 A Gator football game at Fleming Field circa 1924 | |
| Owner | University of Florida |
|---|---|
| Operator | University Athletic Association |
| Opened | 1911 |
| Closed | 1930 (football, track and field) 1948 (baseball) |
| Tenants | |
| Florida Gators football (1911–1930) Florida Gators baseball (1911–1948) Florida Gators track and field (1923–1931) Major League Baseballspring training (1916–1929) | |
Fleming Field (originally known asUniversity Athletic Field) was the first on-campus home for thefootball andbaseball teams representing theUniversity of Florida inGainesville. Construction began in 1910, and the facility debuted as the home field forFlorida Gators outdoor sports programs during the spring semester of the 1910-1911 academic year.
University Athletic Field had limited spectator seating and primitive amenities when first opened. Larger bleachers were installed in 1915, when it was renamed "Fleming Field" in honor of a former governor of Florida, and a track for the university's newtrack and field program was added in 1923. However, its maximum capacity never exceeded about 5,000 with standing room, and as the Florida football program grew in national prominence during the 1920s, university leaders saw a need for a modern stadium.
Florida Field was constructed adjacent to Fleming Field in 1930 as the new home of the university's football and track programs, and the baseball team moved to nearbyPerry Field in 1949. Fleming Field continued to be used for general student recreation until 1991, when a major expansion of the north endzone of Florida Field extended the structure well onto the Gators' old playing surface.
Today, the remaining portion of Fleming Field is the landscaped northern approach to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. On football gamedays, the grassy area is used for parking andtailgating, and the brick walkway cutting across Fleming Field is the site of the pregame Gator Walk.
The modern University of Florida wasestablished in 1905 and first held classes inGainesville in the fall of 1906. The new campus had limited facilities, however, with additional construction continuing as funding allowed.[1]
The university established an intercollegiate football program and a club-level baseball team immediately upon opening of its new campus. Since the school did not yet have its own athletic facilities, these teams began play at a Gainesville city park known simply as "The Ballpark", which they used until the end of the1910 football season.[2]
In 1910, the university cleared and leveled a plot of land alongUniversity Avenue adjoining theMurphree student housing area on the western edge of the existing campus, just north of the present stadium site. With the installation of wooden bleachers purchased from the city of Gainesville and transported from the old downtown ballpark, University Athletic Field was unveiled as the new home of UF's baseball team in January 1911.[1] The1911 football team was the first to adopt the nickname "Gators" and the formerly club-level baseball team became an officially sanctioned intercollegiate program during the 1912 spring semester, making University Athletic Field the first true "home of the Gators".[3] Larger bleachers were added in the summer of 1915, and in October 1915, the facility was rechristened "Fleming Field" in honor of recently deceased former Florida governorFrancis P. Fleming.[4] In 1923, a compactrunning track was added to accommodate the university's newtrack and field program.[1]
Florida's football squads posted a 49–7–1 home record during the University Athletic / Fleming Field era, which spanned from 1911 to the first few games of the1930 season. However, due to the facility's limited capacity (approximately 5,000 with temporary bleachers and standing room) and the relative inaccessibility of Gainesville in the early 20th century, most "home" games against top opponents were scheduled at larger venues inJacksonville orTampa, with a few also played inSt. Petersburg orMiami.[5][6]
Gator football first earned national prominence in the1920s, prompting incoming university presidentJohn J. Tigert to begin a drive to construct a new and larger stadium upon his arrival in 1928.[7] With an initial capacity of 22,000,Florida Field was completed adjacent to Fleming Field in the fall of 1930 and has been the home stadium for Florida football ever since. A year later, a larger running track was constructed just beyond Florida Field's open south endzone, and the track team relocated to the new facility.
Florida's baseball team continued to use Fleming Field until 1949, when the university constructedPerry Field nearby. Perry Field at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium remained the home field of Florida baseball until 2020, when the program moved toa new ballpark on the southwest side of campus.[8]
Besides the university's sports teams, Fleming Field intermittently hostedMajor League Baseballspring training games and practices featuring many teams including theBoston Red Sox,New York Giants,Philadelphia Athletics,Philadelphia Phillies andBoston Braves from 1916 until 1929. This was an era in which major league teams usually prepared for the regular season by playing exhibition games in several towns instead of establishing a spring training base in one location as is now the case.[4][9] Among the baseball notables to appear at Fleming Field wereBabe Ruth,Mel Ott,Walter Johnson,Rogers Hornsby, andCasey Stengel. The Gators' most notable baseball player of the era wasLance Richbourg, who played over a decade in the majors and returned to coach Florida's baseball team for three seasons during the Fleming Field era.[10]
The university used the proceeds earned by hosting spring training to help finance several capital projects, including construction on theUniversity Gym, the first permanent home of theFlorida Gators basketball program.[11]
The Gator baseball program continued to play and practice on the baseball diamond on the western half of Fleming Field for almost two decades after the completion of Florida Field whileracquetball andtennis courts were built on the eastern half. The baseball team moved to new facilities atPerry Field in 1949, and for the following decades, Fleming Field was used forphysical education classes,intramural sports, general student recreation, and football gameday parking.
In 1991, the university added an upper deck to the north stands of Florida Field, extending the stadium structure across an existing street and onto Fleming Field. The street and courts were removed,infiltration basins were added, and the area was landscaped with trees, sidewalks, and a life-size alligator sculpture.
The former location of Fleming Field is now the main approach to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Steve Spurrier - Florida Field. On football game days, the remaining open area is used fortailgating and parking while the brick sidewalk cutting through the approximate center of the Gators' old home field is the site of the Gator Walk, in which the football team and coaches are greeted by thousands of fans as they make their way into the stadium.[1]
