E. J. BLOCK ATHLETIC FIELD

East Chicago, Indiana

In the town of East Chicago, an “island” community surrounded on all sides by vast industrial areas in the steelmaking region of extreme northwestern Indiana, this wonderful little ballpark was built by the Block Family, founders of Inland Steel. Intended for the use of Inland Steel employees and their families, this vintage 1942 stadium hosted professional baseball for but a single season in 1995. The East Chicago Conquistadors of the independent Mid-America League played in front of an average of 94 fans per game. The four-team league folded after its inaugural season with only three of the teams finishing the season and no playoffs.

An open groundskeeping gate enabled me to photograph this sturdy old venue with its very substantial steel girder framework, wooden bench seating, standing water in the dugouts, and odd field dimensions (360 to left, 385 to center, 320 to right). Like Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, this ballpark was built without a press box so a scorer's table is set up in the seating area behind home plate. If a film crew is ever looking for an old ballpark for a period movie, they’d be remiss if they don’t find this little beauty. The park is still used for youth and amateur baseball although newer facilities have been built in the area beyond the left field fence.

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Fielders' view

The "concourse" such as it is

Iron and wood