The Rich History of Bosse Field and Baseball in Evansville, Indiana

EVANSVILLE, INDIANA - MARCH, 1943. Hal Newhouser, star left-hander for the Detroit Tigers works out at the team's spring training facility at Evansville, Indiana in March of 1943. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)
EVANSVILLE, INDIANA - MARCH, 1943. Hal Newhouser, star left-hander for the Detroit Tigers works out at the team's spring training facility at Evansville, Indiana in March of 1943. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)
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Bosse Field
(Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

Bosse Field is a Legend

Bosse Field is a legend. It opened in 1915 and is the third-oldest ballpark to host professional baseball in the country. It is also the nation’s first municipally-owned baseball park. The only two stadiums that still host professional baseball older than Bosse Field are Fenway in Boston (1914) and Wrigley in Chicago (1912).

Bosse Field is currently the home of the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League. The Otters have been providing the residents of the Evansville area with some baseball of their own since 1995. The Otters have had nearly 40 players sign with major-league affiliated teams in that time. Notably, George Sherrill, the former All-Star closer for the Baltimore Orioles once called Bosse Field his home park.

However, the field has seen a lot more history than just the Otters.

Bosse Field and “A League of Their Own”

So, you may not know anything about Evansville but the odds are you’ve watched some form of baseball being played on the grass and in the dirt of Bosse Field. The hit movie “A League of Their Own” was filmed in Chicago, Henderson, Evansville, and other parts of southern Indiana.

The Rockford Peaches’ home park was filmed at League Stadium in Huntingburg, Indiana. League Stadium is actually Bosse Field’s elder by 21 years.

The Racine Peaches home games were filmed at historic Bosse Field. It still holds the charm of the World War II setting from the movie, but this is more than a movie set. This is a real ballpark that has hosted legends of the game dating back to its construction in 1915.