Joe Devine Airway Park


Joe Devine Airway Park was a minor league baseball stadium in the western United States, located in Boise, Idaho. Opened in 1939, the ballpark was the home of Boise's teams in the Class C Pioneer League, which briefly moved to Class A in 1963, the final year of the Braves and the ballpark.
Originally "Airway Park," it was the home of the Pilots and was a few blocks east of the Boise Airport, then located at the present-day campus of Boise State University. The city donated of the western portion of Municipal Park in 1939 for the ballpark.
North of the nearby Boise River, the elevation of the natural grass field was approximately above sea level, and it was aligned to the southeast; the recommended alignment is east-northeast. Opened with a seating capacity of 3,000, it was increased to 5,000 after World War II.

Yankees

When the New York Yankees moved their Pioneer League affiliate from Twin Falls to Boise after the 1951 season, the ballpark was renamed in March to honor Joe Devine, a talented Yankees scout in the West who had played for the Boise Irrigators of the Union Association. The park was officially dedicated to Devine on Thursday,

Braves

The Milwaukee Braves became the parent club in 1955 and it was renamed "Braves Field." Boise's last season in the Pioneer League was in 1963; the stadium was soon razed and the site became the headquarters of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

After demolition

The Pioneer League became a rookie league in 1964, and in the Treasure Valley it shifted west to Caldwell with the Caldwell Cubs through 1971 at Simplot Stadium; they were known as the "Treasure Valley Cubs" for their first three seasons.
The minor leagues briefly returned to Boise in 1975 and 1976 with the Boise A's of the short season Northwest League at Borah Field. The independent Buckskins existed for one unsuccessful season in 1978, and the Hawks arrived after the 1986 season from the Tri-Cities in south central Washington. After two years at Wigle Field, the Hawks moved to the new Memorial Stadium in northwest Boise, at the start of the 1989 season.