Historic Satchel Paige Memorial Stadium is the home of Kansas City Hormigas baseball. View the 2025 schedule>>
HISTORY
In 1938, brothers Fred and George Goldman created a baseball field at 51st Street and Swope Parkway to encourage Ban Johnson League baseball (amateur players under 21 years old). The Goldman brothers owned the Goldman Jewelry Company. The dedication occurred on July 31st. Over 4,000 people packed the field and saw the new covered stadium, grass infield and concrete dugouts and a double-header.
During the period of World War II, there was a break in use of the stadium. In 1944 the stadium was purchased by the Catholic Youth Council (the CYC). The stadium, now called the CYC Stadium, was dedicated August 5, 1945 to “the great athletes now protecting the freedom of their country.” [KC Times Aug. 6, 1945]. The bleacher seats were replaced and play started up again. George Goldman was still involved and founded the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), an adult group which supported the stadium.
In 1959 the stadium was renamed “Archbishop O’Hara C.Y.O. Memorial Stadium” after Archbishop Edwin O’Hara, who was involved in its acquisition by the Catholic Church and who died in 1956, and the CYO.
While the stadium was used heavily for several years, by 1968 few games were played there, and it was closed by the Catholic Church in anticipation of its sale for the development of an apartment complex on the site. The sale fell through though. So, in the 1970s it was eventually used as a horse stable. Unfortunately, it flooded during the Plaza/Brush Creek Flood in 1977 and many of the horses died.
The stadium stood empty until 1982, when Kansas City Parks and Recreation purchased it for youth baseball and softball. Just in time, on June 5th, it was renamed for baseball legend Satchel Paige with Mr. Paige in attendance. Three days later, on June 8th, Mr. Paige died. Renovations were made and baseball was again played in the stadium.
Beginning in the mid-1990s until 2023, the Parks & Recreation Department partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City to hold the R.B.I. (Revising Baseball in the Inner-City) programs each summer. Over the years the R.B.I created an invaluable recreational opportunity for many Inner-City children who wanted to learn and compete in a fair, fun atmosphere. An international team called The Kansas City Hermigas, a class B baseball team with the Pecos League of Independent Baseball, will be playing their 2025 season in the stadium. They will also hold youth baseball clinics & instruction.
