Panther Park was first opened to Fort Worth residents in 1911, originally located on the West Side of Main St. But the park was moved just blocks away and renamed LaGrave Field in 1926. A new stadium was built in order to showcase consecutive Texas League championship wins by the Panthers baseball team from 1919–1925.

By Nisie

However, they may have “jinxed” themselves by eructing a new structure to boast their wins because they never won a championship again after leaving old Panther Stadium. And in 1949 the baseball field was attacked by severe weather and suffered from flooding and other damages. Luckily the owners made repairs in time for the 1950 game season. But LaGrave stadium was eventually abandoned in 1965 when baseball left the city, LaGrave was nearly forgotten about. 

            Then in 2001 LaGrave field was brought back life and reopened. The original dugouts were updated as dugout suites, making LaGrave the only ballpark in America to house “four dugouts”. The Stadium was now widely known as the home of the Cats baseball team and continued to house many games and championships for years to come. In fact, my grandfather threw the first pitch for the Mexican League All- Star Game.

            However, LaGrave continued to be haunted by misfortune and in February of 2010, former Fort Worth Cats owner Carl Bell defaulted on $30 million on debt against the Stadium and it was eventually abandoned again in 2014. Today, the stadium stands as a vacant place holder for hopefully something better one day. But for now, there are no plans to fire up the LaGrave stadium lights again any time soon. 

            If you are curious to see the park now you can follow me as I peek inside the abandoned stadium by watching my videos and subscribing to my channel The Out Seers!