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Wakeman Red Caps
History of the Team
Historical Marker at
Wakeman Red Cap Field
The Wakeman Red Caps, perhaps one of this area's best
semi-pro baseball teams during the 1930s and 40s, first
played night baseball under lights installed at Wakeman
Field on July 24, 1935. The Field, no longer extant, was
bounded by Hyde, Clark, Pleasant, and Townsend (Ohio
Route 303) streets. The game was played only two months
after Franklin D. Roosevelt switched on lights at Crosley
Field for the Cincinnati Reds. The Red Caps were part of
the Wakeman Baseball Club, an organization which was
founded in 1889 and was sponsored by Charles S. Clark, Sr.,
and others. For aspiring local baseball players, playing
night baseball for the Red Caps was a great honor.
Wakeman Field was annually graced with Abe Saperstein's
Ethiopian Clowns, an African-American traveling baseball
team, and also saw appearances by Tom Manning, Satchel
Paige, Josh Gibson, Al Schacht, Jesse Owens, and other
sports greats.
Boy Scout Troup No. 242
Friends of Red Cap Baseball and
The Ohio Historical Society
dated 1995
ID #3-39
More history of the team can be found by following this link.
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