Point Stadium
Johnstown, PA
Point Stadium was the home of the Johnstown Johnnies of the independent Frontier League.
The ballpark was built in 1926, wedged between two rivers and a street. It is old, it had an upper-deckectomy in the 1960's, and it is very much showing it's age. And it is a wonderful baseball stadium.
Review by Mike
The original Point Stadium was torn down in 2005 and a new Point Stadium built on the same site with the same footprint.
These photos and review are from 2001.
How do you put atmosphere into words? You don't. You just go to Johnstown and experience it. Point Stadium is an oddly shaped ballpark due to the confines of it's lot. The left field foul pole is just 251 feet from home plate. To compensate for this, a huge screen was erected over the already high fence. Balls hit into the screen are in play and we got to see several land there on this night, including one shot that might have never come down if it hadn't met mesh. Instead it was just a hard hit single.
For some reason the left fielder thought that he needed to stand right in front of the fence, although any ball over his head will be uncatchably against the wall anyway!
The location of the park is wonderful. Beyond the right field stands is Yoder Hill, which is lovely in all of it's greenery. Look farther along and you can watch the famed Johnstown Incline slide gracefully up and down the hill, carrying passengers. You can stand at the top of the left field stands and watch frequent freight trains cross the river on the ancient stone bridge. Inside the park, things are a little ragged with age, but everything is clean and everyone is friendly. The crowd was lively and full of characters shouting interesting, but good natured remarks at the field.
The stands continue down the right field line and into fair territory, making a Fenway-like short right field pole followed by a deep drop back into right center.
The Point is simply a great old ballpark which is truly more than the sum of it's parts. The city is wonderful as well and I would recommend a trip to this old relic before it and its like are no more.
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2001
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