The Park
On August 25, 2002, my son and I went to South Williamsport, PA to attend the championship game at the Little League World Series. On the way, we stopped across the Susquehanna River in Williamsport to see Historic Bowman Field, home of the Crosscutters, the Pittsburgh Pirates� New York-Penn League entry. As the name implies, this park is old. Baseball was first played here in 1926. However, the stands are in good shape, the exterior is new, and the only sign that the playing field is old is the vast foul territory and the distance from the plate to the dugouts.
One of the numbers retired by the team belongs to a former catcher, Dave Bresnahan. On August 31, 1987, Bresnahan attempted to pick a runner off third and threw the ball into left field. The runner trotted home, and Bresnahan tagged him out. Huh? Turns out, Bresnahan threw a potato he had carved to look like a baseball into the outfield, and was waiting for the runner at home with the real baseball. Although his teammates, the fans and the media appreciated his stunt, organized baseball did not, and Bresnahan never played again |
