Charleston, SC
Park # 55
What I Remember
In recent years Charleston has become one of the most trendy cities in the country with a vibrant restaurant and social scene. That had not yet begun in 1991, however. I recall Charleston as a beautiful old city, similar in some ways to Savannah, its neighbor to the south, but with even more history and charm.
College Park was love at first sight too. It sits in a residential neighborhood a bit north and east of the newer Joseph P Riley ballpark, which is now home to the the city’s baseball team. I saw the latter on my 2003 trip and it is a wonderful setting for baseball, very close to the Ashley River, which gives the RiverDogs its name. The old park was different, though. There were trees all around and the low white brick fence that ran around the stadium had a rainbow stripe painted the length of it. The grandstand is nearly all covered, even down the lines, with a high roof. It isn’t and wasn’t fancy, but it felt like Minor League Baseball to me – and that was a good thing.
Last summer, during the course of my Low Mileage Tour podcast, I interviewed Melissa Acevedo, who had worked for the Charleston RiverDogs since the team was the Rainbows playing in College Park. We had a great conversation about the old stadium.
The Game:
Columbia Mets 7 Charleston Rainbows 5
The Box: (Click the arrows to see more images)
This selection of images begins with appreciation for the scorecard the Charleston Rainbows printed in their program. It is amazing how frequently programs seem to get this wrong. First, its all on the same page, meaning both teams. Sometimes programs put one team on one page and the other on a different one, which leads to constantly thumbing back and forth. Second, the visiting team is where it belongs, on the left. Apparently some scorecard designers think they need to show their support for the home team by listing it first but the visitors bat first and we read from left to right…duh. Finally, there is a nice little reminder on scoring for folks that haven’t done it before..well done!
In League with America 