Munson Stadium crowded like never before; 600 games, big plans, and a baseball wedding
CANTON − The magic of Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium faded into the autumn of 1996.
It was the year Bartolo Colon came through town, following Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome as the latest hot Cleveland prospect to play Class AA ball in Canton.
It was the year 19-year-old Vladimir Guerrero, with the Harrisburg Senators on his way to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2018, was a face in the crowd of visiting players.
Eight years of such amusements ended in 1997 when the team moved to Akron. Munson Stadium devolved into a lesser light, eventually facing extinction.
A 2022 renovation of the venue — named after a New York Yankees captain from Canton — introduced new possibilities. In 2023, Munson Stadium teems with life again, albeit not with pro ball and big crowds, but with more games than the complex has ever seen.
"May through August, we've probably had just north of 600 games, which is crazy to even think about," said stadium manager Jim Hilton, who describes the first full season since the renovation as "a success … a win-win."
When Cleveland's Double-A team played in Canton from 1989 through 1996, the annual average of games played at Munson Stadium was about 75.
Team owner Mike Agganis didn't want anyone else on the field. Agganis mostly got his wish.
After Agganis skipped town, several entities used the stadium. Eventually, the Ohio Men's Senior Baseball League became the primary tenant. Under management by Joe Sidor and Skip Riser, the Senior League kept the ballpark from going to seed.
Riser died. Sidor retired. Munson Stadium needed a lifeline. Help arrived with a $5 million renovation, overseen by the City of Canton in partnership with Canton City Schools.
McKinley, Malone baseball teams keep Munson Stadium busy in spring along with OHSAA, Senior League
By April of 2022, the main field — the one surrounded by a 5,000-seat grandstand — was ready for the launch of McKinley High School's season. Improvements to a second field, installed years after the Cleveland minor league affiliate left, unfolded as the spring of '22 wore on.
Fully operational from the time weather broke in 2023, the stadium got busier than it ever was. McKinley, Malone University, the OHSAA and the Senior League filled up the spring.
More on Munson Stadium: How major overhaul of Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium is working out, one year later
Summer came alive with youth travel teams.
"There were tournaments every weekend from Memorial Day until the beginning of August, Thursday through Sunday," Hilton said.
The baseball game has been Hilton's life.
His ties to Munson Stadium trace to hitting a home run there in 1998 in his last game as a McKinley Bulldog. Like Thurman Munson, Hilton was a catcher.
A degree in sports management from the University of Akron led to job at Diamond Dreams Sports Academy, where Hilton managed an indoor baseball operation. He became president of Ohio Spikes Baseball, a travel-team outfit.
He networked with college coaches. He learned where baseball was played, where it might be played, and what fields needed to look like.
"Youth baseball has turned into a billion-dollar business that keeps evolving," he said. "I don't ever see it going backwards.
"Facilities like ours are being built all over the country, in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Texas …
"More facilities are being built, and there will be games to put in them."
965 Midwest Challenge Baseball Tournaments a regular at Munson
The biggest youth-baseball customer has been 965 Midwest Challenge Baseball Tournaments, involving travel players from Ohio and surrounding states in the 14-18 age range.
Co-owner Matt Kimmick estimates his group brought 300 games through Munson in 2023. College coaches and scouts routinely attended, in theory assessing prospects facing strong competition.
Kimmick, 37, is an example of young entrepreneurs tapping into the evolving business. He played high school ball at Parma Normandy and college ball at Tri-C.
Kimmick and two friends launched the "965" travel ball businesses. All three were baseball guys who get a kick out of a road-trip story.
There was a vehicle full of guys heading for a game. One vociferous player kept insisting the radio be tuned to 96.5 FM − only 96.5 would do.
The story became legend and now is part of the business's tongue-in-cheek name.
The 965 partners are friends of Hilton and fans of the Munson renovation. They have contracted for another cycle of games in 2024.
The 965 group rents upwards of 20 Ohio fields. Munson and two college venues, Kent State and Baldwin-Wallace, are regarded as top sites.
Quality of turf along with reasonable price make Munson Stadium attractive to tournament directors
Kimmick on the Munson experience:
"Everything is ready and well organized. We appreciate the historical aspect of the stadium. Our players like the stadium environment.
"The turf is of good quality, with the right padding. Players don't feel like they landed on cement after they dive for a ball."
Munson Stadium charges $250 a game, a price Kimmick said is more affordable than at some private facilities. Renting batting cages inside a building along the left field line costs an additional $75 an hour.
Hilton said the stadium can attract traffic for years as long as it is kept up and adjusts to changes in the business.
"I field calls from national tournament directors all the time," he said. "We've had to tell a lot of people we can't fit them in."
Stadium appearance greatly improved via the renovation. The main field presents a big-game feel. Both fields have new lights for night games.
Why is artificial turf, installed on both fields in 2022, better than grass for Munson Stadium purposes?
"Tournament directors want fields that minimize rainouts," Hilton said. "We might have had a few lightning delays this year, but with the turf, I don't think we've had any rainouts."
'I do': Wedding on deck for Munson Stadium in 2024
The stadium has turned into a baseball variety show.
An 80-and-older tournament, the Donna Hughes Memorial, will be played there Sept. 11-16. The event drew national attention when it was launched last year.
"Guys are flying in from Florida, New York, North, Dakota, South Dakota and Arizona," Hilton said. "George Hughes began the tournament in honor of his wife."
Malone's fall practice, Senior League fall ball, and more youth tournaments are part of a schedule that will keep the grounds hopping at least through mid-October.
The Canton Terriers, collegians playing in a wood-bat league, will play home games at Munson in 2024.
Amidst the hubbub, Hilton said improving youth baseball for Canton kids and Canton City Schools students is an ongoing priority.
"Having all these different games is awesome," he said. "We can't lose sight of developing kids and developing the high school team. To me this is what this was all done for."
Hilton coaches in the McKinley High School program. His son Nik is a McKinley catcher going into his junior year.Discussions about other events the stadium might attract, baseball and otherwise, are ongoing.
"We booked a wedding here next August," Hilton said. "One of the umprires who does a lot of the men's league games asked me if he could get married here."
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Thurman Munson Memorial Baseball Stadium a Canton comeback story
