It was finally the end of an era: the Columbia Blowfish defeated the Fayetteville SwampDogs in the last game ever at historic Capital City Stadium, in the championship round of the Coastal Plain League playoffs.
The historic ballpark, built by Hall of Famer Barney Dreyfuss in 1945 as a home for one of his Pittsburgh Pirates farm teams, served as the home to various lower-level pro teams through 2004, when the Sally League’s Capital City Bombers moved to Greenville. After pro ball left the city, summer-collegiate ball — a prime economic factor in keeping many, many old ballparks alive — moved in and thrived.
But the success of the Blowfish wasn’t enough, and the city sold the ballpark land to a developer with close ties to Wal-Mart. The Blowfish and Fayetteville will continue in their best-of-three series, as the next two games will be played at J.P. Riddle Stadium.
RELATED STORIES: Final days for Cap City Stadium; Shanahan: Blowfish negotiating move to Lexington County; Columbia sells Capital City Stadium site; Looking back at Cap City Stadium; Class A ball returning to Columbia?; Columbia sells Capital City Stadium; Wal-Mart on the way; Future of Columbia baseball in play
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