Russwood Park

Russwood's last night was Easter Sunday 1960. After the Cleveland Indians beat the White Sox 2-1 in an exhibition before 7,279 fans, a fire of undetermined origin destroyed the wooden ballpark and threatened Baptist Hospital across Madison Avenue, forcing patients out. The park had opened in 1896 as Elm Wood Park, and it hosted Memphis Tigers football and the Memphis Red Sox as well as the Chicks. In 1959 it drew a local wrestling record, about 17,000 fans, for Billy Wicks against Sputnik Monroe. Elvis played there on July 4, 1956.

What the plaque says

Russwood Park Originally Red Elm Park, Russwood Park was home to Memphis professional baseball from 1899 to 1960. Primarily home to the Memphis Chicks, a charter member of the Southern Association, Russwood hosted nearly 70% of all players and managers enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, including Babe Ruth. For years local entrepreneurs Ed Barry, James T "Doc" Prothro, and Frank Longinotti owned, operated and/or managed the Memphis Chicks. In addition to baseball, Russwood hosted other events, including one of Elvis Presley's concerts. Fire destroyed the park on April 17, 1960.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sun Studio — 0.4 mi
  The small Union Avenue room where Sam Phillips recorded Rocket 88, Howlin' Wolf, Elvis Presley and the Million Dollar Quartet, now a National Historic Landmark.
• Elmwood Cemetery — 1.1 mi
  Memphis's oldest active cemetery, a rural garden cemetery of about 1,500 trees opened in 1852, with Black civic leaders, yellow fever victims and the city's whole history in its lots.
• Beale Street — 1.2 mi
  The street that became the center of Black Memphis after the Civil War, home to Church's Park, W. C. Handy, Ida B. Wells and the blues, now a National Historic Landmark district.
• 1866 Memphis Massacre Marker at Army Park — 1.6 mi
  A privately funded NAACP marker in a small downtown park, placed in 2016, that names the May 1866 attack on Black South Memphis as a massacre.

More markers nearby

• Nathan Bedford Forrest III, Airman — 0.3 mi
• Nathan Bedford Forrest — 0.4 mi
• Luke Edward Wright — 0.5 mi
• Woodruff-Fontaine House — 0.6 mi