The Ball Diamond

A black and white panoramic photograph of a group of 17 men standing in a straight line in a grass field, all put four men at left are wearing baseball uniforms; name of each man written in white ink appears directly beneath; trees and wooden building appear in background

Aurora Baseball Team standing on hardball diamond, 1933

For a while Town Park had both a hardball diamond, located between the Armoury and the Band Shell, and a softball diamond that still exists in the southwest corner.

A sepia and black image of a young boy playing baseball outside. He is holding a baseball bat and appears to have just finished swinging it. The boy is staring off into the distance and looks like he is about to start running. In the background a tall chain link fence is visible as well as a shorter wooden picket fence behind it. There is a small caption in black text underneath the image.

Aurora Banner, July 29, 1964

By the mid 1960s the decision was made to remove the hardball diamond as too many balls were hit beyond the Park causing problems for cars and spectators alike. Softball continued in the Park with men, women and children all making use of the diamond.

A light yellow coloured poster with black and white text that is advertising a softball game. On the left side there is a picture of a middle aged man who is in the process of pitching a ball.

Promotional poster for charity game

In 1993 and 1994 a remarkable baseball event occurred when an internationally known softball team came to town. The King and His Court were composed of star pitcher Eddy Feigner (the King), catcher, first baseman and shortstop (his Court). Town Park was blocked off with orange fencing, extra benches from across the town were brought in and 5,000 people came to see the King and his Court beat Aurora’s all-stars- with five less men. Doug Dakin, Aurora’s all-star team coach, remembers the game as being “the biggest baseball event that’s ever happened at the Park.”

In the late 1990s the power of the hitters was again cited as the main reason to remove the men’s team from Town Park and since the men were unable to find a comparable home they disbanded completely. In an effort to carry forward their legacy, the ladies’ team re-named themselves the Mud Hens- the old name of the men’s rep softball team. The Aurora Ladies Softball Association has played in Town Park since the early 1970s and their Wednesday night games have become deeply entwined in the culture of the Park.

Audio clip with transcript: “The Culture of the Ball Diamond”

Champion Point Dog Show; Dr. Ballard’s Mutt Show The School Field