Engel Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Engel Stadium is a baseball field located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The stadium was built in 1930 and holds 12,000 people. It was the home of the Chattanooga Lookouts until 1999 when, at the end of the season, they moved to BellSouth Park. Engel Stadium was named for baseball scout and Chattanooga Lookouts owner, Joe Engel.
The stadium is located at 1130 E. 3rd Street, at the corner of O'Neil Avenue, adjacent to the historic Fort Wood neighborhood, Norfolk Southern's DeButts Yard and Erlanger Hospital.
Many notables have played on the field, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, Harmon Killebrew, Ferguson Jenkins, Kiki Cuyler, Kid Elberfeld and Burleigh Grimes.
During its minor league days, the ballfield had probably the deepest in-play center field areas among active ballparks, 471 feet from home plate. Harmon Killebrew was the only known player to hit a home run over the 471-foot marker.
Engel Stadium (with a fence reducing its dimensions) is now used for high school baseball games and, up until a few years ago, for the TSSAA baseball playoffs, which were moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to be more centrally located for all Tennessee high schools.
