Crosley Field - Rebirth, Part Two

Rebirth, Part Two

At about the time Larry Luebbers' Crosley recreation failed, Marvin Thompson, then city manager of the Cincinnati suburb of Blue Ash, came up with the idea to make one of the ballfields of a planned community sports complex a recreation of Crosley Field. Administrative aide Mark Rohr was put in charge. He tracked down memorabilia for the park; what he couldn't find was often donated by fans. Items such as usher's uniforms, signage, rooftop pennants, and a field microphone were given to the new project, which opened in 1988 with an Old Timer's game (which has since been discontinued). The scoreboard, which is a recreation, carries information from the final game at the old park. The field also has a white wall with "CROSLEY FIELD" in red letters in the appropriate font. This recreation was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews from fans old enough to remember the real park, as well as many retired Reds players such as Pete Rose, Joe Nuxhall, and Jim O'Toole. A wall features a number of plaques commemorating Crosley-era Reds greats. Additionally, 400 seats from the original field were installed at the Blue Ash replica.

In an interview with author Greg Rhodes, Rohr, who wasn't a baseball fan when the project began, stated: "Sometimes I have a hard time understanding the people who come and stare at this place with tears in their eyes; a woman actually hugged the ticket booth and kissed it". The field is also used regularly by teams in various levels of play. Moeller High School's Varsity Baseball team plays its home games at Crosley.