The Wilmington morning star., 1947-10-09
IN SPORTS PAN --.-
N ndN BY Roy Cook

11ondov niobt Buddy Lewis and his transforming
crew Of Major League All-Stars Will play Mt " II f;mat
-Co,,o+S i, te Columbus county seat. 1t VII " lit III
s;n ht snor+s attraction in the history of Columbus county
The Memorial stadium at Whitevllle has recently oeen
completed and outfitted with lights. me STADIUM is d 'rso''
tn the fast growing community OF Whl1eVlhe'
w. hoior Teaoue Au-Stars tried desperately to play
boro in Wilmington, but no playing field was aVaAaple
Frank Manner, general manager of the Masonooro ANU ee
requested the use of the American Legion osaoiun y sale q
oare here ON October 10. The county commissioners D. .oe
Folders IF the gate strings of the huge concrete staolun
said, mo. 1t would cost too much money TO cnanse 'e
field back for baseball" they said IN their REFUSAL
This is nrobably true. Removable bleacher seats nave
.heen erected in the outfield and the screen pulled hlgh INTO
the air and the pitchers mound removed for 1ootoan; lhls
refusal by the commissioners only leads TO the ugn. We
have been waging about another sports arena III "niAi"e
ton. I'LL :.
Tbero Is onlv one place in the entire county that IS
suitable for baseball at night. You guessed it, The American
Legion Stadium.
The owners of the Wilmington Pirate baseball club
saw the need for another stadium here last summer ana
started construction on the private project; shortage OF
materials held up the work for a while, but the owners say
they will complete their park by next spring.
There is no place to stage any indoor sports progron
and onlv the Legion Stadium for outdoor sports IN New
Hanover county. It's a shame for a county as large as ne"
Hanover to be without suitable athletic facilities.
But what can We do about II!
Boxing. Wrestling, Basketball, Handban, Tennis, Base
ball. Softball, Football, fans of Wilmington don't seem to
bother about the lack of facilities, however they are loud IN
their criticism of the way the sports programs SKIP thls
city.
It has been runored that soon the New Hanover High
school will build a large stadium to take care OF its athletic
program.
The Pirate baseball club will have their own park.
And the American Legion Stadium will be left to rot
rs time goes by.
But what of the indoor sports?
The Veterans of Foreign Wars are planning to stage
the Golden Gloves Tournament here in 1948 and more than
likely they will have to go back to the Cape Fear Armory,
lust q good sized dance floor, to hold the matches. Boxing
promoters still wonder if Wilmington has made any ar
engagements for an indoor stadium.
ed away from the high school gym last year when the
Wildcats played the Greensboro Whirles for the state title.
The fans grumbled about no facilities as nearly 1900 fans
damned the gym to the rafters. But, what action was
taken? 80. Two days later the whole thing was forgotten.
Wilmington plans to build a large City Auditorium
someday. The plans alone cost more than a large indoor
sports arena would have cost. But perhaps that's economy.
Still Wilmington has the poorest sports facilities of any
;ty It's size In the nation.
And no one seems to give a boot.