The Historical Society of Avon ParkAVON PARK, FL · EST. 1886
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Cardinal Field / Head Field

Cardinal Field, later renamed Charles R. Head Field, is a historic municipal ballpark located at 400 N. Anoka Avenue in Avon Park, Florida.[city-head-field][osm-avon-park-streets] Constructed in late 1926 ahead of the 1927 spring training season, the facility hosted Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals for three seasons (1927–1929), served as the official spring training base for six minor league professional clubs between 1934 and 1954, and remains in continuous use as the home field of the Avon Park High School Red Devils.[sabr-spring-training-florida][fhb-cardinals-1927-1929][newssun-avon-park-home-baseball]

History and renaming

The city of Avon Park built the ballpark as Cardinal Field in the winter of 1926–1927 to secure a spring training agreement with the St. Louis Cardinals, who had just captured the 1926 World Series title.[fhb-cardinals-1927-1929] Local businessman and civic booster Col. Charles R. Head, a close personal friend of Cardinals owner Sam Breadon, led the community campaign to fund and construct the five-acre enclosed grounds, clayed playing surface, wooden and concrete grandstand, and modern clubhouse.[fhb-cardinals-1927-1929] The facility hosted Cardinals spring training for three consecutive seasons from 1927 through 1929.[fhb-cardinals-1927-1929]

Following the departure of the Cardinals after the 1929 season to Bradenton, the municipal ballpark was renamed Charles R. Head Field in honor of Col. Head.[newssun-avon-park-home-baseball] Cardinal Field and Head Field designate the same municipal facility at North Anoka Avenue across successive decades of operation.[fhb-cardinals-1927-1929][newssun-avon-park-home-baseball]

During the 1928 Grapefruit League season, the field hosted an exhibition contest on Friday, 16 March 1928, between the Cardinals and the reigning American League champion New York Yankees, during which Babe Ruth hit a towering home run over the right-field fence into what became West Ruth Street.[fhb-cardinals-1927-1929][fb-depot-museum-photos] Details of the exhibition game, final score (Cardinals 8, Yankees 3), and the presentation bat given to Ruth are documented in Babe Ruth in Avon Park, 1928.

Mid-century professional spring training tenants (1934–1954)

Evidence: corroborated.

While the St. Louis Cardinals were the only Major League Baseball team to establish primary spring training quarters in Avon Park, Head Field did not stand idle after 1929. Historical records compiled by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Spring Training Research Committee, contemporary newspaper dispatches, and museum artifacts corroborate that the ballpark served as an active spring training site for six professional minor league baseball clubs and touring barnstormers from 1934 to 1954 [sabr-spring-training-florida]:

