By by Lydia Grimes
A couple of weeks ago I told you the story of the baseball farm team who played in Brewton beginning in 1940. I touched a little on the place where the team played, Liles Field. I have tried to gather information about Liles Park and haven't had a lot of success. The oldest bound volume we have at The Brewton Standard is from 1937. I also have the old Sanborn Insurance maps that I have mentioned before, and there is an athletic field on the 1922 map. The map for 1930 did not include that part of the city, but it would appear that Liles Field was there as early as 1922.
Mrs. Ida Liles of Brewton, whose late husband, Tommy Liles, played some professional ball, remembers some things about the early days of baseball at the park. She said she remembered her mother-in-law, Mrs. D.P. Liles making sheets to use on beds that were upstairs at the old Luttrell Hardware where some of the players stayed. Mrs. Liles said that she thought D.P. Liles built the park.
What I have been able to substantiate is that D.P. Liles did own the park and allowed anyone who wanted to, to use it for various sports activities.
In the October 7, 1937, issue of The Brewton Standard there is an account of the City of Brewton purchasing the park from Mr. Liles. At the meeting of the city council on Oct. 5, the account of the purchase of the park was discussed and decided. The following came from that write-up.
The mayor stated that as long as the property was under private ownership, it would be impossible to get any federal assistance for improving it and, in view of the fact that Mr. Liles has permitted its use by the public ever since he has owned it, he felt that it would be to the interest of the city to purchase it.
The agreed purchase price was $1,250, and it is understood that arrangements have already been made for financing the deal.
In order to provide comfortable and adequate seating facilities for athletic events here, the council plans to erect a larger grandstand, additional bleachers, and otherwise improve the field. The entire park will be surrounded with a fence of sufficient height to put a stop to free onlookers who now remain on the outside at all contests.
Possibility of lighting the field so that football, baseball, and other games can be played at night is also being considered by the city, Mayor Overstreet said. It will probably be several months before anything definite will be done along that line, however, as time is too short to permit the erection of the lighting system for use during the present football season. The mayor stated that the city board hopes to have this work completed and the field ready for use at night by the time of the opening of the 1938 football season.”
It is interesting to note that the lights at the field were installed in time for the May 30, 1940 baseball game of the Brewton Millers, the farm team. I was also able to secure a photo of the field from McMillan Trust. I don't know the year that it was taken, but there it is, just where it was supposed to be. It was only a small part of a much bigger photo and is not the best, but sometimes you have to settle.
I hope that you've enjoyed this information as much as I've enjoyed finding and sharing it with you.
I love researching old information and would be happy to research something that interests you. If you have an idea or old story to share, please let me know. You can give me a call at 867-4876 or drop me a line at lydia.grimes@brewtonstandard.com.