Riley Park

Riley Park

Home of the Sumter P-15's, USC Sumter Fire Ants, and Morris Hornets baseball

Opened: 1934

Seating Capacity: 2,000

Location: Church Street between Pine and Dubose Streets, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina

Games seen in Database Era: 127 between June 8, 2007 and July 31, 2013

Latitude: 33.934918 N

Longitude: 80.345670 W

Distance from my house point-to-point (as the crow flies): 2.23 miles

Driving time from my house: 9 minutes

Long before Joesph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark of Charleston opened in 1997, the Class A South Atlantic League had another Riley Park. Sumter's stadium built in 1934 is the original Riley Park, and unlike the Charleston stadium Riley Park is the facility's proper name (the full name of the Charleston mayor is displayed in the official stadium title down there). The Sumter stadium is named after John J. Riley, a local businessman who helped get Riley Park built during the Great Depression through the WPA and was later elected to Congress in 1945. Prior to being seated in Congress, Riley was the founder of the P-15's American Legion baseball program, and coached the team until he moved on to Washington. The P-15's would win one state title under Riley in 1940, and Riley helped establish a solid foundation that would keep the P-15's successful.

And that is what Riley Park has become best known for locally, the American Legion program. Nationally, the stadium is best known for having housed Class A ball periodically, most notably from 1985 to 1991. Sumter from 1985 to 1990 was home to the Atlanta Braves' South Atlantic League affiliate, and several players who would become part of the Braves' winning foundation in the 1990s played at Riley Park. Most notable of these is Tom Glavine, who pitched for the Sumter Braves in 1985. But after the 1990 season the Sumter Braves moved to Macon, Georgia, and today are located in Rome in northwestern Georgia. Sumter got another franchise briefly after professional baseball expansion in 1991 in preparation for the 1993 addition of the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins. That team was the Sumter Flyers, who would play only one season in Sumter before moving to Albany, Georgia and later to Salisbury, Maryland where they exist today as the Delmarva Shorebirds. 

So why did Sumter lose their teams quickly? Charlie O'Reilly on his stadium page speculated that Riley Park's Church Street location made the park less visible from the main highways of Sumter. That may be true only in the sense that Sumter's limited highway access has stifled economic growth compared to other towns like Florence. But the early problems of Sumter pro baseball started with the Braves struggling to obtain a liquor license. The biggest problem however was likely competition from the P-15's Legion team. I have no idea why many in Sumter would prefer to see 17 year olds that often struggle to throw strikes against a team that developed future major leaguers, but that is Sumter. The minor league teams usually averaged around 700 fans per game, not too different from what the P-15's draw today and a far cry from South Atlantic League crowds today which are usually over 3,000 per game. Even if Sumter had been more supportive of professional baseball, it is extremely doubtful that Riley Park could have continued to host minor league baseball. After new standards were passed in 1990 on professional baseball stadiums, Sumter would have certainly been vacated by major league organizations not too long after 1991. The seating capacity back in its professional days was often exaggerated to 4,000 when the stadium really holds 2,000. Only a few professional stadiums today are either comparable or in worse shape than Riley Park, with those stadiums generally in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. And even most Appy League parks today are slightly better than Riley Park. 

So today Riley Park hosts primarily American Legion baseball in the summer. The Sumter P-15's have been highly successful in recent years, dominating the state around the time professional baseball was winding up in the early 1990s and again in the late 2000s. Many recent minor leaguers have played for the P-15's in the past, most notably Angels prospect Travis Witherspoon, former Citadel catcher Richard Jones, former Citadel pitcher Matt Talley, brothers Allen and Bruce Caldwell, and South Carolina's former legendary closer in Matt Price. Current Gamecock ace Jordan Montgomery also played recently for the Sumter P-15's at Riley Park. Former Gamecock reliever Curtis Johnson also pitched for the P-15's and now has succeeded legendary coach Wallie Jones as the team's head coach. Depending on if the Legion Post can succeed in obtaining tournaments for Riley Park, the stadium can host anywhere between 20 and 40 games in the summer between the senior and junior legion teams (the P-15's county rival Dalzell also played several years at Riley Park before being pressured to move out to nearby rural high schools). Sumter also notably hosts a modestly successful JUCO program from USC Sumter in the Spring as well as a less than successful NAIA team at Morris College (Morris' campus is visible when looking beyond the left field wall). The college teams in particular USC Sumter keep the stadium in good use in the Spring, seeing about 30 small college games a year. 

