Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis (2000 population: 791,926) has not been a major league city since Indianapolis Hoosiers played in the Federal League in 1914, but the city has a rich baseball history nonetheless. It is the birthplace of Hall of Famers Chuck Klein and Oscar Charleston. The Indianapolis Clowns and Indianapolis ABCs were legendary teams of the Negro Leagues. The minor league Indianapolis Indians played for years at Bush Stadium (named after major leaguer and Hoosier native Donie Bush), where the movie "Eight Men Out" was also filmed. They now play at Victory Field, a downtown retro-style park. The Indians were the only team to be a member of the American Association in every season of its second and third incarnations. Indianapolis will likely never be a major league city though, due to its proximity to Cincinnati, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois. The city is also home to the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the NBA's Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis 500, and the NCAA Headquarters. Butler University, the University of Indianapolis, and IUPUI are also located in Indianapolis.

[edit] Teams that have played here

Years	Team	League	Ballpark
1878	Indianapolis Blues	National League	South Street Park
1884	Indianapolis Hoosiers	American Assocation
1885	Indianapolis Hoosiers	Western League
1887-1889	Indianapolis Hoosiers	National League
1892	Indianapolis Rainmakers	Western League	Ohio Street Park
1894-1899	Indianapolis Hoosiers	Western League
1900	Indianapolis Hoosiers	American League
1901	Indianapolis Hoosiers	Western Association
1902-1962	Indianapolis Indians	American Association	Perry Stadium/Victory Field (1931-1962)
1913-1919	Indianapolis ABCs	Negro Leagues
1914	Indianapolis Hoosiers	Federal League
1920-1926, 1931	Indianapolis ABCs	Negro National League	ABCs Field
1932	Indianapolis ABCs	Negro Southern League	ABCs Field
1933	Indianapolis ABCs	Negro National League
1937	Indianapolis Athletics	Negro American League	ABCs Field
1938-1939	Indianapolis ABCs	Negro American League	ABCs Field
1940	Indianapolis Crawfords	Negro American League	ABCs Field
1944-1945	Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns	Negro American League
1946-1950	Indianapolis Clowns	Negro American League	Victory Field
1963	Indianapolis Indians	International League	Victory Field
1964-1968	Indianapolis Indians	Pacific Coast League	Victory Field/Bush Stadium
1969-1997	Indianapolis Indians	American Association	Bush Stadium (1969-1996); Victory Field (1996-1997)
1998-present	Indianapolis Indians	International League	Victory Field

In 1942, the ballpark originally called Perry Stadium was renamed Victory Field. In 1967, it was renamed Owen Bush Stadium.

In 1997, the Indians moved into a new park, Victory Field, which was also the name of their previous home from 1942 to 1967.