Jay Littleton Ball Park Severely Damaged by Fire

The beloved, 87-year-old ballpark, Jay Littleton Ball Park, was hit by a fire on Thursday. The all wooden structure is severely damaged. Likely it will be considered as a loss.

Jay Littleton Ball Park was built in 1937. The field experienced one season of professional baseball when the Ontario Orioles called Jay Littleton Ball Park home. In the other years, until Thursday, the ballpark was used for Little League games.

From NBC Los Angeles:
“A beloved community baseball stadium used for scenes in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own” and other Hollywood movies was damaged in a fire late Thursday in Ontario, California.

Flames tore through the wooden grandstand and other parts of historic Jay Littleton Ball Park, a decades-old baseball gem that is currently home to Little League games and amateur leagues. Witnesses said they heard an explosion at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

Daylight revealed significant damage to the grandstands.

“It’s a sad day for the city of Ontario,” said fire investigations supervisor Dan Kloosterman. “It has a lot of history.”

Details about a cause were not immediately available. Kloosterman said there likely was old, dry wood in at least part of the grandstand structure, which can burn quickly.

Baseball has been played at the field at Fourth Street and Grove Avenue in the community east of Los Angeles for more than 80 years. The wooden grandstand was finished in 1937. Surrounding John Galvin Park was founded in 1910.”

Yours truly tried to visit the ballpark in 2012 but it was closed back then. He was still able to make some photos of the ballpark though. These are not the greatest photos, but they give you an impression of what the ballpark looked like.