=it}}
| broke_ground      = 
| opened            = 1912
| renovated         = 1936, 1985, 2006
| expanded          = 
| closed            = 
| demolished        = 1936 (Fire); immediately rebuilt
| owner             = [[Jacksonville, Florida|City of Jacksonville]]
| operator          = [[Jacksonville, Florida|City of Jacksonville]]
| surface           = [[Grass]]
| construction_cost = US$
| architect         = 
| project_manager   = 
| main_contractors  = 
| former_names      = Barrs Field (1912–1926)<br>Joseph E. Durkee Athletic Field (1926–1985) <br> Myrtle Avenue Ball Park<br>(local name)
| tenants           = '''Negro leagues:'''<br>[[Jacksonville Red Caps]] ([[Negro American League|NAL]]) (1938,1941-42)<br>'''Minor leagues:'''<br>[[Jacksonville Braves]] ([[South Atlantic League|SAL]]) (1953)<br>[[Jacksonville Jets]] (SAL) (1961)<br>[[Jacksonville Tars]] ([[Southeastern League|SEL]]) (1926–1930)<br>[[Jacksonville Indians|Jacksonville Scouts/Indians]] ([[Florida State League|FSL]]) (1921–1922)<br>'''Major League Spring Training:'''<br>[[Brooklyn Dodgers]] ([[National League (baseball)|NL]]) (1919–1920, 1922)<br>[[New York Yankees]] ([[American League|AL]]) (1919–1920)<br>[[Pittsburgh Pirates]] (NL) (1918)<br>[[Philadelphia Athletics]] (AL) (1914–1918)
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed                = yes
| name                 = Joseph H. Durkee Athletic Field
| nrhp_type            =
| image                =
| alt                  =
| caption              =
| locmapin             = Florida
| map_alt              =
| map_caption          =
| coordinates          = {{coord|30|20|47|N|81|40|30|W|display=inline}}
| location             = Jacksonville, Florida
| built                =
| architect            =
| architecture         =
| added                = July 11, 2013<ref name="nrhplist"/>
| designated_nrhp_type =
| visitation_num       =
| visitation_year      =
| refnum               = 13000484<ref name="nrhplist"/>
| mpsub                = 
}}
| seating capacity  =
| dimensions        = Left Field: 337 ft<br>Center Field: 375 ft<br>Right Field: 285 ft
}}
'''J. P. Small Memorial Stadium''' is a [[baseball]] [[baseball park|park]] in [[Jacksonville, Florida]]. It is located in the Durkeeville community in northwest Jacksonville. Constructed in 1912 and rebuilt in 1936, it was the city's first municipal recreation field, and served as its primary baseball park before the construction of [[Wolfson Park]] in 1954. Throughout the years the stadium has been known at various times as '''Barrs Field''', '''Durkee Field''', and the '''Myrtle Avenue Ball Park'''.

==History==

===Barrs Field era===
The original facility was constructed in 1911–1912 on a patch of land owned by Joseph H. Durkee, a former [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] officer during the [[American Civil War]] who had settled in Jacksonville, where he became a prominent businessman and politician. In 1911, Durkee's son Jay Durkee turned control of the property over to Amander Barrs, a local businessman and President of the Jacksonville Baseball Association. Barrs ordered the construction of a recreational field to be used by local teams on the property. The facility was completed in 1912 and was known as Barrs Field, but was generally known as the Myrtle Avenue Ball Park to locals.<ref name=Millennium>Foley, Bill (March 13, 1999). [http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/031399/mom_Mill3_13.html "Millennium Moment: March 13, 1926"]. ''[[The Florida Times-Union]]''. Retrieved June 29, 2011.</ref> One early tenant was the [[Jacksonville Athletics]], an African-American club for which [[James Weldon Johnson]] played. One of the rare [[professional baseball|professional]] clubs was the [[Jacksonville Scouts]] of the [[Florida State League]], who played in 1921. However, as the city had no municipal park, other teams used fields at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds or across the river in [[South Jacksonville, Florida|South Jacksonville]] during this time.<ref name=Millennium/>

In addition to local teams, [[Major League Baseball|Major League]] clubs including the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] and the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] held their [[spring training]] at the field. The [[Philadelphia Athletics]] were the first major league team to use Barrs Field for spring training, from [[1914 in baseball|1914]] until [[1918 in baseball|1918]]. In 1918, the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] held their spring training at the ballpark. From [[1919 in baseball|1919]] until [[1920 in baseball|1920]], the New York Yankees and the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] called Barrs Field their spring training home. The Dodgers would return for one last spring at Barrs in [[1922 in baseball|1922]].

