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Old 04-14-2025, 07:45 PM   #313
asrivkin
Major Leagues
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Maryland
Posts: 308
Luneta Park, Manila

Today it'll be a bit of a niche posting.

The Philippines were an American possession from 1898 until its independence in 1946, save a few years of Japanese occupation in World War II. The United States imported baseball to their colony, and Rizal Stadium, which still stands today, is one of the few remaining stadiums that hosted Babe Ruth.

The park I'm posting today isn't that one, though. Today I'm posting the predecessor to Rizal Stadium, which had a few different names but for our purposes is Luneta Park. It hosted some early world baseball tours, but was mostly home to a league consisting of American servicemen. The 24th Army was one of those teams, and featured both Oscar Charleston and Bullet Rogan.

Google Drive link to Luneta Park

Considering just how unknown this park is, there's actually some not-bad photo evidence out there. The ballpark was right next to the grounds for the Manila Carnival, which was a very big deal for the colony. It was also very close to the Rizal Monument and Luneta part of Manila, and there are a lot of aerial, if oblique, views. The park was torn down and Rizal Stadium built in 1934, and the Battle of Manila in 1945 changed a lot of the surrounding area forever.

I haven't had the chance to play a game in this park yet, but it should work. Let me know if you have any issues!
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