Branch Rickey Park

Address for Directions:
25 Mary Ann St, Portsmouth, OH 45662

About
Built: 1935
Venue Names: Riverside Park (1935-1966) | Branch Rickey Park (1966-present)
Seated Capacity: 1,200
Sport: Baseball

Riverside Park opened in the summer of 1935.

The venue was originally used by the Portsmouth Pirates, a minor-league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team lasted two seasons, and compiled a record of 94-151.

Before the 1937 season, the team became affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals and was renamed the Portsmouth Red Birds. The Red Birds lasted four seasons (1937-40), finishing with a 271-244 record. The Red Birds won the Middle Atlantic League in 1938. After the 1940 season, the team relocated to Springfield, Ohio, and was renamed to the Springfield Cardinals. The Cardinals, along with the Middle Atlantic League, folded after the 1942 season.

Walter “Smokey” Alston, who managed the team in 1940, went on to manage the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 to 1976. Alston won four World Series titles, had his No. 24 retired, and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.

The venue was renamed Branch Rickey Park in 1966, a year after Branch Rickey’s death in 1965. He was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, and graduated from Valley High School in Lucasville, Ohio.

The Portsmouth Explorers, the first professional baseball team in Portsmouth, Ohio in 43 years, began play as a charter member of the Frontier League in 1993. The Explorers were the brainchild of local community leader Steve Sturgill who headed a group of local businessmen investors committed to making the franchise, and the league, a marketable success. They were also the first team to introduce a mascot to the league, Portsmouth Rosie. In 1994, Rickey the Rooster was unveiled as the team's new official mascot. The Explorers compiled a record of 72-110 in three seasons, and did not return in 1996.

Shawnee State began playing home games at Branch Rickey Park in 2008.

Renovations to the outfield wall were done from 2008 to 2010. Bleachers were renovated in 2014 and the current press box was added in 2020.