'Play ball!' Old South Bend baseball park about to be rebuilt, named for Foundry Giants

Southeast Park, on Wenger and High streets in South Bend, is not easy to find. It is tucked behind a raised railroad track and down the street from Ivy Tech. It is adjacent to a working-class neighborhood with an industrial past. Mostly an unloved Charlie Brown-kind of park.

It is now in line for a great update. Within the next few days, work will begin on an updated baseball field. It will be known as Foundry Field. The field will feature a full-size diamond bordered by the elevated railroad tracks at the southeast corner of the park. It will include a grass infield, dirt base paths, a net-and-steel-pole backstop, an irrigation system and a living hedge outfield fence.

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The field will be home to the South Bend-based Sappy Moffitt Baseball League, an adult recreational league, and will also be used for youth baseball through the school corporation and the Boys & Girls Clubs.

The public access field will celebrate the Foundry Giants and other underrepresented baseball teams from the city’s past. Friends and contributors to the field said it is part baseball, part museum.

The Foundry Giants team was comprised of Studebaker workers. The Black players were part of the industrial teams that played in the 1920s and 1930s.  A few players went on to play in the Negro Leagues.

In addition to the field work, an eye-catching mural and historical markers are now in place on the retaining wall of the elevated railroad tracks.

The mural artist, Thomas “Detour” Evans of Colorado, presented the energy of baseball with renditions of Alonzo Poindexter and John “Big Pitch” Williams. “The players are bright and colorful with an outline of a car engine to the side,” Detour said. The engine represents the foundry work at Studebaker. “It was a beautiful week of art making,” he told the gathering about his time sketching in the art and learning about the subject.

A new logo for the team, which is featured on the outfield wall, consists of a circle and the letter "F." It recalls the famous Studebaker logo.

The groundbreaking on May 12 was a celebration of former players, families, community, cooperation, research and the love of baseball. Instead of groundbreaking with gold shovels and a mound of dirt, the crowd counted down from three and then, “Play ball!” It all worked as a great way to end the event.

The day included relatives of the players, kids and adults playing catch, and others singing the praises of the project and baseball in general.

The family of Alonzo Poindexter celebrated the loudest. The player went on to be a member of the St. Joseph County Police and raise a big family. However, no family members knew he played baseball until they saw a story about the creation of Foundry Field.

Granddaughter Lavada Poindexter never heard a thing about baseball from him. “We heard about the sheriff’s department but not this. Everyone was surprised about him playing.”

Tremaine Poindexter added “we should have asked” him directly.

Another relative, Kelvin Poindexter, said the family is excited to see the changes in the park and what will happen next.

Foundry Field is a collaborative community project led by the Sappy Moffitt Field Foundation, the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center and South Bend Venues Parks and Arts.

Michael Hebbeler, program director for Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, said the project was the most collaborative effort he has seen in 15 years. “The field is more than baseball. It is about the workers who built the community. It is about the partnerships — with the Civil Rights Heritage Center, the History Museum, Boys and Girls Club, South Bend Schools.” The groups worked together. “As they came to the table to talk about the project, the ideas became richer and richer.”

Aaron Perri, outgoing executive director of South Bend Venues Parks and Arts, said this is a perfect example of what parks should do. “People came with ideas, resources, plans.”

Clint Carlson, assistant professor of design at Notre Dame and a Sappy Moffitt player, helped with the visual identity of the field from the “F” logo to the mural. “It all started about two years ago.” The ideas were tossed around, money was raised and COVID slowed it down. “People got interested in the park idea and the history.”

Katherine Walden, assistant teaching professor in American Studies at Notre Dame, led the historical research on the Giants. Her class dug into The Tribune and South Bend News-Times microfilm files to get names, stats and rosters. “We estimate that Studebaker had three teams, other factories like Singer’s had one. It was fascinating research.”

Katherine praised the newspapers for doing a good job of keeping the people informed.

The Baseball and America course she taught and “this project represent the best of all those worlds in so many ways. It was deeply moving to see students recognize that and make those connections through their work,” Katherine said.

The neighborhood and friends of the park will be excited to see it develop as it moves toward its planned completion and opening in 2024. Charlie Brown would be happy to be on that field.

You can reach Kathy at kfborlik@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Foundry Field reborn for Boys Girls Clubs and adult league