Majors Stadium

The home of a former Minor League baseball team that beat Joe DiMaggio's New York Yankees in 1949. Drive north on narrow Houston Street in the northeastern section of Greenville, Texas, and you will see a mix of houses and industrial buildings. But at a seemingly random intersection, you will find an old entry gate and a historical marker, which is all that remains of Majors Stadium.

Greenville is located about 50 miles northeast of Dallas. The stadium was home to high school football, followed by a minor league baseball team named the Majors starting in 1946. The stadium and the team were named after World War II hero Truett Majors.

In 1949, the team played an exhibition game against the New York Yankees and won 4-3. Playing in center field was Joe DiMaggio. Pitcher Monty Stratton played in this stadium in 1950 for the Majors. He was portrayed by Jimmy Stewart in the movie The Stratton Story.

In 1929, Eula Lasater Phillips donated $3,500 to the Greenville Athletic Council to build an athletic field at this site in memory of her late husband, Frank Phillips. The first athletic event in Phillips Field was a football game between the Greenville High School Lions and the Leopards of Dallas Oak Cliff on Oct. 4, 1929.

In 1930, the land transferred to the city, with management by the school district. Here, celebrated Coach Henry Frnka led the school football team to an undefeated season and the state championship in 1933. In 1946, the field was realigned to become the home of a minor league baseball team, the Majors, named for Truett Majors, the first Greenville resident killed in World War II. More than 160,000 people attended Majors games in 1946, and Greenville fielded a number of competitive teams in the late 1940s.

In 1947, the football stands were razed and replaced with a baseball stadium. On April 10, 1949, the Majors hosted an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, defeating them 4-3. Among those who participated for the Yankees that day were Casey Stengel, manager, and Joe DiMaggio in center field. Another baseball great who played here was Monty Stratton, a Greenville native, who pitched a game for the Majors in 1950. Attendance at Majors games declined by 1950, and the team folded before the following season. Reorganized minor league teams, also named the Majors, played here in 1953 and 1957. Youth and amateur leagues used the field until the property sold in 1964 and the stadium was demolished.

Today, the stadium's arched entryway, built by the Works Progress Administration in 1940, serves as a reminder of the countless athletes and fans who gathered here in the spirit of competition.