Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1912-04-30
YAWKEY PARK
OPENS MAY IS
New Base Ball Grounds Will be Com
pIeted on That Date. A Large
Crew Now al Work and
Everything Being
Rushed.
HANDSOME BALL GROUNDS
The Game Will be the First os the Sea-
son and Between Wausau and
Aurora Mines.

aurora ISllSS.
Matters pertaining to the opening
of the base ball season in the Wiscon-
sin-Illinois League on Wednesday are
all in order and the opening in the
four southern cities should be the
biggest ever if the weather is right.
The clubs have had little hard l'ne
of weather to train in but in this re-
spect all have had the same difficulties
to contend with. Wausau has been
training in Chicago at Sherman Park
for the past two weeks and leaves for
Aurora on Wednesday morning to
open the season there in the after
noon. Manager Malloy is confident
that he has good club and expects
to take his share of the games on this
trip of the season. 1t is not altogeth-
er likely that one or two men will be
changed, but as whole the manager
and officials are satisfied with the
makeup of the team.
For the home opening on the 18th
of May, great preparations are being
made, and Wausau should see the
biggest turnout on that day in the
history of local base ball. Work on
the splendid new grounds has been
progressing nicely the last few days
and everything will be in readiness
for the opening game. The contractor
has put on an extra force this week
in order to get the work completed in
advance and the officials of the club
have teams at work adding couple
of hundred loads of dirt in the out
field holes, which should put the new
park in excellent shape for the season.
The diamond is high except in one or
two small spots which will be attended
to this week and on the whole, the
park will be in better shape than the
officers had at first expected.
The grounds and stands complete
will cost considerably over 100000,
and will seat nearly twice the amount
of people that could be accommodated
at the old park. The bleachers will
hold close to seven hundred and the
stand and boxes about q thousand.
The stand is to be neat affair, with
five exits, comfortable seats, nicely
arranged. In fact the new park for
the Lumberjacks will be as good as
any in The league and one that the
entire city of Wausau may be proud
of.
A lot of advertising signs have been
sold to be placed on the outfield fences;
there will also be bull sign, and local
patrons of base ball will be greeted
by the finest lot of ads ever displayed
in Wausau. The exterior, both fences
and grand stand, will be painted
pretty green which should make the
new park slightly one. The plot is
we'll located being only block from
the present car line, which will prob
ably be extended so as to run by the
grounds. At present it is possible
to reach the park in five minutes
from the heart of the city.
Big preparations are being made
for the opening gaze here with
Aurora on Monday, May 13. All busi-
ness places will close and the officials
are going after the manufacturing
institutions to get them to close for
the afternoon on that day. An auto
parade with two bands will proceed
from court house square to the
grounds about 200 p. M. The new
mayor, Mr.. John Ringle, will be on
hand to open up the doings with a
speech and proper e. 5rcises will be
held christening ne new park
'Yawkey Park" ,.le name the new
field will bear. Mr.. Yawkey is a
director of the Base Ball club and
one of the men, who by hard work
and much boosting, with a lot of help
by certain other gentlemen imbued
with the ''Wausau spirit" made the
new park a possibility, and his fellow
members on the base ball clubs
beard, felt that the honor of a name
for the new park should fall to Mr..
Yawkey.
Wausau should turn out enmass to
attend the first game of the city's re-
entrance to the Wis.-Ill. fold. There
is much that the citizens of Wausau
may be thankful for and much that
is new they will go to see on the
opening day: A brand new home club;
a new visiting club, both members of
a league in which WauSau rightfully
belongs; a brand new, swell, up-to-date,
comfortable, commodious park, right
fully named, nicely located, one that
the city can be proud of. made possi-
nle by men who stand for Wausau: if
all this can't draw a booster crowd
for Che opening game, what can /?