It is one of the oldest baseball stadiums in the country and the oldest in South Carolina. The place looks old as you approach its grandstands and eventually walk through its entrance. It has seen various baseball stars throughout its 94-year history and recently received a much-needed upgrade. Its biggest asset is the original chairs from Shibe Park in Philadelphia; there aren’t many places like Duncan Park Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.

However, how did seats that predate the ballpark by a little over two decades wind up in Spartanburg in the first place? That question is very easy to answer; they were hauled in by truck from Philadelphia and placed here when the Phillies operated a Minor League club in town.

• Phillies alumni

The seats were installed in Shibe Park (later Connie Mack Stadium) in 1909, but when the Phils won their last game at the stadium on Oct. 1, 1970, many in attendance stormed the field in an attempt to bring home a souvenir from the then-61-year-old ballpark. A story by The Associated Press reported the following scene:

“Armed with hacksaws, crowbars, and hammers, most of the crowd of 31,822 tore up bases, tarpaulins, outfield signs, seats, broadcast booths, and anything that could be moved.”

The game was an afterthought and even during the radio broadcast, you could hear the sounds of banging and cutting with many in attendance trying to pry away a seat or two to take home as a souvenir. The Phillies would win the game in extra innings over the Montreal Expos, 2-1, and fans poured onto the field by the thousands. Fans walked off with rows of seats, the bases, and other treasures of Shibe Park.

In August 1971, a fire destroyed a majority of the stadium that was becoming an eyesore to the neighborhood. In 1976, the ballpark was razed during the Major League All-Star festivities, ironically, at the city’s new Veterans Stadium.

Fortunately, a selection of 587 seats was transferred 600 miles south to the Phillies’ Single-A team in Spartanburg and installed in Duncan Park before the 1971 Western Carolinas League season; the only Minor League ballpark to receive them. If these seats had remained at the abandoned stadium in Philadelphia, they would have been vandalized, stripped away by looters, burned, or destroyed by the wrecking ball.

The resurrected seats would continue to be part of the organization in Spartanburg until the team relocated after the 1994 season. Once again abandoned by the Phillies, the seats remained intact as college, amateur, and high school baseball would call the ballpark home. Today, it is home to both the Spartanburg High School varsity and junior varsity and American Legion Post 28 baseball teams.

Lenny Mathis, president of Friends of Duncan Park, told me in 2013 that the wooden seats have not been used since the summer of 2005 and are blocked off from the contour plastic chairs that were installed in 1968. He also added that the ballpark itself has held up well due to its steel structure, concrete concourse, and roof.

This past year a total of $1.6 million was used toward renovations of the historic ballpark that were long overdue. The improvements included upgrades to the dugouts, a new outfield wall, strengthening the grandstand, removal of rust, and the addition of weather-resistant paint. The green plastic box seats were updated, and the old wooden benches were replaced, and a fresh coat of paint was added.

The original 1909 seats are separated by fencing along the concourse and are in pristine shape. The faded green and splintered, fold-down chairs feature an ornate butterfly design between its legs and should be given proper respect when sitting in them. The number of Hall of Famers, World Series games, and future stars in the Minor Leagues have all been viewed from these historic chairs. Whoever thought of moving these seats elsewhere must have been a saint.

Duncan Park Stadium is a true original and one of a handful of ballparks that are still around from the 1920s. The much-needed renovations have the place looking brand new as it prepares to host high school and legion baseball in the spring and summer and pretty soon the old place will be celebrating a century of use. They truly don’t make them like this anymore.