Photograph courtesy of El Paso Chihuahuas / El Paso County Historical Society The Dudley Dome was a simple ballpark built from adobe brick. It featured a covered grandstand behind the plate, with bleacher seating down the lines. The Dudley Dome first rose up in 1924 and despite its un-complicated architecture, it would be the home of all professional baseball in this region for 65 years, all the way until 1989 with the opening of Cohen Stadium. Even as professional baseball really began to take off, as you will see... not much was done to make this ballpark any more elaborate than it was |
when it first opened. It remained a simple ballpark until the day it
was demolished in 2005, at the age of 81. Dudley would be a favorite of the people
of El Paso because of its location and its longevity as a professional ballpark,
creating much nostalgia. Dudley Field would often be called the Dudley Dome
by its broadcasters as a "tounge-in-cheek" inside joke. After awhile the name
stuck and it would be known as that for years. It would take a few years for
this ballpark to host its first franchise but that opportunity finally came in
1930, when the El Paso Texans came to town. The Texans were part of the Class
D Arizona State League and featured James Washburn as their local hero (29 2B,
16 3B, 12 HR, .372). Other teams in the league were located in Bisbee, Phoenix,
Tucson, Globe and Miami Arizona. The first El Paso Texans team would finish its
first season in 2nd place with a 58-47 (.552) record. When Nogales Mexico joined
in 1931 making the league an international affair, the Arizona State League
morphed into the Arizona-Mexico League. There the team immediately thrived despite
not having the best pitching or hitting in the league. Finishing the year
at 79-52 (.603) the Texans took 1st place and then swept the Bisbee Bees in a best
of 5 series 5 games to none to take home to the Dudley Dome, it's first ever
Championship title. |