CARSON PARK

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

You won't find many intimate ballparks with the feel of this one. Carson Park screams "minor league" from its island-within-a-park location to its masonry exterior to its wooden grandstand. Built as a $60,000 WPA project in 1937, it was the home of minor league teams serving the Cubs and Braves organizations for many years:

Eau Claire Bears, Class D Northern League, 1937-40

Eau Claire Bears, Class C Northern League, 1941-42

Eau Claire Bears, Class C Northern League, 1946-53

Eau Claire Braves, Class C Northern League, 1954-62

When the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee, the team was renamed Eau Claire Braves in recognition of its in-state parent club. After the 1962 season, Minor League Baseball was reorganized and reclassified, and the Braves moved their now-Class A team to the South Atlantic League.

It was here in Carson Park that a young Hank Aaron belted his first professional home run as a skinny 18-year-old minor leaguer. In 1994, a sculpture commemorating the all-time home run hitter was dedicated at the park. Amateur baseball has continued through the years at beautiful Carson Park and the Eau Claire Cavaliers have called Carson Park home for many seasons. Although I've attended ballgames at Carson Park, by the time I could get here with a camera I was only able to capture the place in its between-game condition.

All of my original photos on this page are approximately one-quarter size. Netscape users can right-click and view-image to see the full-size images.

Use your browser's "back" button to return to "Minor League Ballparks of Yesteryear" or replace "shoeless1920/EauClaire.html" with "shoeless_60067/yesteryear.html" in the URL location.

.

The Hank Aaron tribute is prominently located

Box seats in front of wooden benches with bleachers added down each side

Concourse under the grandstand