In March of 1942, Syracuse’s Municipal Stadium was renamed Douglas MacArthur Stadium after the famous World War II general. The stadium was built in 1934 and had an original capacity of approximately 8,500 people. It was known for having one of the deepest center field fences in minor league baseball with a distance of 434 feet. One of the more memorable nights at the stadium was not baseball related. On May 14th, 1969, after the Chiefs had been defeated by Rochester 7-3, a fire destroyed most of the stadium. The Chiefs went on to play at Falcon park in Auburn until June 14th in a double header against Tidewater.
McArthur stadium was the home of the Syracuse Chiefs baseball team almost continually from 1934 – 1997. Baseball legends Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Mickey Mantle all played at MacArthur. The stadium was torn down and the spot turned into a parking lot for the new P&C Stadium (now NBT Bank Stadium).
Syracuse.com provides us with a great overview of the Chiefs final home-opener at MacArthur in April, 1996.