Today’s article comes from Edison Ford and Winter Estates.
In 1921, Dr. Marshall Terry, along with his wife Tootie McGregor-Terry, donated several acres of land that had in its earliest days been a cow pasture and later the site of the Lee County Fair. Lee County government took formal possession of the land, which was a mile east of the city of Fort Myers with the stipulation that “all property shall be used as a park and public property.”
Using the specifications put forth by Cornelius McGillicuddy, aka “Connie Mack,” manager and owner of the Philadelphia Athletics, construction of the original ball field began in 1923 and was officially named Terry Park. After two years of negotiations between Mack and a committee led by Richard Richards Sr., owner of the Fort Myers Royal Palm Pharmacy, the Athletics agreed to play their spring training games in Fort Myers, starting in 1925.
Terry Park served as the official spring training home of the Athletics until 1936. The team won the World Series in both 1929 and 1930. Over the next five decades, other major league baseball teams used the ballpark to play their pre-season exhibition games, including the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Hall of Famers such as George Brett, Roberto Clemente, Ty Cob, Jimmy Foxx, and Babe Ruth are just some of stars that graced the fields at Terry Park, helping bring national exposure to the “City of Palms.”
Thomas Edison, world-famous inventor and businessman, was also a baseball fan. In a 1927 interview, Edison was quoted as saying, “Baseball is the greatest of American games. I don’t believe you can find a more ardent follower of baseball than myself, as a day seldom passes when I do not read sporting pages of the newspaper.”
Edison decided to visit Terry Park on a few occasions to watch the Athletics play, even seizing one opportunity to participate in the team’s batting practice session.
Edison and Ford Winter Estates is the internationally known winter home site of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. More than 200,000 visitors walk through the location each year from all around the globe. The site is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and until 9 p.m. during holiday nights.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: From the Archives: History of Terry Park and its connection to Thomas Edison
Reporting by Fort Myers News-Press / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
