Hinchliffe Stadium, a classic ballpark once hosting Negro Leagues baseball in Paterson, N.J., could be saved from ruin if it receives National Historic Landmark status from the federal government.
Currently Hinchliffe Stadium is in pretty rough shape; elements and vandals have done a job on the Art Deco sporting facility. There have been several attempts to save it — at one point city voters approved bonding for a renovation — but nothing has come to fruition.
A federal committee will meet in November to review the proposal to grant the ballpark National Historic Landmark status after a nominating petition was successful.
“Granting Hinchliffe the distinction it deserves will allow us to honor the many athletes, including Larry Doby, who played in this historic stadium and inspired young athletes in Paterson and beyond,” Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-Paterson) said in a press release.
Doby, of course, was the second African-American to break the color line in Major League Baseball and the first in the American League. He, like Jackie Robinson, received his start in the Negro Leagues. Hinchliffe Stadium hosted the New York Black Yankees and New York Cubans both played there. The Friends of Hinchliffe Stadium have a good rundown of the stadium’s history.
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