Editing Altoona, Pennsylvania (section)

==Sports==
[[File:1914 Board Track Car Passenger Side.jpg|thumb|Car raced at Altoona's board track, Altoona Speedway]]
The city is home to the [[Altoona Curve]], a [[Minor League Baseball]] franchise. The Curve began play in 1999 and are the [[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] affiliate of the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]. The team plays in the [[Eastern League (1938–present)|Eastern League]] at [[Peoples Natural Gas Field]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/minor-league-baseball-historical-league-names-to-return-in-2022|title=Historical League Names to Return in 2022|website=Minor League Baseball|date=March 16, 2022|access-date=March 16, 2022}}</ref>

The [[Altoona Mountain Citys]] were a [[Major League Baseball]] franchise that played in Altoona in 1884. They folded after 25 games with a 6–19 record.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mountain Citys History |url=http://www.geocities.com/eajba/page3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021221027/http://geocities.com/eajba/page3.html |archive-date=2009-10-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the early 20th century, the Pennsylvania Railroad constructed a large sports complex at the intersection of Chestnut Avenue and Seventh Street.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.com/~pablair/place.html|title=RootsWeb Blair place names|access-date=2007-12-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225032448/http://www.rootsweb.com/~pablair/place.html|archive-date=2008-02-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was named Cricket Field in an attempt to appeal to [[Cricket]]-loving British [[investor]]s. Cricket did not catch on with the Altoona populace, so its close relative baseball became the choice for Cricket Field. Well known baseball players as [[Babe Ruth]] and [[Josh Gibson]] played at Cricket Field, and the stadium was also the venue for numerous other sporting events, musical competitions, marching units, and activities.<ref name="Historical Society of Pennsylvania" /> A commercial plaza and the Pennsylvania State Parole & Probation stands today on the site of the former Cricket Field.

Altoona was the site of a {{convert|1.25|mi|km|adj=on}} [[board track racing|board track]] called Altoona Speedway from 1923 to 1931.<ref>[http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=139 Motorsport Memorial: Ray Keech], Retrieved 2007-07-24.</ref> The track was the site of the fatal injuries of three [[Indianapolis 500]] winners during the 1920s, claiming the lives of [[Howdy Wilcox]] (1919 winner) on September 4, 1923; [[Joe Boyer]] (1924 winner) on September 2, 1924; and [[Ray Keech]] (1929 winner) on June 15, 1929.

[[Altoona Area School District]]'s Mansion Park Stadium fields sporting events for both its constituents schools, [[Bishop Guilfoyle High School]] and various amateur athletic district events. Mansion Park has also been the site of a 1992 [[Pittsburgh Steelers|Pittsburgh Steeler]] intrasquad scrimmage, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men's and women's college soccer championships, [[University of Pittsburgh]] preseason football practices and the 1995 PIAA Soccer Championships.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} Musical events have included [[the Beach Boys]], [[Up With People]], the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the [[Penn State Blue Band]], the [[Ohio State]] Pride of the Buckeyes Band, the [[University of Notre Dame]] [[Band of the Fighting Irish]], the [[University of Illinois]] [[Marching Illini]] and the [[Indiana University of Pennsylvania]] Marching Band{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} In early 2010, a new scoreboard featuring a video display board with an improved stadium sound system was erected thanks to the generosity of local sponsors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aasdcat.com/aasd/district/campus/mansionpark.html |title=Altoona Area School District, Altoona PA |publisher=Aasdcat.com |access-date=2012-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420134540/http://www.aasdcat.com/aasd/district/campus/mansionpark.html |archive-date=2012-04-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>