Recently, the naming rights of Hartford’s oldest outdoor sports facility were sold to corporate interests. The time-tested Dillon Stadium has taken a bow to make way for Trinity Health Stadium. Though some people will refuse to call it anything other than Dillon Stadium, perhaps a review of its backstory will enlighten fans and provide some understanding amid the change. Long before Hartford Athletic played soccer at Dillon, the venue first began as a baseball diamond called Municipal Stadium.
Municipal Stadium was built on Huyshope Avenue in the spring of 1935, driven by public demand for an enclosed baseball field. After more than a decade of persistent lobbying by Harry N. Anderson, founder of the Hartford Twilight League, the city finally constructed a fenced-in diamond at the eastern edge of Colt Park. The project was funded by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The Depression-era ballpark featured 8-foot fences, a chain-link backstop, and bleachers that lined foul territory.
Hartford’s amateurs were pleased with Municipal Stadium, and they no longer had to rent Bulkeley Stadium for big games. The first contest at “Munie” Stadium featured two Hartford Twilight League clubs on Saturday, June 29, 1935. The stadium opened with a parade led by a marching band led by Mayor of Hartford, Joseph W. Beach. He dedicated the field by hoisting an American flag up a flagpole alongside the facility overseer and Recreation Supervisor, James H. Dillon. President of the Hartford Twilight League, John A. Barrett, tossed the ceremonial first pitch. The league’s defending champions, Tuckel’s Radio Rhymers defeated Check Bread, 10-3.
Less than a year later, a massive flood hit Hartford and heavy rain overflowed the Connecticut River and Park River, engulfing much of the city and Colt Park. The Flood of 1936 sunk Municipal Stadium and the Hartford Twilight League. Many players defected to the East Hartford Twilight League and the Central Connecticut Twilight League while the stadium was out of commission. However, Supervisor Dillon spearheaded a rebuilding effort and “Munie” Stadium was quickly revived.
The ballpark was rededicated on September 19, 1936, when city officials marched down to Colt Park to celebrate the recovery with another flag raising. The ceremony was followed by a doubleheader featuring Hartford’s Senior All-Stars and Junior All-Stars. Hometown pitching ace and GHTBL Hall of Fame inductee, Yosh Kinel won the afternoon for the Seniors; whipping a traveling club from Springfield, Massachusetts.
Municipal Stadium had became a hotbed for regional baseball talent, and in the summer of 1937, a professional tryout came to town. Greater Hartford’s best showcased their ability before scouts of the Rochester Red Wings. It was the first of many minor league tryouts held at the facility. Between the 1930s and the 1960s, dozens of players signed professional contracts on the main diamond at Colt Park.
During the autumn seasons, Municipal Stadium doubled as a football field. As a result, a fieldhouse was constructed on the premises in 1939. The facility was reported to accommodate 10,000 spectators at that time. It was a fan favorite for its affordability and walkability. Aside from the occasional flood, South Hartford’s riverbank provided a central location for regional sporting events.
Onlookers witnessed high school baseball at Municipal Stadium including Weaver, Bulkeley and Hartford Public. There were also several amateur loops using the stadium during the 1940s: the Industrial League, Public Service League, Catholic League, and the Central Connecticut Twilight League. Semi-professional clubs like the Savitt Gems hosted benefit games at “Munie” Stadium to fundraise for wartime initiatives.
After World War II, Hartford Twilight League action returned to Municipal Stadium. The league was re-established in the summer of 1946 by President John “Bud” Mahon, who later served as City Treasurer. Many players who carried packs and rifle across Europe and Asia were relieved to be home playing with bats and gloves. Dozens of young war veterans were fixtures at Municipal Stadium, such as U.S. Army veteran John Buikus, who starred for the Royal Typewriter company team.
By 1955, Municipal Stadium was worn down. Sports Editor of the Hartford Courant, Bill Lee wrote a subpar review of the ballpark in his “With Malice Toward None” column. He called it, “…a poorly maintained baseball diamond of sorts.” The following year, Hartford Mayor James H. Kinsella passed a resolution to rehabilitate and rename Municipal Stadium. From then on, the facility took on the name of Hartford’s beloved supervisor, James H. Dillon, whose accomplishments had won the city national acclaim in parks and recreation.
The newly christened Dillon Stadium took over as Hartford’s sole baseball field in the late 1950s. Nearby on Hamner Street, an abandoned Bulkeley Stadium was eventually sold to the highest bidder. Hartford had neither a minor league stadium nor a minor league team and consequently, the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League became the only game in town at Dillon Stadium. On August 12, 1959, a team of GHTBL All-Stars trounced a club of rookie professionals picked by the New York Yankees.
Due in part to exposure at Dillon Stadium, the Twilight League earned a prestigious reputation during the 1960s. The league was considered the most competitive in Connecticut, and second only to the Cape Cod Baseball League in New England. Season openers, playoff tournaments and old-timers games were popular and widely-heralded in newspapers. The Hartford Courant and the Hartford Times were awash with baseball recaps at Dillon.
Despite the stadium’s deep connection to America’s National Pastime, it’s baseball era would eventually expire. An aging Dillon Stadium needed a makeover and the city decided to permanently reconfigured the site. The stadium has since been used mostly for football, soccer and concerts. Not until many years later did a glimmer of hope appear for baseball at Dillon Stadium.
In 1987, city officials organized the Dillon Stadium Task Force Committee to bring professional baseball back to Hartford for the first time since the Hartford Chiefs left in 1952. The task force was conducted by a firefighter, Michael P. Peters and namesake of Mayor Mike Peters Baseball League. Peters and the task force sought to renovate Dillon Stadium into a minor league ballpark. Designs were drawn and models were presented for a $20 million revamp, however the project lacked enough public support.
Skeptics included City Council members, real estate developers and business leaders. The Dillon Stadium Task Force was unable to attract a minor league club to the negotiating table. Som potential investors considered the Hartford market as overlapping with the New Britain Red Sox of the Eastern League. By 1991, the deal withered away, though the campaign did help Mike Peters become Mayor of Hartford (1993 to 2001).
“It was a very fine baseball stadium in terms of the field and ground. It was what I call a Class-A stadium. In the 1940’s it might have been the best baseball diamond in the Connecticut area.”
Victor Jarm, former Recreation Supervisor of Hartford, gushes over Municipal Stadium, 1989.
These days, baseball is a long gone memory at the former Dillon Stadium. In 2019, Hartford Athletic owners, Hartford Sports Group, partnered with Connecticut’s Capital Region Development Authority and Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to refurbish the city-owned facility for $14 million. As part of the quasi-public deal, Hartford Sports Group reserved the right to sell the name of Hartford’s oldest remaining sports venue. Trinity Health Stadium is now home to Hartford Athletic soccer of the United Soccer League.
Sources
- Hartford Courant: “Jon Lender: $14M Dillon Stadium renovation was marred by ‘charade of an RFP’ that ‘undermines public confidence,’ says watchdogs’ draft report”.
- Hartford Courant: Football, The Rolling Stones, elephants and soccer: A look at Dillon Stadium through the years.”
- Hartford Courant database at Newspapers.com
- Hartford Athletic: Hartfordathletic.com/dillon-stadium
- USL Soccer News: USLsoccer.com/news_article/show/1216699