Swayne Field (Toledo) In 1955 Toledo, Ohio, suffered the double
indignity of losing both its baseball team and its baseball
park. The departure of the Toledo Sox and the fall of Swayne
Field were unexpected, sudden, and brutally final, and the
effects were long-lasting. As the 1955 baseball season drew to a
close, no one in Toledo suspected the coming losses. Baseball in
Toledo had been on shaky footing since World War II. Under the
ownership of the St. Louis Browns, the Toledo Mud Hens had their
last winning season in 1944, and the Browns sold the franchise
to the Detroit Tigers after the 1948 season. The Tigers operated
the team for three seasons, leaving after the 1951 campaign and
not having had a winner either. Danny Menendez brought an
independent team to Swayne Field for the 1952 season, but
transferred them to Charleston, West Virginia, in June, leaving
Swayne Field empty for the remainder of the summer. Just before
the opening of the 1953 season, fortune smiled on Toledo. The
Boston Braves moved to M