Farley Elliott
SFGate, San Francisco
(TNS)
Aug. 23—A late-night fire destroyed an iconic baseball field in Southern California on Thursday, leading to an outpouring of support and grief from longtime film fans. Prior to the blaze, the Jay Littleton Ball Park in the city of Ontario, east of Los Angeles in the Inland Empire, had been heavily featured in various film and television shows over the years — including the iconic 1992 film “A League of Their Own,” starring Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.
KTLA reported that the overnight fire gutted the park’s baseball facilities on North Grove Avenue, with “heavy smoke and fire from the stadium and the dugout” already present when the Ontario Fire Department arrived. The full extent of the damage — and any possible repair — is still being assessed. There were no reports of injuries.
While this small-ish baseball diamond’s name may not be famous, the park’s base paths certainly are. “Eight Men Out” was also partially filmed at the Ontario, Calif. field, in addition to a portrayal film of Babe Ruth’s life titled “The Babe,” starring John Goodman, which also came out in 1992.
Per the Los Angeles Times, Jay Littleton Ball Park is owned by the city of Ontario and was given historic landmark status 21 years ago. The loss of the field is “upsetting,” Aaron Matthiesen, president of the Ontario Eastern Little League, told KTLA. “This ballpark has been a part of the city’s baseball history.”
This is not the first time that an iconic Southern California baseball stadium has suffered a grim fate. America’s first-ever Wrigley Field, which predated the famed Chicago stadium of the same name, was unceremoniously torn down decades ago in South LA, with little of that park’s legacy left intact, save for a small plaque on the property.
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