Blowfish Honor Barney Dreyfuss-Founder of the World Series

Blowfish  Honor Barney Dreyfuss Sunday July 27th, 2008

Barney Dreyfuss was one of the founders of the World Series, and is being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame the same day. Barney Dreyfuss built the field that is now Capital City Stadium in the 1920's, as he was the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Columbia Comers were owned by Mr. Dreyfuss. The Blowfish will be wearing Turn Back the Clock Vintage Baseball Uniforms during the second game, to honor Barney Dreyfuss. Vintage Uniforms will be on display tonight (July 25th) during the double header against Florence.

Except from Andrew Dreyfuss' (Barney's Great Grandson) Upcoming Speech at the Hall of Fame Induction:

Barney Dreyfuss - Hall of Fame Induction Speech: Columbia, SC text: I'll close with a story that illustrates our great-grandfather's generosity and dedication to Baseball. In the 1920's, Pittsburgh had a minor league team, the Comers, in Columbia, South Carolina. In 1926, Columbia's wooden stadium burned to the ground and the City did not have the resources to build a new one.

Barney Dreyfuss was so passionate about Baseball that he donated the necessary funds to build a new stadium. Columbia's Dreyfuss Field opened for play in 1927 and has housed minor league and college teams for the past eighty-one (81) years. At seven (7) o'clock tonight, the Columbia Blowfish of the Coastal Plain League will play on the original Dreyfuss Field wearing 1927 replica jerseys to honor Barney Dreyfuss. What a wonderful tribute!

Barney Dreyfuss Story Written by Ronnie Woodward Special to the State:

THE STATE

Pirates owner had eye on Columbia

Blowfish honor Hall induction of Dreyfuss

By RONNIE WOODWARD - Special to The State

Whether intentional or by coincidence, Barney Dreyfuss and Columbia have a special connection.

Dreyfuss, then the innovative owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, had a vision for baseball in Columbia in the 1920s when he revitalized the Columbia Comers, a minor league affiliate of the Pirates. When the team did not have a stadium, Dreyfuss put up the funding for a new facility off Assembly Street, which opened in April 1927.

The stadium is now known as Capital City Stadium, home of the Columbia Blowfish. The Blowfish will honor Dreyfuss by wearing Comers uniforms and "turning back the clock" on Sunday, the day Dreyfuss will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

"We believe that field represents the legacy and history of baseball in Columbia," Blowfish President Bill Shanahan said. "Our goal is to make our community aware of the tremendous history of the game of baseball at that facility."

The first game at Dreyfuss Field was played May 21, 1927. The field remained Dreyfuss Field until the late 1940s.

"It's pretty impressive that we can still play on this field and honor a man who built it so long ago," Shanahan said.

Although the stadium is no longer named after Dreyfuss, the street behind the stadium is. Shanahan had asked the city to change the sign to the correct spelling of Dreyfuss Road.

Dreyfuss became owner of the Pirates in 1900, and the team won two World Series titles and four pennants before he died in 1932. Dreyfuss is known as the creator of the modern World Series - he was the first to challenge American League winner Boston to a nine-game series after Pittsburgh won the National League pennant in 1903.

The Pirates' owner was also the first owner to build a steel and concrete tiered stadium in the National League, Forbes Field.

In Pittsburgh, Dreyfuss had the ability to draw fans to the ballpark, and he brought that same mentality to Columbia. When the Blowfish honor him Sunday, they will try make the stadium as vintage as possible.

In Cooperstown, the Dreyfuss family will be returning the favor. Andrew Dreyfuss, the owner's great grandson, plans on mentioning Columbia in his Hall of Fame induction speech."The fact that Barney Dreyfuss, who did so much for baseball in Columbia, is being inducted into the Hall of Fame gives the town of Columbia a connection to Cooperstown that it can be proud of," Shanahan said.