Mike Carter Field

WHERE: Tyler, Texas
WHERE EXACTLY: Fair Park Drive, next to Rose Stadium (football) and Tyler Rose Garden 
WHEN VISITED: August 2, 2014 on a weekend trip to East Texas

The WPA field opened in 1938 and was home to several teams: Tyler Trojans, East Texas League (1938-40, 1946, 1949-50), Lone Star League (1947-48); Tyler East Texans (1951-53), Tigers (1954-55), Big State League.  It then didn't see a lot of action until the Tyler Wildcatters of the Texas-Louisiana League called it home from 1994-97.  It was most recently used by the Tyler Roughnecks of the All-American Association in 2001 and now apparently it's mostly used by the local Tyler Junior College Apaches and amateur teams.  The stadium was renovated in 1990 and seats 4,000.

The field was locked up pretty tight, except there was a gap in the chain-link gate on the right field side near the equipment shed.  There was just enough room to slide through, and I really wanted to see the inside bad, we came all that way.  So I left my wife in the car, grabbed my camera and wriggled my way in.  As I did so I apparently set off a motion detector because I heard a buzzer sound coming from the shed.  Frantic, I was only able to get the one interior shot before I scurried out of there, ran to the car and got out sight before the cops came.  We laughed.......