THIS MONTH, THE Indianapolis Indians, founded in 1902 as the city’s first professional sports team, celebrate Victory Field’s 30th anniversary. The successor to Bush Stadium was named for the United States’ victory in World War II. Many point to its 1996 opening as the catalyst for downtown’s revitalization. The venue has welcomed more than 10 million baseball fans since then. Second baseman Roberto Mejia’s bat cracked against this ball, with a cork and rubber core, a layer of wool yarn, and a cowhide covering, on Tuesday, July 16, 1996, scoring the first home run hit at the new ballpark. The two-run homer in the fourth inning helped the Indians defeat the New Orleans Zephyrs 6-2 that evening. “I was very happy to hit the last [home run] at Bush Stadium, and I’m very excited to be the first to hit one at Victory Field,” Mejia told The Indianapolis Star at the time. “And I’ll never forget it.”
