70th Birthday of the Phil Welch (Baseball) Stadium

May 30, 2009 70th birthday of the Phil Welch (Baseball) Stadium located in St. Joseph, MO USA

Eleanor Welch White, daughter of the late Honorable Phil James Welch threw out the first baseball of the night commemorating the stadiums 70th birthday. Her husband, Gene White, along with family and friends escorted her onto the field. The stadium opened in 1939 and named in honor of the mayor of St. Joseph, MO.

The stadium is located at 2600 SW Parkway in St. Joseph and it has a seating capacity of 3,600. It has previously housed several minor league and independent league teams including a Saint Louis Cardinal farm team named the Cardinals. Hall of Famers like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays played games there while rising through the ranks. This beautiful ballpark is the home of the Griffons of Missouri Western State University and as of June 2009 the new home of the St. Joseph Mustangs. The Mustangs will be playing 25 homes games this summer in the newly expanded M.I.N.K. League that has 10 teams throughout Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. For team information visit www.stjoemustangs.com

Philip James Welch was a United States Representative from Missouri and born in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, MO on April 4, 1895. He was treasurer of city of St. Joseph (1932-1936) and mayor of city of St. Joseph (1936-1946). He was a delegate to Democratic National Convention in 1940 and assistant director of Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Kansas City, MO, in 1946 and 1947. He was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-first and Eighty-second Congresses (January 3, 1949-January 3, 1953). He served with the State civil defense and later with the State industrial inspection division; was a resident of St. Joseph, MO, until his death on April 26, 1963.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Phil Welch Stadium
• St. Joseph
• Griffins Baseball
• Mustangs Baseball