This past week, I traveled out to the Chicago, IL, and Northwest Indiana area for work (ABF Freight).  Chicago has two sets of fans – the Northsiders, aka Cubs fans, and the Southsiders, aka White Sox fans.    I have visited Chicago’s Wrigley Field in the past.  On Saturday, I rode by the gates of Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox.  While I was in town, during my personal time, I was eager to check out some other baseball parks and historical places in the NW Indiana area near my hotel in nearby Schererville.  So, I started with a fantastic trip to Whiting, IN, and Oil City Stadium.

From my location in Schererville, it was pretty much a straight drive north about 15 miles to Whiting.  When I arrived, I noticed the front gate of the stadium was open, so most likely, I would have access to view the inside of the stadium and get some good photos and information.  I found street parking near the baseball stadium and began my journey up to the ballpark.  The sign outside the stadium’s main gate area announced some upcoming events at Standard Diamonds Park at Oil City Stadium.  Oil City Stadium is home to the NWI (Northwest Indiana) Oilmen, fitting given the area is surrounding by energy plants as far as the eye can see.  The NWI Oilmen play in the Northern League, a summer collegiate baseball league here in the Illinois and Indiana area.   

Walking up to the front gate area, I noticed a ticket table and some volunteers.  There was a travel team tournament going on at Oil City Stadium on Saturday, so I asked the volunteers if it was okay to enter the stadium and take a few photos.  They were cool with it, I thanked them, then proceeded inside to take a few field photos.  

As the tournament and games were just about to start, I hustled to various sections of the park to grab a few views.  Beautiful park, tons of great bleacher seating behind home plate and each dugout, brick foundation forms the perimeter of the stadium.  Really cool look and feel overall.  After I was done with my quick self tour, I thanked the volunteers and wished them well for their tournament.  One of the volunteers mentioned a few more summer collegiate teams in the area, so I took some notes and was really thankful for the great local knowledge.  It was a very cool Whiting baseball experience at Standard Diamonds Park, Oil City Stadium, home of the NWI Oilmen.