===Durkee Field era===
The lack of a city park led both major and minor league teams to avoid Jacksonville after 1922. In 1926, the city government decided to purchase Barrs Field from Durkee in hopes of bringing back professional baseball. On March 13, 1926, the city signed a binder to purchase the park, which was renamed Durkee Field. Shortly after this, the city entered into negotiations to bring a [[Southeastern League]] franchise to the city. This was successful, and the original incarnation of the [[Jacksonville Tars]] was born.<ref name=Millennium/>

In 1932, the city purchased Durkee Field for $348,000. The original stadium was destroyed in a fire in 1936, but the city immediately rebuilt it in 1936–1937. The new structure was larger, and included a section for African-American patrons in the era of segregation.  In 1938 and from 1941 to mid-1942, Jacksonville's only [[Negro league baseball|Negro league]] franchise, the [[Jacksonville Red Caps]] of the [[Negro American League]], used the park as their home field.<ref>{{cite book |title=Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of Major League and Negro League Ballparks |last=Lowry |first=Philip J. |year=2006 |publisher=Walker Publishing Company |location=New York |isbn=0-8027-1562-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/greencathedralsu0000lowr_u1c9/page/107 107–108] |url=https://archive.org/details/greencathedralsu0000lowr_u1c9/page/107 }}</ref>

The [[Jersey City Giants]] held spring training at the ballpark in 1946. In that year, the Giants were scheduled to play against a [[Montreal Royals]] team that included [[Jackie Robinson]] and [[Johnny Wright (baseball)|John Wright]], who were in the process of integrating [[organized baseball]]. The Giants-Royals game was scheduled for On March 24, 1946, at Durkee Field; however, the Jacksonville Playground and Recreation Board, prohibited "white and Negro athletes" from playing together in their facilities, and George Robinson, the Board's executive secretary, said there would be no game with Robinson and Wright at the park.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=March 23, 1946|title=Jacksonville Bars Negros, Cancels Game|url= |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|page=14}}</ref> The Royals, with support from the Dodgers, refused to leave Robinson and Wright at Montreal's training camp in Daytona Beach, and they canceled the game.<ref>{{cite news |title=Royals' Game Off at Jacksonville  |url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F10C11FB395D177A93C1AB1788D85F428485F9 |newspaper=New York Times |date=1946-03-23 |access-date=2009-09-24}}</ref>

In 1953, Jacksonville businessman Samuel W. Wolfson purchased the Jacksonville Tars franchise and reorganized the team as the [[Jacksonville Braves]], a [[Class A (baseball)|Class A]] affiliate of the [[Milwaukee Braves]] [[Major League Baseball]] club. Among the major changes Wolfson introduced was [[racial integration]]. Three black players from the Braves farm system – [[Hank Aaron]], [[Félix Mantilla (baseball)|Félix Mantilla]], and [[Horace Garner]] – came to Jacksonville, making the Braves one of the first integrated teams in the [[South Atlantic League]] and in the state of Florida.<ref name=Foley>Foley, Bill (October 22, 1997). [http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/102297/m7Foley_.html "Braves ousted again: It's the Jacksonville jinx"]. ''[[The Florida Times-Union]]''. Retrieved June 29, 2011.</ref> The following year, the city started construction on [[Wolfson Park]], and the Braves moved out upon its completion.<ref name=Foley/>

===Later use and renovation===
After its replacement as the municipal ballpark, Durkee Field continued to be used by local high schools and colleges, including [[Edward Waters College]], [[Raines High School]], and [[Stanton High School]]. By the late 1970s the stadium was in disrepair, and it was scheduled for demolition. Local advocates pushed to save the park, and in 1980 [[Jacksonville City Council]] member Sallye B. Mathis sponsored legislation to renovate it and rename it for J. P. Small, who served as a teacher, band director, coach, and athletic director at Stanton High from 1934 to 1969. Renovations included structural repairs, a new roof, press box and dugouts, paving the parking lot, a new playscape, and lighted fields. Councilwoman Denise Lee and Mayor [[Jake Godbold]] hosted a rededication ceremony at the park.

Following the demolition of Wolfson Park in 2002, J. P. Small Ballpark became the last historic park in the city of Jacksonville. In May 2003 the Jacksonville City Government pushed forward legislation that would give J. P. Small Ballpark a permanent historical marker. Further renovation in 2006 included a small museum. In July 2013, the park was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] under the name Joseph E. Durkee Athletic Field.<ref name="nrhplist">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2013-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf |title=Weekly List Of Actions Taken On Properties: 7/08/13 through 7/12/13 |access-date=2013-07-19 |archive-date=2013-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114904/http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/listings/20130719.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Modern boundaries of the ball field are 8th Street West (north, left field); Wilcox Street (east, right field); 7th Street West (south, first base); and Myrtle Avenue North (west, third base).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|J. P. Small Memorial Stadium}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080723114623/http://jaxhistory.com/journal13.html Jacksonville Historical Society]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20020610051135/http://www.digitalballparks.com/SpringIndex.html Digital Ballparks]}}

{{Los Angeles Dodgers}}
{{New York Yankees}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates}}
{{Athletics (baseball)}}
{{Jacksonville Red Caps}}
{{FSL ballparks}}

[[Category:Sports venues in Jacksonville, Florida]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates spring training venues]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball venues]]
[[Category:Grapefruit League venues]]
[[Category:Negro league baseball venues]]
[[Category:New York Yankees spring training venues]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Athletics spring training venues]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Dodgers spring training venues]]
[[Category:Defunct Negro league baseball venues]]
[[Category:Baseball in Jacksonville, Florida]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Jacksonville, Florida]]
[[Category:1912 establishments in Florida]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1912]]
[[Category:Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida]]
[[Category:Baseball venues in Florida]]
[[Category:African-American history in Jacksonville, Florida]]