History
Tucked in between Los Gatos Creek and W. San Carlos Street sat a little baseball field called Sodality Park. Built in 1908, Sodality Park played host to baseball from the high school, amateur and minor league levels.
The grandstand backed up to W. San Carlos St. where the ticketbooth and entrance was. The location of home plate moved, in one configuration the left field line ran along Royal Ave. while right field was a short distance and cut off by Los Gatos Creek giving the field a lopsided dimension.
To distinguish between similarly named locations, Santa Clara University had an athletic field known as Sodality Field, which also hosted athletic events during the same time frame.
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig visit
On October 26, 1927 the Bustin’ Babes came through San Jose, making a stop at Sodality Park. Fresh off their 1927 World Series victory, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, joined by local star Lefty O’Doul, put on a hitting display and played a game with local teams. Gehrig played with the Consolidated Laundry nine and Babe with Fred Kelly’s All Stars.
The following quote is attributed to Babe Ruth, referring to San Jose as “the little burg in the orchard.”
Ty Cobb boo’d off field
Ty Cobb came to Sodality Park in 1920 with his All Stars on their west coast swing in 1920. It seems the local San Jose boys put a beating on Cobb’s all stars sending him out of the park early to the boo’s of a raucous crowd. The local papers had a field day with the “baby” Cobb.
Today
Sodality Park is gone, in its place exists the empty Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH). OSH, itself, now a memory as the beloved chain has ceased to exist.
