Future of Vandergrift's historic Davis Field uncertain

Vandergrift officials are exploring what to do with the borough’s historic Davis Field now that Kiski Area School District is terminating its lease to use it.

Kiski Area, which has leased the field for $1 a year but been responsible for its maintenance, submitted a letter to the borough this month to terminate the lease.

Council formed a committee to assess the condition of the land, conduct a cost analysis of maintaining it and inspect the original deed to see what new uses could be possible.

“I don’t think we can afford to maintain it,” Councilman John Uskuraitis said.

Davis Field is a year shy of its 100th anniversary. It was deeded to Vandergrift in 1921 by Apollo Iron & Steel and named after company executive Stewart Archibald Davis.

The former Vandergrift High School began playing football at Davis Field full time in 1933, and the old Vandergrift Pioneers — a short-lived minor-league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies — started playing there in 1947. The Pioneers won a Mid-Atlantic League championship in their inaugural season.

To bring the farm club to town, lights were installed at Davis Field in 1946. Vandergrift High School played its first game under the lights that year against Penn Township, the forerunner of Penn Hills High School.

After the Pioneers’ arrival, Vandergrift High School reinstated baseball in 1948, and the Blue Lancers won the first of back-to-back WPIAL titles.

Vandergrift football coach Johnny Karrs wasn’t thrilled to share Davis Field with the Pioneers, because Karrs’ gridders couldn’t play home games until after the Pioneers’ season ended. That prompted him to bolt Vandergrift to take over the Freeport High School football program, according to a 1989 interview Karrs did with the Valley News Dispatch.

The Pioneers played their final game at Davis Field on July 21, 1950, an 11-10 win over Butler. When that game wrapped up, Pioneers President Joe Bucci made an announcement over the stadium’s public address system: “Thanks to all you players and loyal fans. We are sorry we have to fold up.”

When Vandergrift and Bell-Avon high schools merged to form Kiski Area High School, the new school played at Davis Field even though the new high school was more than two miles away in Allegheny Township. After Washington Township High School became part of Kiski Area in 1966, the Cavaliers became a football powerhouse, compiling a 67-6 record from 1967 through 1972, including a WPIAL title in 1971.

Massive crowds jammed Davis Field on Friday nights in the fall. An estimated 9,500 people watched Kiski Area defeat Hempfield, 13-8, on Oct. 22, 1971.

As the years wore on, one of the biggest problems at Davis Field was a lack of drainage. After rainstorms, the field would remain soggy for several days because it was built on a former slag dump, and the stormwater had nowhere to go.

Kiski Area continued to play its home games at Davis Field until 2018, when a new field on the high school campus opened.

Now, the only tenant is the Vandergrift Lancers youth football team.