The ballpark was located within today's Whittington Park Historic District and directly across from the still active Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo.

In 1935, Whittington Park, was renamed after Hall of Fame baseball pioneer Ban Johnson, founder of the American League.

They first played in an area behind what is now the Garland County Courthouse on Ouachita Avenue and was called the Hot Springs Baseball Grounds.

[10][11] Later, another venue, Sam Guinn Field was built in 1933 at 497 Crescent Avenue to host Negro leagues spring training.

[6] Over 130 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame players, including Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Cap Anson, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, Stan Musial and Satchel Paige were involved in training or spring training games at Whittington Park.

The bearded House of David traveling baseball team used Whittington Field and Hot Springs for their training site.

[15][16][17] Major League teams training at Whittington Park between 1896 and 1926 were the Cleveland Spiders, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.

The story goes that on March 17, 1918, Babe Ruth, then an accomplished 23-year-old Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher, altered the course of baseball history.

Red Sox first baseman Dick Hoblitzel was unable to play in the opening exhibition game against Brooklyn at Whittington Park.

It was a grand slam, a shot that traveled an astonishing estimated 573 feet (175 m),[19][20] sailing out of the park, across the entire span of Whittington Avenue, landing in a pond the alligator farm across the street.

Amazingly, Ruth would prove it was no fluke as he hit another home run into the alligator farm a week later, while pitching for the Red Sox.

[21] Bill Jenkinson, a noted baseball historian was part of the event, visited the site and helped to authenticate the 573-foot (175 m) home run.

Instructors included: Rogers Hornsby, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Red Faber, Dizzy Dean, George Sisler, Bob Feller, Tris Speaker and Burleigh Grimes.

In 1942, the St. Louis Browns and Pittsburgh Pirates outlined plans to move their spring training from California to Ban Johnson Park.

The Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo is still across the street with a marker for the landing spot of Ruth's St. Patrick's Day Home Run.

Related events included Hall of Fame inductee Ferguson Jenkins and former All-Star Al Hrabosky, as well as noted baseball historians Bill Jenkinson and Tim Reid.

[43] Today, there are four plaques at the site as part of the Hot Springs Historic Baseball Trail: Whittington Park, Mel Ott, Honus Wagner and Babe Ruth.

A partial list of those who played classic games here includes: Cy Young, Honus Wagner, Buck Freeman, Sam Crawford, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker, and Babe Ruth[44] The Mel Ott plaque reads as follows: This Hall of Fame outfielder, personally tutored by John "Mugsy" McGraw, played his entire career with the New York Giants, hitting 511 home runs.

He enjoyed the baths and all the activities Hot Springs had to offer, he also participated in civic functions and coached the high school basketball team.

On March 17, 1918 (St. Patrick’s Day), he launched a mammoth home run from Whittington Park that landed on the fly, inside the Arkansas Alligator Farm.