Columbus

Location: Columbus, OH.

Opened in 1932 as Franklin County Stadium The stadium was first erected in 1931 when Branch Rickey purchased the Columbus Red Birds. The team needed a new ballpark, so Rickey, taking advantage of low, depression-time prices, bought farm land at the corner of Glenwood Av. and W. Mound St. Red Bird Stadium was completed with a $450,000 price tag. Following the 1954 season Branch Rickey took the Red Birds out of Columbus, and the city was on the brink of the first baseballless summer since the turn of the century.

Fortunately, County Commissioner Harold Cooper and eleven local businessmen brought in the Jets, and the park was renamed Jets Stadium for the duration of their time in Columbus, 15 years. In 1970 the stadium was crumbling, and city officials refused to purchase and repair the park, forcing the Jets out of Columbus. For six years, Columbus was without baseball and Jets Stadium was a crumbling weedpatch. Cooper successfully renovated the park with tax dollars and returned baseball to Columbus. The Columbus Clippers have since played at Franklin County Stadium, renamed Cooper Stadium in 1984.