Nice bit of history being played out in Columbia, where the family of Barney Dreyfuss — the Hall of Fame MLB owner who donated the funds for Capital City Stadium — will be on hand for the Columbia Blowfish (summer collegiate; Coastal Plain league) game in that very ballpark.
Dreyfuss, a visionary owner who also organized the first World Series, stepped in after a fire destroyed the original Columbia stadium in 1926, Dreyfuss donated the necessary funds and constructed Dreyfuss Field. After the name of the now century old ballpark was changed to Capital City Stadium, the street outside of the stadium was named Dreyfuss Road, after Barney.
Several members of the Dreyfuss family will be in attendance Saturday night including his great-grandson, Andy Dreyfuss, who inducted his great-grandfather into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 2008. The Dreyfuss family will honor Barney by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of the Blowfish game against the Fayetteville Swampdogs.
“We are thrilled to welcome the Dreyfuss family to Capital City Stadium,” Blowfish Owner Bill Shanahan said. We’re honored to be connected to Cooperstown through Barney Dreyfuss, and we couldn’t think of a better way than to honor him, and his family, here in our final season at Capital City Stadium.”
During the 2008 season, with Dreyfuss’ induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Blowfish honored his contributions to baseball in the Capital City by wearing throwback replica “Columbia Comers” uniforms to honor Barney and the former Pittsburgh minor-league affiliate team.
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