Chattanooga Lookouts in 1909
First in a Series
Many of the region's early parks included spaces for athletic competition or were built around those athletic fields. For Chattanoogans, the announcement that the Hotel Patten would host the annual meeting of the South Atlantic Baseball League beginning on Feb. 27, 1909 created excitement. Hope bubbled up that the visiting 11 directors would approve Chattanooga’s inclusion as a full member of the organization and its team would be scheduled for the 1909 season.
Chattanooga League president Oliver Burnside Andrews and manager Johnny Dodds “were about the busiest men in town receiving the moguls and extending to them the hospitality of Chattanooga on their first trip to this city.” All League leadership agreed that the adoption of a “satisfactory schedule was the most important business.” League president W. A. Jones and E. S. Dingle, Charleston’s most recognized sports writer and league secretary, focused on creating a season that would change “baseball history.”
Andrews worked his magic. The schedule was arranged to promote Chattanooga’s new club exactly as Andrews had envisioned it - - with “well scattered” games to be played locally with no “long run” of home games plus a balanced travel schedule that would promote Chattanooga’s name recognition among baseball enthusiasts. He was also successful in the passage of his resolution that the number of innings for issuing rain checks be made four instead of the previous three.
Much of the meeting weekend was designed to ‘win friends’ and simultaneously showcase Chattanooga’s natural beauty and its innovative business climate. The visiting directors, many of whom were recognizable ‘baseball’ legends, included N. E. Cornish, Savannah; E. S. Dingle, Charleston; H. H. Starr and John L. Laylor, Macon; J. E. P. Stevens, Columbus; A. H. DeVanghan and Charles T. Tamsberg and Jacksonville’s J. D. Burbridge and W. C. West. Andrews and Dobbs entertained the guests with dinner at a local club, a visit to a local theater and then ‘baseball talk’ at the local Elks’ Club. The following morning all agreed they could not leave Chattanooga without an “automobile ride” to Chickamauga battlefield.
Within a week, Andrews announced that Chattanooga’s new Southern League baseball diamond was under construction; the 1909 season would be played on a local field but 1910 would herald a specific field for the Chattanooga team. After visiting with Charles Ebbets, president of the Brooklyn club, researching different field designs and interviewing construction engineers, Andrews and the local owners “had finally concluded how to build the diamond.” The Chattanooga Daily Times printed the detailed plans so local fans would know that, as Andrews announced, Chattanooga’s field would be the “most durable, most satisfactory and altogether the most attractive diamond in Dixie.” His plan was to host the 1910 Dixie Championship games in Chattanooga.
On Dec. 7, 1909, all franchise paperwork had been completed and Andrews received a telegram from William Kavanaugh, president of the Little Rock League, authorizing the hiring of an official team of players, many from the Little Rock reserve. The telegram read “O. B. Andrews, President, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Joyner advises papers mailed today. As soon as they arrive, will turn over check to Little Rock and forward you franchise and all papers.”
The Times carried the list of players, position and home towns, from Pennsylvania to Texas - - Ohio to South Carolina. The 20 Little Rock players would join the 14 seasoned players already post on Chattanooga’s Sally League Club. From those 34, Manager Johnny Dobbs and President Andrews would select Chattanooga’s Southern League team. Other players would be “sold.” Andrews explained in the press conference that he and Dobbs would meet every day with a focus on a “plan to win the league pennant.” The Times reporter noted “whoever desires to stake his earnings on the outcome of the pennant chase would do well to consult Andrews and Dobbs.”
During the fall of 1909, the Chattanooga officials and the local newspapers created a contest for the naming of the league field with almost 900 entries logged. Suggested names with multiple votes included Patten Field (12), East End (31), Lookout Park (54), Lookout Field (22), Dixie Park (54), Pennant Field (14) and Mountain City Park (13). But the name most often suggested was Andrews Field (98). The first person to suggest that name was Miss Irene Bowser of 100 Chamberlain Ave. whose reasoning was simple: “The ball park should be named for the man who made it possible.” For her winning submission, Miss Bowser was awarded a 1910 season pass to Andrews Field.
So, who was this baseball entrepreneur? And, where was Andrews Field?
Next time, dear friends, next time…
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Linda Moss Mines is the official Chattanooga and Hamilton County Historian and a baseball enthusiast, especially when her grandson is pitching. She can be reached at localhistorycounts@gmail.com