America’s favorite pastime followed a route starting
in east Wichita and wound itself to its present and
historic landmark just south of the Delano district.
 |
| Raymond "Hap"
Dumont |
Baseball began in 1905 with a baseball park located
on Harry Street off of Main. At that time, a baseball
park could not be in the city limits and, consequently,
traveling to the stadium was quite a distance. The city
fathers, however, came upon an ingenious solution to
relocating the stadium closer to the population center
when it moved to Ackerman Island, also known as Island
Park.
Besides housing an amusement park. It was also an ideal
location for a baseball stadium since Ackerman Island
was not in the city limits then. By 1929 with the depression
just beginning fewer people went to the baseball games.
The island was also subject to flooding, thus the fate
of the island and baseball in this location was doomed.
However, as legend has it, in 1934 a fan left a cigarette
in the stands and the stadium burned down.
In 1934, Mr. Ray “Hap” Dumont convinced
the city that if they would build a new stadium adjacent
to the Delano District, he could bring semi-professional
teams from all over the nation to Wichita. The stadium
was named after Mr. Lawrence who died in 1943 and was
a former major of Wichita. He owned the Land where the
Masonic Home is currently located.
Dumont promised the city that he would make the State
Baseball Tournament into a National Tournament that
would bring revenue to Wichita. This was a bold move
since New York and California had failed to make a success
of a national tournament because travel by train and
auto was so difficult at the time. However, the central
location of Wichita, lent itself to drawing teams from
across the nation and reduce travel time significantly.
In 1934, under the WPA, workers took wheelbarrows of
dirt from the east portion of Ackerman Island to the
west bank, to fill in the gap between the west side.
This is the current site of exploration place. This
melded Ackerman Island into the west bank. It subsequently
became part of the Delano area.
Because jobs were needed for the unemployed during the
depression a federal sponsored WPA project built Lawrence
Athletic Field. Lawrence stadium was located on what
used to be called Paynes Pasture, where circuses would
come to town and set up. It also served as a landing
strip for the aircraft businesses in the Delano area.
Mr. Dumont initiated the NBC tournament in 1934 by paying
Satchel Paige $1000 to baring his integrated team to
Wichita. Satchel was recognized as the best pitcher
in baseball but could not play because of racial restrictions
at the time. He drew huge crowds and Mr. Dumont paid
him from gate receipts. The coverage and sponsorship
of the Sporting News make the tournament a huge success.
As the years passed, the stadium has also hosted minor
league teams. In 1950, the Cleveland Indians came with
a minor league club, and in the-1950s the Milwaukee
Braves had a minor league club at Dumont.
For the period of 1960-1970 there was no pro ball at
Lawrence stadium. Then in 1970, the Aeros AAA, owned
by Milt Glickman, played there until the mid 1980s.
The Aeros team was bought and moved to Buffalo, NY in
1985. Those buyers, Bob & Mindy Rich of Buffalo,
NY, felt so bad about taking the club from Wichita that
in 1987 they purchased and brought the Wranglers, a
farm team of the Kansas City Royals, to Wichita. Since
then, $10 million dollars of improvements have been
done to the stadium. This includes a walking tour of
the history of the National Baseball Congress at the
stadium.
In 1971, Dumont died and in 1975 his name was attached
to the Stadium. Numerous professional ball players are
graduates of the NBC tournament. Among them are Barry
Bonds and Roger Clemens. From a humble pasture at the
beginning of the century, Lawrence Dumont Stadium has
played host to the legends of the game since its first
tournament in 1935 and will continue to showcase for
numerous professional, many future hall-of-fame players.
Also, the stadium through Mr. Dumont promoted integrated
baseball. All which grew out of a little area known
as the Delano district.
