The History of Clark Field

Lou Gehrig is said to hit a 550-foot homerun during an 1930 exhibition game at legendary Clark Field but that's probably not the most interesting footnote about the ballpark that was home to Texas Longhorns baseball from 1928 to 1974.

The fabled ballpark featured a limestone cliff called "Billy Goat Hill" in the outfield that not only posed a danger to outfielders, balls hit onto the cliff remained in play!.

Outfielders could choose to play in front of the cliff or on the second level by accessing a small path called "Billy Goat Trail". Naturally the Longhorn players knew the best way to negotiate the hill. This advantage helped the Longhorns win 37 Southwest Conference baseball titles and make 16 College World Series appearances, wining two of those in 1949-1950 while calling Clark Field home.

Despite being a great advantage to Longhorns baseball, the ballpark could only hold about 2,000 spectators. In 1975, the baseball team moved to 6,500 capacity Disch-Falk Field. Today Clark Field is a recreational area perfect for pick-up games of soccer of flag-football.

Modern baseball stadiums today are pretty symmetrical. There will never be another Clark Field. Added dimensions to a ballpark where the game itself could be affected by a terrace or a wall rare but still exist in some parks like the famous "Green Monster" at Fenway Park in Boston and it somehow makes the game more exciting.