 | |
| Location | Anna Street and Coburn Avenue Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.[1] |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°15′57″N71°45′28″W / 42.26583°N 71.75778°W /42.26583; -71.75778 |
| Owner | Bigelow family (1891–1925) Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield (1925–1950) Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester (1950–1953) Xaverian Brothers (1953–1968) |
| Capacity | 2,000 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1891 |
| Renovated | 1925 |
| Closed | 1961 |
| Demolished | 1968 |
| Tenants | |
| Holy Cross Crusaders (NCAA) 1892–1904 Worcester (New England League) 1894, 1898 Worcester Farmers/Quakers/Hustlers (Eastern League) 1899–1902 Worcester Reds (Connecticut League) 1904 Saint John's High School 1925–1961 | |
TheWorcester Oval was an American athletic grounds inWorcester, Massachusetts. Constructed for track and field, the venue hosted myriad other events, including college football and minor league baseball.
On May 21, 1890, the Worcester Athletic Club was formed. The association consisted of about 250 members and electedSamuel Winslow as its first president.[2] The Worcester Oval was constructed for the club at a cost of $15,000.[3] It featured an ovalcinder track that was a quarter-mile long and fifteen feet wide with a 120 foot straightaway in front of the grandstand, as well as baseball diamonds and tennis courts. Its grandstand could hold 2,000 people and also housed the facility'slocker rooms.[3][4] The grounds opened on June 13, 1891, with 800 spectators attending the New England Association of theAmateur Athletic Union's first championship track and field meet.[3]
On October 10, 1891 the Worcester Athletic Club hosted a large open handicap meet that saw athletes from theManhattan Athletic Club,Boston Athletic Association, andNew York Athletic Club compete.[5] On September 1, 1892, the Worcester Athletic Club hosted its largest event to date when roughly 1,500 spectators came out for the club's track meet.[6] On July 4, 1895, 4,000 people turned out for the annual Worcester-Suffolk games, which was headlined by a two-mile match race betweenThomas Conneff andGeorge Orton that was won by Conneff, and a mile-long match race in which New England's outdoor champion Jimmy McLaughlin defeated the region's indoor championJerry Delaney.[7][8]
In 1893, the New England Intercollegiate Athletic Association selected the Worcester Oval as the site for its annual meet.[9] The meet, held on May 24, 1893, saw athletes fromDartmouth,Brown,Bowdoin,Amherst,Trinity,Worcester Polytechnic,Williams,Wesleyan, andVermont compete in fifteen events. Dartmouth won five of the events, finished second in four, and third in two others to win the overall championship.[10] TheMassachusetts Institute of Technology won the 1894 meet in its first year of competition.[11] At the 1898 meet, Jesse Lyman Hurlbut Jr. of Wesleyan broke the pole vaulting word's record by clearing 11 feet, 6.5 inches.[12] In 1906, the meet was moved to Technology Field inBrookline, Massachusetts.[13] It was held the Worcester Oval for a final time in 1907, but was returned to Technology Field in 1908.[14][15][16][17] The NEIAA considered returning to the Worcester Oval in 1911 due to poor attendance and poor accessibility to street car lines at Technology Field, but the venue was not available. Pratt Field inSpringfield, Massachusetts was instead chosen to host the meet.[18]
On August 20, 1897, at theMemorial Hospital Athletic Games,Bernard Wefers broke the world record in the110 metres hurdles.[19] The following day, George B. Tincler broke an American record by completing a mile in 4:15:20 in a match race against Tommy Conneff.[20] The record would stand until 1913, when it was broken byJohn Paul Jones.[8] Tincler and Conneff faced off in a rematch the following month, which Tincler won despite giving Conneff a 25-yard head start.[21]
In 1898, the New England Interscholastic Athletic Association moved its high school championship fromHolmes Field inCambridge, Massachusetts to the Worcester Oval.Worcester Academy won the first meet held at the oval, with Worcester High School finishing second.[22] In 1900, the games were moved toSoldier's Field in Cambridge due to lack of participation from schools outside of Worcester.[23]
On July 14, 1900, P. H. Fadgen defeated world record holder Piper Donovan in a100-yard dash match race.[24]
In 1892, theHoly Cross Crusaders baseball team began playing at the Worcester Oval.[25] The oval hosted the college'sfield day in 1896 and 1898.[26][27] From 1897 to 1904, theHoly Cross Crusaders football team played many of its games at the Worcester Oval. In 1900, Holy Cross hosted its rivalBoston College in an athletic meet at the Worcester Oval. It was the first meet of its kind between the schools in many years.[28]
In 1894, the Worcester club of theNew England League played its games at the Worcester Oval.[29] On October 7, 1897, theBoston Beaneaters andBaltimore Orioles played an exhibition game as part of a two-daybarnstorming trip.[30] In 1898, Charles F. Rice moved theNew Bedford Whalers of the New England League to the Worcester Oval.[31] From 1899 to 1902, the oval was the home field of the Worcester club of the Eastern League.[32][33] On August 2, 1900, the Worcester andHartford police departments played a baseball game at the Worcester Oval.[34] In 1904, the Norwich club of theConnecticut League was purchased byMalachi Kittridge and relocated to Worcester Oval.[35] The team played 20 games at the Worcester Oval before moving back to Norwich.[36] Minor league baseball ceased at the Worcester Oval following the construction ofBoulevard Park in 1906.[8]
In 1893, Worcester Polytechnic Institute's football team played Trinity to a 16–16 tie in a game at the Worcester Oval.[37] On October 22, 1910, WPI defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 8–0 at the oval.[38]
On May 14, 1910, WPI defeated Holy Cross andRensselaer Polytechnic Institute in a three-team meet.[39] WPI hosted another triangular meet the following year, this time between WPI, Brown, and Trinity that was won by Brown.[40]
The Worcester Athletic Club joined theNational Lawn Tennis Association in 1892 and hosted its first tennis tournament at the Oval that June.[41] Tracey Hoppin ofHarvard defeated H. G. Bixby ofNashua, New Hampshire to win the tournament.[42]
On September 8, 1899,cyclistMajor Taylor won a half-mile open race withNat Butler coming in a close second. He also defeated James J. Casey in a five-milepursuit race.[43]
In 1906, the Worcester Automobile Club hosted itsGymkhana event at the Worcester Oval.[44]
In 1909, the Worcester Academy, coached byFrank Cavanaugh, defeatedWilliston Academy at the Worcester Oval to claim the prep school football championship.[45]
The Worcester Oval closed in 1915 and remained dormant until 1925, when it was purchased by BishopThomas Michael O'Leary for use as an athletic field forSaint John's High School.[8][46] In 1962, Saint John's moved from Worcester toShrewsbury, Massachusetts.[47] The St. George Orthodox Cathedral was built on the site in 1971.[1]