Print, Photographic

Photograph

Shanaman Sports Museum

Cheney Field established.

Name/Title

Print, Photographic

Entry/Object ID

1063

Description

In this photo of Tom Cross, Clay Huntington (seated), Omar Bratrud, and Ben Cheney, Cheney signs the paperwork with Bratrud of the Metropolitan Park District for the establishment of Cheney Field in 1957. The stadium opened in 1960 has a capacity of 6,500 and was renovated in 2011. It is the current home of the Tacoma Rainiers Baseball Club of the Pacific Coast League, and the AAA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Cheney Stadium was the brainchild of businessmen Cheney and Huntington. Cheney was an avid sports enthusiast and philanthropist. Cheney himself was a baseball fan but came from a low-income family and couldn’t afford his own baseball gear. Cheney grew up to sponsor numerous teams within the Cheney Studs organization, of both sexes, and by his death in 1971 it was estimated Cheney had helped more than 5,000 youth through sponsorship by the Cheney Lumber Company, which was founded by Cheney in 1936. The youth program also included baseball, hockey, and basketball and started in the mid-1950s. Photo donated by Clay Huntington.

Lexicon

Search Terms

Baseball, Professional/Semi-Pro, Recreational

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Cross, Tom

Person or Organization

Huntington, Clay

Person or Organization

Bratrud, Omar

Person or Organization

Cheney, Ben

Person or Organization

Seattle Mariners

Person or Organization

Pacific Coast Legue

Person or Organization

Tacoma Rainiers Baseball Club

Person or Organization

Cheney Field