Raybestos Memorial Field

With just a quick blink you might miss it, or maybe just mistake it as woods. But this massive now abandoned softball field once held over 12,000 people. It was known as Raybestos Memorial Field and hosted the Stratford Brakettes Woman’s Softball team. The field hosted many notable games including the 1974 ISF Women's World Championship in which the United States defeated Japan for the gold medal. The field was owned and operated by Raymark Industries, Inc. a major asbestos removal company which had a factory adjacent to the field. Everything took a turn for the worst in the late 1980’s when allegations that Raymark Industries had been burring asbestos underground outside its factory. The EPA came in and discovered that the field which opened in 1947 and area surrounding it was highly contaminated, and like that the factory was shut down and the field shut its gates in 1987.

The field remains intact today with not many things at all removed due to the fear of releasing asbestos fibers into the air.

UPDATE AUGUST 2020: Field Reported to be demolished

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Photo courtesy of ESPN.com

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