Anything's possum-ble: Ben visits the Travelers

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE.

The following ballpark road trip recap is presented by Wyndham, proud sponsor of Minor League Ballpark Guides. Plan your road trip today, and check out the Arkansas Travelers Ballpark Guide HERE.

While visiting the Travelers in Little Rock I stayed at the Wyndham Riverfront, located across the street from the team’s home of Dickey-Stephens Park. Very convenient!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that the Arkansas Travelers are the only Minor League team to be named after a mid-19th century folk song. The roots of the moniker belie the roots of the franchise, as Little Rock-based teams bearing the Travelers moniker date back to the turn of the 20th century. The current iteration of the Texas League franchise, a Double-A Seattle Mariners affiliate since 2017, was established in 1963. The Travelers played at since-demolished Ray Winder Field through 2006, with their current home of Dickey-Stephens Park opening the following season.

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Dickey-Stephens Field is in North Little Rock, with Little Rock proper just beyond the ballpark. These cities are separated by the Arkansas River. The Broadway Bridge, visible beyond right field, connects them.

Dickey-Stephens Park’s main entrance is located at the memorable intersection of (North) Broadway and (West) Broadway. The ballpark gives off a memorable first impression, thanks to the bountiful brick façade and high, sloping entranceway.

As a plaque explains, Dickey-Stephens Park is named for “Two sets of brothers. They worked together, and they played together. They loved each other… Arkansas …and baseball.”

Bill and George Dickey were Major League catchers; the former is in the Hall of Fame. W.R. and Jack Stephens founded what is now Stephens, Inc., a Little Rock-based financial services firm. Stephens Inc. CEO Warren Stephens, Jack’s son, donated the land where the ballpark was built.

Let’s go inside.

A small thing, but I found myself smitten by the pagoda stationed just inside the entrance.

I was even more smitten by the fact that Dickey-Stephens Park features live organ music, with the organ (okay, a keyboard) stationed behind home plate. On the night I was in attendance -- June 22, for those keeping score at home -- this tailor-made tool was played by Tim Allen.

Tim, native of England and classically trained musician, is currently employed as organist and choirmaster at an Episcopalian Church in Little Rock. The June 22 game marked just his second appearance at Dickey-Stephens Park. He’s been involved in some high-profile gigs, including playing for Queen Elizabeth, but said that that he’d never been more nervous than he was before making his ballpark debut. It sounded good to me -- here’s a little snippet, filmed soon after the gates opened.

Dickey-Stephens Ballpark has a 360-degree concourse, so there’s plenty of room to wander.

One of the newer additions is Otey’s Splash Pad, located on the outfield concourse and named after the team’s polarizing (but largely beloved) swamp possum mascot.

Later in the evening I got a photo with the swamp possum himself. I’m on the left.

Hook Slide Corner, the first-base-side beer garden, is named after Walter “Hook Slide” Bradshaw.

Bradshaw was a Travs regular in the Ray Winder Field days, known for doing his “hook slide” into a popcorn-box base, on concrete, while wearing jean shorts. Fans would buy him beer as a reward for these antics which, once consumed, would inevitably end up as part of a teetering can pyramid. Ah, the good old days.

It was within the confines of the Hook Slide Corner that I met my Designated Eaters, Steven Preston and his son, Henry.

Steven’s a longtime Travs fan, attendee of the last game at Ray Winder Field and the first one at Dickey-Stephens Park (which he now calls his “second home”). And like father, like son: Henry, going into second grade, is a fan as well.

The Travelers’ day-to-day concession items, served up at stands like “The Caboose” and “Doubleday’s Depot” offer standard fare. However! The Travs were playing the Wichita Wind Surge on this evening, and as part of the team’s “Feast Your Foe” rotating concession series they were serving Kansas City BBQ chicken sandwiches.

Under all that slaw, chicken lurks.

It was hard to eat this item gracefully, but Steven handled it well. “Very good,” he said with a thumbs up as clumps of slaw dripped from the sandwich. “Not too spicy and the slaw makes a perfect addition.”

This ballgame also marked the kickoff of the Travs’ “Salute to Seattle” theme weekend, paying tribute to the parent club. A pair of Seattle classics were therefore available:

Garlic fries and a Seattle Dog, a classic Pacific Northwest combo. The latter was topped with caramelized onions, sauerkraut and -- the defining ingredient -- cream cheese.

Henry gave the garlic fries a 9.9 out of 10 rating, as close to perfection as anything made by humans can attain. Steven said the Seattle Dog had a smoky flavor and that the cream cheese added moistness, then promptly expressed regret for using the word moistness.

For dessert: deep-fried Oreos and deep-fried PB&J.

For Steven, the crunch of the fried dough served as a perfect complement to the creaminess of the PB&J, resulting in “something great.”

As for Henry's thoughts on the Oreos… Well, a picture is worth a thousand words:

Back on the concourse, I spoke with Russ Meeks and his son, Rusty.

Russ long served in a volunteer capacity as president of Arkansas Travelers Baseball, Inc., which was formed in 1960 for a public stock drive that resulted in the purchase of a team to relocate to Little Rock. This ownership arrangement lasted until earlier this season, when the Travelers were sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings. Rusty grew up around the team, doing all sorts of jobs, and now serves as team president.

I also ran into Phil Elson, voice of the Travelers from 2001-14, someone whom I always very much enjoyed listening to. He now calls Arkansas Razorbacks baseball and women’s basketball, as well as Henderson State University football.

Travelers play-by-play duties are now handled by Steven Davis, voice of the team since 2017. I spent an inning on the air with him and have a photo to prove it.

The Travs went on to lose to Wichita, 8-3. It was nonetheless a beautiful evening for baseball in Little Rock and I’ll assume that a good time was had by all.

The game was followed by a fireworks show featuring music from Seattle artists. I would like to thank Travs director of marketing Bradley Field for inserting Mudhoney (the greatest Seattle band) into the playlist at my request.

Good night from Little Rock.

And good morning!

The following day, before making the drive to Springdale to see the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, I drove to where Ray Winder Field had been located. It’s now a hospital parking lot, right near the zoo, and all that remains is the scoreboard.

Designated Eater Steven Preston, who was at the final game at Ray Winder Field, later sent me a photo from that afternoon. A moment in time from a franchise’s 123-year history. Here’s to 123 more.

And, as always, thank you for reading. Get in touch anytime. My upcoming road trip itineraries can be found HERE.