Plant Field/Stadium - Tampa Florida - Former home of the Tampa Smokers / MLB Spring Training

The Red Sox returned to their home in Hot Springs Arkansas after the 1919 Spring Training season but Plant quickly found another replacement in the Washington Senators. They would make Plant Field their Spring Training home for a decade and brought such tremendous and prominent future Hall of Famers as Bucky Harris (.300), Sam Rice (63 SB, .338) and of course the Big Train… Walter Johnson (8-10, 3.13). Though they would feature some of the best players in baseball, they weren’t exactly the best team in the league… but they were getting much better every season and by 1921, Bucky Harris (.289), Sam Rice (39 2Bs, .330) and Walter Johnson (17-14, 3.51) had the team over .500. There was also talk that Robert B. Plant would try to make baseball a permanent summer long attraction at his hotel as he finally landed. The Tampa Smokers were a Florida State League Franchise (Single-A) and were not affiliated with any Major League teams… nor would they ever be in any of their incarnations at Plant Field. The Smokers began in 1919 and we are not sure where they played. It is very possible that they played here at Plant Field but there is no proof. We do know for sure that from 1921 on… this was their home. The question lies as to where the 1919 and 1920 teams played, which is important because the Tampa Smokers were the Championship team of the FSL in 1920. Anyone who can prove this important information, please let us know what you know and we’ll credit you with the find at digital@digitalballparks.com. There are a few books that make reference to the Tampa Smokers earliest games being played here, but that still is not defining enough proof for us.