War Memorial Stadium
Nogales, AZ
Review by Mike
Yes, that’s Mexico over there. War Memorial Stadium in Nogales, Arizona, is so close to the border that those houses you see on the other side of that fence are in Mexico. This border town, with both road and train customs stations right in the heart of downtown has dabbled in minor league baseball, with a couple of independent teams giving it a go, the Nogales Charros of the Arizona-Mexico League playing here in 2003.
I have been unable to find out just when this very nice ballpark was built, but when I asked a nice fellow who was getting the field ready for a game, between his halting English, my pathetic Spanish and some innovative sign language, we came up with 1950. So, I’m going with that, but if you have better information, please drop us a line.
The championship plaques on the wall, plus the mural painted on the small, block concession stand tell me that War Memorial Stadium is an active high school baseball venue, with the Nogales Apaches winning the high school state championship as recently as 2018. There is another notice painted on the back indicating that Nogales participated in the 1979 Babe Ruth World Series, so there’s been a lot going on here.
The ballpark features a main grandstand behind home plate that is straight and covered by a large, corrugated metal roof. A press box stands at the top and under the roof. A massive chain link fence protects it all and extends up above the roof to keep foul balls out of the road, which is right behind the main stand. This structure is freshly painted and well kept.
The dugouts are field level and look pretty new, showing that upkeep of this old ballpark is ongoing and important to the community. A large metal bleacher extends down the 3rd base line with a small bleacher section on the 1st base side. The scoreboard also looks fairly new, and features inning-by-inning scoring.
The view beyond the fence has trees and houses and, well, Mexico. I found this simple, unpretentious ballpark to be utterly charming. Here it is, in a town that is clearly a blend of cultures, with everything that goes on around it, just waiting for someone to come and play baseball, a game that brings people together in the best way.
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2024
261
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