Seating Capacity: B

Riley Park seats 2,000. That is way more than most American Legion baseball stadiums, which mostly play at high school facilities. And there are very few high school parks in the country as solid as Riley Park. Depending on the weather and the importance of the game, the P-15's usually get 400 to 1,000 fans for a game, also well above average for American Legion games. Yet there is always plenty of room to sit in the general admission Riley Park. 2,000 seats is also well above average for junior college and NAIA baseball as well, as USC Sumter and Morris never come remotely close to filling the stadium. While Riley Park is nowhere near professional grade, it is comparable in size to most mid-major stadiums. And the quality of baseball at Riley Park is nowhere near mid-major quality. Yet I am going to keep the stadium's grade at a B, as the stadium is not big enough to get Sumter to make the next step and draw major baseball events. Riley Park is just a very good stadium for what it has, and nothing more.

Quality of Seats: B+

Riley Park's seats nearly all have backs to them, a rarity for this level of play as well. The only exception is the third base bleachers, which are open concrete designed to accommodate lawn chairs brought into the stadium by fans. But most of these seats are bench-back seats, with only two rows of chairback seats between the dugouts. And those chairback seats are metal as well, not plastic like at most modern parks. The bleachers down the line lack elevation as well, meaning that the chain link fence bordering the field is can block your view if you are sitting near the front down the line. Like at many old professional parks, there is a ton of foul territory behind home plate which puts a great deal of distance between the fans in the main grandstand behind the plate and the infield. 

But the best feature of the main grandstand is a full roof, complete with Big Ass Fans (that is the actual name) designed to make summer games pleasant enough. And you also do not have to scramble for cover as well during a rain delay because of the roof. Not only do few stadiums at Riley Park's level have a full roof today, few modern professional and major college stadiums have a real full-fledged roof today as well. But Riley Park does, and I wonder why more stadiums do not think to construct such a great roof. Perhaps it is because the old roof has to be supported by poles in the bleachers of the grandstand, meaning there are a few good old-fashioned pole seats at Riley Park similar to Fenway Park as well as the old Tiger Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium. But the roof is why Riley Park is one of the few stadiums pleasant enough to visit on a hot day.

Attractiveness/Unique qualities: A-

Riley Park's structure has that classic old school ballpark look about it. The bleachers and grandstand (which unlike the side bleachers are elevated) have a simple but old-time look to it. The press box fits in well with the structure, sitting on top of the metal roof and overlooking the field (it is accessible from a ladder at the top of the home plate bleachers of the grandstand). The first base line has trees up between the club house and the surrounding neighborhood to keep the park looking nice and green. Some old Main Street businesses can be seen behind the right field wall, as well as a City of Sumter water tower. Behind the left field wall the campus of Morris College is visible as well. The only reason the park does not get an A grade is that there is little behind the third base side of the grandstand besides an old playground. But what makes Riley Park great is that it has a classic small city neighborhood feel to it, similar to how Wrigley Field has the classic big city neighborhood feel to it.

Concessions: B

The quality of the concessions usually depends on which of Riley Park's tenants is playing and what the level of attendance is. For P-15 games and Legion tournaments, there is once again more than you would expect for the level of play. You can find pizza rolls, chicken, and other different kinds of food compared to the old stadium favorites. And you can get an adequate meal at an adequate price as well. For USC Sumter games, your selection is pretty much limited to the old stadium favorites, with no food more gourmet than a standard hot dog. You cannot really get a meal at a USC Sumter game, but you can usually get a good snack for less than five dollars. For a Morris game, you are lucky to get anything. So I'll give it a B grade, weighing the park's grade more towards the Legion games since that is where the park's primary use seems to be. 

Parking: B+

The only knock on the parking situation at Riley Park is that the parking lot is primarily a grass field on the other side of Church Street. But you can usually park as close as you want to the main entrance, which is just off Church Street. Access back out towards main roads is actually pretty easy after a game compared to some other stadiums. For highly attended games, it can sometimes be a free for all when trying to grab spaces near Church Street, and volunteers directing traffic during tournaments is not always helpful. But provided driving over a bumpy field is okay for you there are no problems getting in and out of Riley Park. And as you would expect, all parking is free (although sometimes parking on the stadium side of Church Street is reserved).

