Eagles Go Back To The Future; Beat Midview At Historic League Park, Original Home Of The Indians

Junior Quinn Lavelle, a Northwestern recruit, pitched a complete game win over Midview.

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Unlike their crosstown neighbors at Lakewood High, the St. Edward baseball team does not have a home field. Their transient status usually creates headaches….over the years they have played “home” games everywhere from Strongsville to Avon to Lorain. All those extra miles can be a grind during a long season. However, once in a while, the Eagles’ nomadic program is able to play in a unique setting. One such opportunity happened on April 30th in the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland.

St. Edward hosted Midview at League Park, which was recently renovated by the City of Cleveland. The field, located at East 66th and Lexington, began hosting professional baseball’s Cleveland Spiders in 1891. It was the first home of the Cleveland Indians, hosting games from 1901 until 1946. It hosted games in the 1920 World Series, where the Indians defeated Brooklyn 5 games to 2 (the World Series was “best of nine” from 1919 to 1921). The Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League won the 1945 Negro League World Series at League Park in 1945. Even the NFL’s Cleveland Rams played at League Park in 1937 and during the early 1940s. Yes, that is the same team that became the Los Angeles/St. Louis/back to Los Angeles Rams.

The Indians moved full-time to downtown’s Municipal Stadium in 1947, two years after the Rams left for California. After the 1950 season the Buckeyes folded, leaving League Park with no tenants. The stadium decayed over the years, reflecting the decline of the Hough neighborhood where it sat. By 2011 all that was left was the original ticket house and one grandstand wall. In that year, the City decided to restore the ball field and turn the ticket house into a baseball museum. The project was completed in August 2014.

New St. Edward baseball coach Matt Rosinski thought League Park would be a great venue to host a game. The school had been working to host a game, and it finally came to fruition. Rosinski was excited to have his team on the same field used by legends such Ty Cobb, Satchel Paige, and Babe Ruth. It was also a great opportunity for his team to learn baseball history. “The coaches understood it better than the players,” he said of the significance of the ball park.

Junior Quinn Lavelle, starting pitcher for the game, recognized the historic nature of the park. He was excited about pitching on the same mound as Hall of Famers like Bob Feller. “I think it’s special about the history,” said Lavelle about League Park, “It’ll be something that I definitely remember.”

As for the game itself, St. Edward defeated the Middies 5-1 behind a strong performance by Lavelle, who has verbally committed to play college ball at Northwestern. He threw a complete game giving up only one run on 83 pitches. Junior Jeffery Santa led the Eagles offense with three RBIs, and he also scored the team’s other two runs. After the game ended, fans of both teams streamed into the Baseball Museum, where they saw an assortment of artifacts from the ballpark's past.

The win boosted St. Edward's record to 12-7 on the season. They also earned the #1 seed in the Strongville District of the OHSAA State Tournament.