At heart, the history of Derks Field is baseball history. Yet thousands of Utahns who don't know which end of a baseball to pick up also have vivid memories of the place.
Since the days when it was known as Community Park, the stadium has done double-duty on dozens of occasions. Concerts, for instance, such as the Willie Nelson salute back in 1982. And the fireworks displays every July 4 at the Deseret News Cavalcade.In 1968 the James Brothers Circus mismeasured its tent and ended up pounding dozens of stakes into the asphalt parking lot. (The circus later paid for repairs.)
And who can forget the flood of '83 when Derks was pressed into service as "clearinghouse."
Both the Utah State Historical Society and the Deseret News archives reveal a few wonders over the years.
The park gets its name from John C. Derks, a Salt Lake Tribune sports editor and former Western Union telegrapher.
Derks, who brought the Pioneer League to Salt Lake in 1939, was one of the founding fathers of Utah sports writing. When he suffered a stroke in 1946, city fathers voted to name his beloved ballpark after him. Within weeks a local man tried to burn the new Derks Field. The newspapers, always looking for a measured tone, called the crime "The Derks Field Holocaust" and trumpeted "Arsonist Held Insane" in their headlines.
Other follies followed.
In September 1958, J. Bracken Lee tried to use the field for a political rally, but the County Commission said no. Gene Fullmer was fighting Spider Webb the night before the rally and the commission didn't want the grass to get too smashed. They huffily suggested Lee look into Liberty Park.
About 80 percent of the newspaper clips on Derks Field, in fact, deal with 1958 and the facelift the park received. Everyone had an opinion. Some felt the place should be sold. Or bonded. Or leveled. The two Salt Lake newspapers lobbied mightily to have it improved and get a roof put over the grandstand. (Eventually the city kept the park and installed the roof.)
Over the years the Bees, the Gulls and the Trappers have all called the place home.
But for many, baseball just filled the gaps between more important events at the field.