As a history and baseball fan I had to pay a visit to Tinker Field, named in honor of Joe Tinker (1880-1948) who was a professional baseball player and developer. Joe experienced success with the Chicago Cubs from 1906 to 1910, where he won four pennants and two World Series championships. In 1919 Joe moved to Orlando where he managed the Orlando Tigers and operated a thriving real estate business during Florida's land boom years.
The field that would become Tinker Field was first used for baseball in 1914. In 1922 Joe Tinker promoted construction of a new baseball stadium to attract teams for spring training. On April 19. 1923, the new ball field was dedicated. At 1.500 seats, the wooden stadium was larger than Yankee field. The field was red Georgia clay with a grass outfield of Bermuda sod.
For years the field was used for spring training by the the Cincinnati Reds (1923-1933), Brooklyn Dodgers (1934-1935,) and the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins (1936-1990) and as part of the Florida State League and the Southern League. Many Baseball Hall of Famers played here including Jackie Robinson, Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Harmon Killebrew.
In 1963, the stadium was rebuilt with 1,000 seats from the 1911 Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. On March 6, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to thousands when he gave his only speech in Central Florida, "Integration Now", from the pitcher's mound. Less than a month later he was assassinated.
Tinker Field was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 for its association with baseball and Joe Tinker, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. In 2015, the city removed the grandstands and buildings to make room for renovation of the Orlando Citrus Bowl, now Camping World. Tinker Field History Plaza opened in 2018 and the historic baseball diamond and field were landmarked by the Orlando City Council for its connection to the civil rights movement and minor and major league baseball.
Marker F-923, Tinker Field was installed in 2016 by the City of Orlando and the Florida Department of State. read more