Articles - Spring Training 1980

The Phillies have conducted spring training in the city of Clearwater, Florida since 1948.  From 1955 until 2003, the team's spring home was Jack Russell Memorial Stadium, which was built in a residential portion of the city.

Jack Russell, a former major league pitcher for several teams from 1926-1940, helped lead the push to build a new stadium as a Clearwater city commissioner, and the stadium was named in his honor.  Holding just 4,700 seats when it opened, the ballpark had grown to just under 7,000 by its final season in 2003.

Along with hosting the Phillies in the spring, the stadium hosted the Florida State League's Clearwater Phillies from 1985 to 2003, when they moved with the parent team to the new Bright House Networks Field (later Spectrum Field, now BayCare Ballpark).

After the Phillies left, the stadium was partially demolished, and primarily serves as a venue for high school and college tournaments.  However, in 2019 the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Florida State League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, played their home games at Jack Russell Stadium while their own home field was being renovated.

Two stories of note are attached to Jack Russell Stadium:

• The park hosted a concert by the Rolling Stones during their 1965 American tour.  It was while staying in the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater that Keith Richards woke up during the night and recorded the riff for their signature song (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction before going back to sleep.
• Wilbur Snapp was the stadium's organist from 1982-1996, for both the spring training and minor league games.  During a Clearwater Phillies game in 1985, he played the sone "Three Blind Mice" after a bad call by the umpire, Kevin O'Connor.  O'Connor then ejected Snapp from the game, blowing the otherwise innocuous event into national news. 

Dimensions:

• Left Field - 340 feet
• Center Field - 300 feet
• Right Field - 340 feet