Historic baseball structures at Jay Littleton Park in Ontario destroyed by fire

Structures at Jay Littleton Park in Ontario, a historic baseball field and popular filming location for movies, were destroyed by fire overnight.

At around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22, the Fire Department arrived to find structures fully engulfed in flames.

Smoke and flames filled the dugout and wooden grandstand, completed in 1937.

“We were able to get a knock down on the fire, no injuries to firefighters, first responders, or civilians so far as far as we know of,” Dan Kloosterman, fire investigation supervisor for Ontario Fire Department, told KNN, a news organization that sometimes works with the Southern California News Group, said from the scene.

Five fire engines, two trucks, two battalion chiefs and an investigator responded, Kloosterman said.

The ballpark, in John Galvin Park at Grove Avenue and 4th Street, was built in the 1930s.

For one season, in 1947, the park was the home field of a minor league baseball team, the Ontario Orioles. The park has also been used in several movies, including “Eight Men Out,” “The Babe Ruth Story,” and “A League of Their Own.”

The fire’s cause was unclear.

“We are in the very early stages of the investigation,” Kloosterman said. “This is a sad day for the City of Ontario.”