Hartwell Field was at one time, one of the grand ballparks of the game... in a league with Ponce De Leon Park in Atlanta, Chattanooga's Joe Engle Stadium, Nashville's Sulpher Dell and Memphis' Russwood Park. Hartwell Field was built in 1927 on the corners of Ann and Tennessee and replaced Monroe Park (aka League Park) which was located on these same grounds dating back to 1886. When Hartwell first opened, it retained the name of its preceeding ballpark and became Monroe Park II until finally changing its name to its best known moniker... "Hartwell Field". The stadium was home to the Southeastern League, the Southern Association and the Southern League. In all, 32 seasons of professional baseball teams would call Hartwell home… most notably, the Mobile Bears, though the Mobile "Shippers", "Red Warriros" and "Marines" would also make use of this ballpark. When Hartwell Field became part of the league the concept of the "affiliated ballclub" did not yet exist. All teams were co-ops providing players for any number of Major League franchises. Hartwell Field would pick up where the Mobile Bears of Monroe Park had left off. The Bears had never been much of a competitor in the league, often finishing under .500 but they did have a fantastic season in 1922 when they won 97 games and won the league Championship. This was a bit of an anomaly as within two seasons, they were back under .500 again. When Hartwell Field opened in 1927, the franchise was still lackluster at best. The pitching consisted of Fritz Coumbre who put up a forgettable 7-15, 4.37 and Merle Settlemire (13-17, 4.10) who joined Edward Morris (15-17, 3.96) for a pair of 17 game losers. At the plate, former Red Sox' Denny Williams was the star of the team batting .350 with 24 2B, 8 3B and 2 HR. Those 2 HR were notable as a mere 4 led the team. By 1928, former Red Sox' Wally Shaner would put up 12 HR with 32 2B, 14 3B and a .327 to give Hartwell Field its first legitimate power hitter. Former Pittsburgh Pirates' Whitey Glazner (22-10, 3.39) meanwhile, would give Hartwell Field its first 20 game winner. After finishing 20 games under .500 with 87 losses in 1927, this 1928 entry would come a lot closer to competitiveness with a 74-76 record.