Paul Richards Park

Duane's take

The official marker at Paul Richards Park in Waxahachie tells it this way, and I'm just here to pass it along. Now, every ballpark has a story, but not every ballpark starts with a city dangling a dream in front of the big leagues. This one did.

By 1914, local officials in Waxahachie were already planning a field, not for the town's kids, not yet, but to lure a major league baseball team down to Ellis County for spring training. That's ambition. That's Texas.

Representatives came out to take a look in 1915, and local businessmen didn't waste a breath. They formed the Waxahachie Ball Park Association to raise the funds and make it happen. The Detroit Tigers said they'd train here in 1916 if the facilities were satisfactory.

So the builders got to work, and what they put up was called Jungle Park. Jungle Park. That name alone deserves a moment.

It had a grandstand, it had bleachers, and the dimensions were no small thing: 360 feet down both foul lines and 412 feet from home plate out to the center field fence. The Tigers came in 1916 and liked it well enough to come back in 1917. After them came the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Kansas City Blues of the American Association.

Big league names, rolling through Waxahachie. Now here is where the story gets worth repeating at any campfire in Texas: the Cincinnati Reds trained at Jungle Park the same year they went on to win the World Series. That was 1919.

You can make of that what you will. And while the professionals were coming and going, Waxahachie High School was out there using that same diamond as their athletic field. The park was carrying a lot of weight.

In 1922, the Chamber of Commerce took over managing the property. That same year, a flood came through and damaged the site. The grandstand was dismantled and rebuilt over at the high school campus in 1923.

You might think that was the end of Jungle Park, but it kept going. A team organized by the Woodmen of the World played there, and for a stretch of time the place went by another name entirely: Woodman Park. It had layers, this field.

Then came World War II, and the park fell into disrepair. Things go quiet. Weeds win for a while.

But Waxahachie had one more card to play, and his name was Paul R. Richards, a native son who had gone on to become a major league player and manager. Richards stirred the local interest back to life, and the field was renamed in his honor.

Paul Richards Park reopened in 1946 with lights strung up for night games and a terrace system built in to keep the floodwaters from winning again. In the years that followed, local teams and organizations filled that field with baseball. In 1965, the school district purchased it, and Paul Richards Park has been part of Waxahachie ever since: a ballpark that started with a city's ambition, trained World Series champions, survived floods and wars and disrepair, and came back swinging every single time.

What the marker says

This ballpark has hosted athletic events since the early 20th century. By 1914, local officials began planning for a field to attract a major league baseball team to train in Waxahachie. After various team representatives visited in 1915, local businessmen formed the Waxachie Ball Park Association to raise funds. The Detroit Tigers decided to train here in 1916 if facilities were satisfactory. Builders soon completed the field, known as Jungle Park. It included a grandstand and bleachers, and its field measured 360 feet down both foul lines and 412 feet from home plate to the center field fence. The Tigers trained here in 1916 and 1917, and the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds, as well as the Kansas City Blues of the American Association, followed in subsequent seasons. The Reds won the World Series the year they trained here (1919). The diamond also served as an athletic field for Waxahachie High School. In 1922, when the Chamber of Commerce began managing the property, a flood damaged the site. Although the grandstand was dismantled and rebuilt at the high school campus in 1923, Jungle Park continued to be used by teams, including one organized by the Woodmen of the World; for a time the field was also known as Woodman Park. During World War II, it fell into disrepair until Waxahachie native Paul R. Richards, a major league player and manager, again stirred local interest for baseball. Renamed Paul Richards Park, the field reopened in 1946 with lights for night games and a terrace system to prevent flooding. In following years, many local teams and organizations have used the field, which the school district purchased in 1965. (2007)