Lighting: C-

While most of the rest of the park is above what you would expect for this level, the lighting is not much better than your average high school field. Seeing your way around the park is not too hard, but unless you have a high grade professional camera you will not be able to get a high quality picture of night play. The college teams actively try to avoid night play anyway during the spring. 

Fans: C+

Regardless of who is playing, fans at Riley Park are some of the most attentive and vocal fans you will find anywhere. Aside from groups of teenagers (primarily girls) who hop around the stands during games, most P-15 fans stay in their seats and pay close attention to the game. In fact, you could fault them a bit for making too much out of games involving teenagers. I wish these fans could have stayed behind the professional teams, as most of Sumter's fans are old enough to have been middle-aged adults back when Sumter last had professional baseball. The P-15's are their thing, and the atmosphere at Riley Park is perhaps more fervently Old South than at any other stadium in the country. It is so much so that you could feel a bit out of place if you aren't from the Old South tradition. If you want to see what sports fans in the South were like back in the 1950s, then Riley Park is the place to be. USC Sumter games usually get smaller crowds, usually a mix of P-15 fans and friends and family of the players with a few members of the USCS community mixed in as well. Morris usually gets a base crowd of 50 students looking for a break from school next door.

And no summary of Sumter baseball fans cannot be complete without a mention of Shirley Osborn, Riley Park's equivalent fan of Gamecock basketball fan Carlton "Baseline Jesus" Thompson. Osborn, best known as the "Foul Ball Lady", is a passionate fan known to yell, "Foul Ball!" every time a player hits a foul ball. The Foul Ball Lady is a staple you can always depend on seeing at P-15 games and occasionally USC Sumter games as well.

Other stuff: B-

Part of the reason Riley Park did not host professional baseball past 1991 and has not gotten a lot of big events aside from the Regional finals of the American Legion national tournament is that it is not a very modern facility. It is an old park, both for better and worse. But the City of Sumter who owns the park has put a good deal of effort in upgrading the concessions, field, and press box for the Legion tournaments. The concourse and clubhouse are still subpar, and a video board has yet to be placed. But by local Legion standards (and JUCO and NAIA as well), Riley Park is as modern as it needs to be. 

One problem however with the upgrades is that the City of Sumter makes improvements with little regard to USC Sumter and Morris. During the 2012 season, USC Sumter did not have a working press box as construction of a new press box was done while the Fire Ants were playing. You could even hear workers hammering way while watching the game. Morris in 2012 worked around it by bringing in a portable sound system. The new concessions stand construction also took place in 2011 during the college season as well. Most of the enhancements are not made with the college teams in mind, as USC Sumter uses an auxiliary concessions stand rather than the new concessions stand. And while upgrades have been made to the playing surface, the park still sports a grass that remains dormant until late spring as noted by Digital Ballparks. As a result, the college teams play on a nearly all-white surface throughout most of the season. It's a shame that the college teams are not given priority, particularly as USC Sumter plays at a slightly higher level of ball in the competitive Region X of the NJCAA than the P-15's do at the American Legion level.

Summary: Riley Park is where you can find old school baseball today in 2013. It is a shame that the park has not hosted a high level of baseball in recent years than it has today. Most similar stadiums today host collegiate summer league baseball in the Coastal Plain League, featuring Division I players as well as high caliber non-Division I players. While you can find mid-caliber non-Division I baseball here with USC Sumter and multiple P-15 players annually who move on to Division I or the minor leagues, it is nowhere near the professional-level ball that the stadium saw over 20 years ago. It will never see professional baseball again, but it would be nice if more Division I level-play could be seen at the park either through tournaments or in a summer league. No player who has called Riley Park home has yet to reach the major leagues since the Sumter Flyers flew away in 1991. While American Legion Baseball is going strong in Sumter, it has been weakened nationally by travel ball. Most teams the P-15's play in the regular season would struggle against a good high school team. This park deserves better. If you have an interest in both baseball and the Old South, then you need to come to Riley Park. Hopefully if you are lucky you will be able to catch a great game as well. 

Overall GPA: 2.875