Renovations to Paterson’s Hinchliffe Stadium, one of four remaining Negro Leagues ballparks still standing, have begun after a groundbreaking ceremony.
Located in Paterson, N.J., Hinchliffe Stadium opened in 1932 and hosted the New York Black Yankees and New York Cubans among other events, including car racing and concerts from the likes of Abbott and Costello. The $94-million development plan will restore the former home of the Negro Leagues baseball and also feature a 315-space parking garage and a six-story, 75-unit senior housing. The efforts to restore Hinchliffe Stadium have been going on for years; at one point the Ripken organization took a swing at a renovation plan, but in the end it took a lot of persistence and effort by locals to make the project succeed.
Three other ballparks that were full-season homes to Negro Leagues baseball still stand: J.P. Small Park (home of the Jacksonville Red Caps), Hamtramck Stadium (built for the Detroit Stars) and Rickwood Field, home of the Birmingham Black Barons. League Park, former home of the Cleveland Buckeyes, still partially stands.
In terms of regularly hosting barnstorming Negro Leagues teams or minor-league Negro Leagues teams, many ballparks still stand or partially stand, including Newport’s Cardines Field, St. Joseph’s Phil Welch Stadium, Savannah’s Grayson Stadium, Havana’s Estadio Gran, Helper’s Ernie Gardner Field, Johnstown’s Point Stadium, Jamestown’s Jack Brown Stadium, Hagerstown’s Municipal Stadium, Columbus’s Golden Park, Macon’s Luther Williams Field, Asheville’s McCormick Field, Bristol’s Muzzy Field, Butler’s Butler Field, Chattanooga’s Engel Stadium, Austin’s Downs Field, Durham’s Durham Athletic Park, Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl, Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Bismarck’s Bismarck Municipal Stadium, and there are undoubtedly more out there.
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