J . P . Small Memorial Stadium J . P . Small Memorial Stadium is a baseball park in Jacksonville , Florida . It is located in the Durkeeville community in northwest Jacksonville . Constructed in 1912 and rebuilt in 1936 , it was the city ' s first municipal recreation field , and served as its primary baseball park before the construction of Wolfson Park in 1954 . Throughout the years the stadium has been known at various times as Barrs Field , Durkee Field , and the Myrtle Avenue Ball Park . History . Barrs Field era . The original facility was constructed in 1911 – 1912 on a patch of land owned by Joseph H . Durkee , a former Union officer during the American Civil War who had settled in Jacksonville , where he became a prominent businessman and politician . In 1911 Durkee ' s son Jay Durkee turned control of the property over to Amander Barrs , a local businessman and President of the Jacksonville Baseball Association . Barrs ordered the construction of a recreational field to be used by local teams on the property . The facility was completed in 1912 and was known as Barrs Field , but was generally known as the Myrtle Avenue Ball Park to locals . One early tenant was the Jacksonville Athletics , an African - American club for whom James Weldon Johnson played . One of the rare professional clubs were the Jacksonville Scouts of the Florida State League , who played in 1921 . However , as the city had no municipal park , other teams used fields at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds or across the river in South Jacksonville during this time . In addition to local teams , Major League clubs including the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers held their spring training at the field . The Philadelphia Athletics were the first major league team to use Barrs Field for spring training in 1914 until 1918 . In 1918 the Pittsburgh Pirates held their spring training at the ballpark . Then from 1919 until 1920 the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers called Barrs Field their spring training home . The Dodgers would return for one last spring at Barrs in 1922 . Durkee Field era . The lack of a city park led both major and minor league teams to avoid Jacksonville after 1922 . In 1926 the city government decided to purchase Barrs Field from Durkee in hopes of bringing back professional baseball . On March 13 , 1926 the city signed a binder to purchase the park , which was renamed Durkee Field . Shortly after , the city entered into negotiations to bring a Southeastern League franchise to the city . This was successful , and the original incarnation of the Jacksonville Tars were born . In 1932 the city purchased Durkee Field for $ 348 , 000 . The original stadium was destroyed in a fire in 1936 , but the city immediately rebuilt it in 1936 - 1937 . The new structure was larger , and included a section for African American patrons in the era of segregation . The field is part of the history of segregated African American baseball . In 1938 and from 1941 to mid - 1942 , Jacksonville ' s only Negro league franchise , the Jacksonville Red Caps of the Negro American League , used the park as their home field . The Jersey City Giants held spring training at the ballpark in 1946 . That year the Giants were scheduled to play against a Montreal Royals team that included Jackie Robinson and John Wright , who were in the process of integrating organized baseball . The Giants - Royals game was scheduled for On March 24 , 1946 at Durkee Field ; however , the Jacksonville Playground and Recreation Board prohibited " white and Negro athletes " from playing together in their facilities , and pledged to bar Robinson and Wright from the park . The Royals , with support from the Dodgers , refused to leave Robinson and Wright at Montreal ' s training camp in Daytona Beach , and canceled the game . In 1953 Jacksonville businessman Samuel W . Wolfson purchased the Jacksonville Tars franchise and reorganized them as the Jacksonville Braves , a Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves Major League Baseball club . Among the major changes Wolfson introduced to the team was racial integration . Three black players from the Braves farm system – Hank Aaron , Félix Mantilla , and Horace Garner , came to Jacksonville , making the Braves one of the first integrated teams in the South Atlantic League and in the state of Florida . The following year , the city started construction on the stadium later known as Wolfson Park , and the Braves moved out upon its completion . Later use and renovation . After its replacement as the municipal ballpark , Durkee Field continued to be used by local high schools and colleges , including Edward Waters College , Raines High School , and Stanton High School , where J . P . Small served as teacher , coach , and athletic director from 1934 to 1969 . However , by the late 1970s the stadium was in disrepair and was scheduled for demolition . Local advocates pushed to save the park , and in 1980 Jacksonville City Council member Sallye B . Mathis sponsored legislation to renovate it and rename it for longtime Stanton High School coach J . P . Small . Renovations included structural repairs , a new roof , press box and dugouts , paving the parking lot , a new playscape , and lighted fields . Councilwoman Denise Lee and Mayor Jake Godbold hosted a rededication ceremony of the newly named J . P . Small Memorial Ball Park . Following demolition of Wolfson Park in 2002 , J . P . Small Ballpark became the last historic park in the city of Jacksonville . In May 2003 the Jacksonville City Government pushed forward legislation that would give J . P . Small Ballpark a permanent historical marker . Further renovation in 2006 included a small museum .