In 1936, the Dodgers called up on Clearwater to request a return to the ballpark
they had grown to love after 10 seasons. Clearwater agreed to say goodbye to the
Newark Bears (shown training here above), if Brooklyn agreed to sign at least
a 5 year deal. After a 3 year absence, the Dodgers signed on the dotted line and
were clearly glad to be "home again: in Clearwater. In all they would spend
15 seasons training here. While the Dodgers did love the idea of everything that
Clearwater offered them, Branch Rickey had become mesmerized by the alluring
tropical island of Cuba. When the Dodgers' 5 year contract on Green Field ended
in 1941, he moved the Dodgers out of Clearwater to La Tropical Stadium in Havana
Cuba. They would spend the next few years playing mostly in the Caribbean at
either Havana or Santo Dominico in the Dominican Republic when not forced to train
in the north due to the war effort. The loss of the Dodgers meant that Green
Field would go dark to Major League Spring Training again, but this time...
it was only for one season. By 1946 a new team Major League franchise was quite
interested in the vacancy left behind by Brooklyn. |