Delorimier Stadium
- David Hegler
- Jun 6
- 3 min read
In 1908, George Stallings brokered a deal between a group of Montreal-based investors to purchase the woebegone Royals of the International League. Although the team folded a decade later, Stallings had developed a hunger to not only be a middleman, but to be an owner.
In 1927, he formed a group of investors from around the city to purchase the struggling Jersey City Skeeters, relocate them to Montreal and rename them the Royals. While the original Royals had played in tiny Atwater Park, Stallings found that sight to be insufficient and bought some land on the corner of Delorimier and Ontario Streets. In May 1928, the Royals drew a capacity crowd of 25,000 as they defeated the Reading Keystones 7-4.
The concrete and steel structure did fairly well in the early years. With a short right field of just 293, it was left-handed batter's paradise. Over the years, many balls landed in the adjacent and a few even landed on the roof of the Grover Knit-to-Fit factory. In 1935, manager Frank Shaughnessy installed lights in hopes of attracting nighttime baseball.
After spending a few years as an affiliate of both the A's and Pirates, the Royals became the Brooklyn Dodgers' top farm team in 1938. This would really cement their status as one of the best minor league clubs in America. In the years to come, Delorimier Stadium saw the early exploits of Carl Furillo, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Jim Gilliam and Don Newcombe. But none could compare to the magnitude that the ballpark would feel when the club signed Jackie Robinson.
When the young man from Pasadena, California entered the diamond at Delorimier Stadium on May 1, 1946, the applause that greeted him was unlike anything he had ever heard before. As a man of color, Jackie Robinson had grown weary of the constant abuse inflicted upon him from the stands at other ballparks.
But Montreal wasn't like other cities. It was and remains a cultural melting pot that often welcomes those who are not so welcome in other communities. Although his performance that day was forgetful (hit only once out of the infield and was caught stealing second), Jackie Robinson could not have felt more at home.
He quickly bounced back from the slow start to lead the league with a .356 batting average, 45 hits and 38 runs by the end of May. However, Robinson began to experience fatigue and spent much of June on the injured list. He finally bounced back on June 25 when he hit a double and two singles against Jersey City.
Meanwhile, Delorimier Stadium was experiencing a revival of its own. Largely due to the mere presence of Jackie Robinson, the ballpark drew 55,000 more in the first 30 games than it had in all of 1945. By the end of the season, the Royals had drawn an all-time high 378, 336 and won the Junior World Series.
After Robinson left, the Royals continued to dominate, winning the Junior World Series in both 1948 and 1953. Meanwhile, the CFL's Montreal Alouettes were really coming into their own. Having been co-tenants since 1946, the Alouettes won their first Grey Cup in 1949 by upsetting the heavily favored 13-1 Calgary Stampeders 28-15 at Toronto's Varsity Stadium.
When the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, they decided to cut ties with Montreal and move their main farm operations to Spokane. After the Royals disbanded, Delorimier Stadium was almost the first home of the Montreal Expos, but the Expos owners ultimately decided to build Jarry Park Stadium instead. Delorimier Stadium was demolished in the early 1970's and is now the site of École Pierre-Dupoy High School. A plaque right in front of a backstop commemorates the spot where Jackie Robinson once stood, crouched at the ready to break Major League Baseball's color barrier.
References
Комментарии