Spring 2008 Almanac in Progress

The spring 2008 edition of the American Association Almanac is well underway and should be in the mail in two weeks, gods and goddesses willing. It will contain numerous photos and other graphics, including editorial cartoons published in local period newspapers.

The topic of the spring issue centers on Red Bird Stadium in Columbus, Ohio which was built in 1932. This ballpark is still in existence and is in its last year of use by a professional baseball team. Now the home of the Columbus Clippers, an affiliate of the National League's Washington Nationals, the park is known as Cooper Stadium after a city father who helped promote the rejuvenation of the park some years back.

As an American Association venue, Red Bird Stadium was in use from 1932 through the 1954 season when the Columbus Red Birds played there. The club was originally known as the Columbus Senators as an inaugural member of the American Association in 1902. They initially played their games at Neil Park, but the structure was completely rebuilt in 1905 and was still known as Neil Park, but is also referred to as Neil Park II to distinguish it from its predecessor.

My base website, www.americanassociationalmanac.com contains broader descriptions of each issue dedicated to these parks, as well as numerous other topics, from managers to team histories of the American Association.

Complete issues of the Almanac have been devoted to both incarnations of Neil Park. There you can find complete details as to the persons behind the actual construction of the stands, the key players of the Columbus Senators at the time, along with numerous other information.

The Spring issue will again offer a replete history of the origins of this fascinating Columbus ballpark, Red Bird Stadium. A full description of its contents will likely follow on this blog site.

The American Association Almanac is dedicated to preserving the history of the American Association minor league baseball organization from 1902 through 1952, occasionally going outside these boundaries when relevant. It included high level (A and AA) minor league teams in Columbus, Indianpolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Toledo.

I have just elected to try the format at blogger.com in order to take advantag of its simplicity in mounting photographs that pertain to historical baseball, particularly with respect to the American Association.