  • Columbus Red Birds (American Association, 1934–1936): The top Class AA minor league farm affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals conducted their complete spring training camps at Head Field for three consecutive seasons from 1934 through 1936 [sabr-spring-training-florida]. On 25 March 1935, the parent St. Louis Cardinals traveled over from their main Grapefruit League base in Bradenton to play a formal exhibition game against their Columbus farm club at Head Field [ap-1935-cardinals-columbus]. On 2 April 1935, the Red Birds hosted the International League’s Baltimore Orioles in an exhibition game in Avon Park; the contest was terminated by rain in the fifth inning with Baltimore leading 3–2 [ap-1935-columbus-orioles].
  • Toronto Maple Leafs (International League, 1938–1941): The Toronto Maple Leafs of the Class AA International League selected Head Field as their Florida spring training headquarters for four consecutive springs from 1938 through 1941 [sabr-spring-training-florida][globe-leafs-camp-1941]. The camp was managed in 1939 and 1940 by National Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman Tony Lazzeri (the former New York Yankees “Murderers’ Row” star who had previously played at Cardinal Field during the 1928 Yankees exhibition game) [sabr-dick-fowler]. The Maple Leafs used their Avon Park camp to evaluate young Canadian talent, including 18-year-old rookie pitcher Dick Fowler (who celebrated his 18th birthday in Avon Park in March 1939 and later threw the first major league no-hitter by a Canadian-born pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1945) and wartime pitching standout Phil Marchildon [sabr-dick-fowler][globe-leafs-camp-1941].
  • Buffalo Bisons (International League, 1950–1951): The Buffalo Bisons conducted their Florida spring training operations at Head Field for two consecutive seasons in 1950 and 1951 [sabr-spring-training-florida].
  • Toledo Mud Hens (American Association, 1952): The Toledo Mud Hens held spring training at Head Field in March 1952 [sabr-spring-training-florida]. An authentic 75-year-old vintage Toledo Mud Hens uniform jersey from their Avon Park stay is preserved and exhibited in the Avon Park Depot & Baseball Museum [floridafuntravel-museum].
  • Charleston Senators (International League, 1953): Following the relocation of the Toledo American Association franchise to West Virginia, the renamed Charleston Senators trained at Head Field for the 1953 spring season [sabr-spring-training-florida].
  • Portsmouth Merrimacs (Piedmont League, 1954): The Portsmouth Merrimacs of the Class B Piedmont League held spring training at Head Field in March 1954, concluding the facility’s twenty-year run of hosting professional minor league preseason camps [sabr-spring-training-florida].
  • House of David: Throughout the 1930s, the nationally famous barnstorming House of David baseball team, renowned for their long hair, beards, and theatrical play, frequently scheduled spring exhibition games at Head Field against local town teams and visiting touring clubs [newssun-avon-park-home-baseball][fb-depot-museum-photos][floridafuntravel-museum].

Facility and current use

The Head Field Complex is situated at 400 N. Anoka Avenue (approximately 27.60309° N, 81.51125° W), immediately south of West Ruth Street.[city-head-field][osm-avon-park-streets] The municipal complex contains a regulation lighted baseball stadium and an adjacent practice field maintained by the City of Avon Park Public Works Department, which oversees the municipality’s parks and recreational facilities.[city-head-field]

Head Field serves as the home ballpark for the Avon Park High School Red Devils baseball team, which has captured eight Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) state championships (1948, 1955, 1964, 1966, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1987).[newssun-avon-park-home-baseball] Notable Red Devils who developed on this diamond include major leaguers Tom “Flash” Gordon and Dee Strange-Gordon, as detailed in Avon Park in the Majors and The Gordon Family. In January 2026, eleven-year major league veteran Dee Strange-Gordon expressed interest in purchasing Head Field from the Highlands County School Board to preserve and upgrade the historic facility.[newssun-strange-gordon-wants-purchase]

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. Spring Training Database: Florida Sites — SABR Spring Training Research Committee (2025) · archival
  2. Dick Fowler — SABR BioProject (Alan Cohen) (2020) · secondary
  3. Leafs Party Leaves for Avon Park Camp — The Globe and Mail (Toronto), 13 March 1941 (1941) · newspaper
  4. Orioles Lead Red Birds 3 to 2 in Rained-Out Avon Park Exhibition — Associated Press, 2 April 1935 (1935) · newspaper
  5. Cardinals Play Columbus Farm Club in Avon Park Exhibition — Associated Press, 25 March 1935 (1935) · newspaper
  6. Inside the Avon Park Baseball Museum — Florida Fun Travel (2026) · secondary
  7. Head Field Complex — City of Avon Park (2026) · official
  8. Nominatim / OpenStreetMap — Avon Park street names (2026) · secondary
  9. Jason Byrne, Cardinals Played in Avon Park from 1927–1929 — Florida History Blog (2023) · secondary
  10. Avon Park: home of baseball legends (Elaine Levey) (2021) · newspaper
  11. Avon Park Depot & Baseball Museum — Exhibit wall label photograph (2026) · official
  12. Strange Gordon wants to purchase Head Field (2026) · newspaper

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