Chris: Very neat that you visited Ouray. Per his SABR biography he lived there from around the age of ten to sixteen. There looks to be a ball field in the bottom of this Shorpy photo from 1901. You can see the baselines and the keyhole (as well as a telegraph pole in right field). My guess is that young Joe spent a lot of time there and that it is likely where the namesake ball grounds are today. Its location per Google Maps matches up pretty well.
Bonus pic of Smoky Joe as snapped by photog van Oeyen circa 1910.
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David McDonald
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Last edited by Kawika; 09-11-2025 at 01:23 AM.
Reason: Scale pix
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