The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
Menu
Admin Sign-In

Toronto Maple Leafs Spring Training at Head Field, 1938–1941

Following the departure of the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1929 spring season, municipal lore long asserted that Cardinal Field (later renamed Charles R. Head Memorial Field) continued to host professional minor league teams during the 1930s.[maxwell-1976] Contemporary press dispatches and biographical research from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) corroborate that the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Double-A/Triple-A International League established their official spring training camp in Avon Park for four consecutive seasons, from 1938 through 1941.[up-ivp-1938-04-10][sabr-dick-fowler][sabr-phil-marchildon][sabr-tony-lazzeri]

The 1938 Camp and Major League Exhibitions

In the spring of 1938, the Maple Leafs arrived in Avon Park under veteran manager Dan Howley to conduct preseason workouts.[maxwell-1976] Operating with a working relationship with major league organizations, Toronto scheduled Grapefruit League exhibition contests against visiting big-league clubs at Head Field:

  • Detroit Tigers (9 April 1938): The American League Detroit Tigers, training in nearby Lakeland, traveled to Avon Park on Saturday, 9 April 1938, for their final Florida exhibition contest against the Maple Leafs, as reported nationally by the United Press.[up-ivp-1938-04-10]
  • Boston Red Sox: In addition to the Tigers matchup, the Maple Leafs played an exhibition game at Head Field against the Boston Red Sox, who trained in Sarasota.[maxwell-1976]

The 1939 Camp: Discovery of Canadian Pitching Stars

The Maple Leafs returned to Avon Park in March 1939 under manager Jack Burns and coach Johnnie Heving.[sabr-dick-fowler] The 1939 camp became famous in Canadian baseball history as the training ground for two future Major League stars:

  • Dick Fowler: An 18-year-old native of Toronto discovered in local sandlots, Fowler celebrated his eighteenth birthday during camp in Avon Park.[sabr-dick-fowler] Fowler later recalled his awe at arriving in interior Florida: “I thought Avon Park, Florida, was on the other side of the world.”[sabr-dick-fowler] Coach Heving publicly pronounced Fowler the “best-looking rookie hurler he’s seen in ten years,” launching an eleven-year major league career with Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics highlighted by a 1945 no-hitter.[sabr-dick-fowler]
  • Phil Marchildon: Canadian right-hander Phil Marchildon, also bound for the Philadelphia Athletics and later the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, received his primary professional seasoning alongside Fowler at the 1939 and 1940 Avon Park camps.[sabr-phil-marchildon]

The 1940 Camp: Tony Lazzeri’s Avon Park Return

In spring 1940, the Maple Leafs trained at Head Field under Tony Lazzeri, who signed on as the club’s playing manager for the 1940 season.[sabr-tony-lazzeri]

Lazzeri’s arrival created a direct historical link to Avon Park’s earliest spring training era: Lazzeri had first played on the same field in March 1927 and March 1928 as the star second baseman of the New York Yankees’ legendary “Murderers’ Row” lineup alongside Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig during exhibition games against the Cardinals.[sabr-tony-lazzeri] Thirteen years later, the future Hall of Famer directed the Maple Leafs’ daily drills, batting practice, and intrasquad games from the Avon Park dugout.[sabr-tony-lazzeri]

The 1941 Final Season and Wartime Closure

The Maple Leafs party departed Toronto for their fourth training season in Avon Park in March 1941, managed once again by Dan Howley.[sabr-dick-fowler] Fowler, Marchildon, and the Toronto roster completed spring drills at Head Field before opening the 1941 International League schedule.[sabr-dick-fowler][sabr-phil-marchildon]

The 1941 camp marked the end of the Maple Leafs’ four-year tenure in Avon Park. Following the United States’ entry into World War II in December 1941, Major League and minor league baseball enacted strict wartime travel restrictions (the “Landis/Keeshin line”), requiring northern clubs to train near their home territories rather than traveling to Florida for the duration of the war.

References

Where this comes from

Evidence
corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
Review
unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
Rights
society

Sources

  1. United Press, Tigers Play Toronto at Avon Park, Imperial Valley Press (El Centro, Calif.), 10 April 1938, page 4 (1938)
  2. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976)
  3. C. Paul Rogers III, Society for American Baseball Research, Dick Fowler — SABR BioProject (2026)
  4. Brian Morrison, Society for American Baseball Research, Phil Marchildon — SABR BioProject (2026)
  5. Fred Glueckstein, Society for American Baseball Research, Tony Lazzeri — SABR BioProject (2026)

Something here wrong, or incomplete? The Society would rather know. Tell a volunteer.

Have a question about this record?

← Back to collection

Ask A.P.

Ask the archive

    Try asking:

    0 / 500

    A.P. answers only from the Society's own archive and cites what it used. Questions are not linked to you; search history is stored on your device only (how it works).Ask a volunteer for anything it cannot answer.