A rebirth for one of the last Negro League stadiums
PATERSON, N.J. — When Hoboken’s own Frank Sinatra released, “There Used To Be a Ballpark” in 1973, he was reminiscing about field of dreams baseball stadiums long since torn down.
Whether it was Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, the old Yankee or Shea stadiums, Ol’ Blue Eyes’ ditty could have included Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey.
And yet, after almost three decades of neglect and dodging the wrecking ball, Hinchliffe Stadium, one of only two Negro League stadiums still standing (Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, is the other), has a second life.
Erected in 1932 and named after former Paterson Mayor John Hinchliffe, the stadium was home to the New York Black Yankees and the Black Cubans (1930s through 1945), but the stadium later sat dormant, abandoned since 1997.
On Saturday, the old stadium will celebrate what’s being called “The Rebirth.”
This is no quick fix with an ample slather of paint and spackle. The stadium has been gussied up with a $100 million makeover, which is something Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh is extremely proud of, especially from where it once was.
There were trees growing between grandstand seats, graffiti on the walls and homeless families living under the stands. Now with its new turf field and home to the New Jersey Jackals baseball team of the Independent League, Hinchliffe Stadium is the economic linchpin that the city needs.
“Paterson is a gritty city. We’re known for our persistence. This is proof positive that we don’t give up. This rebirth says this city is resilience,” says Sayegh, of New Jersey’s
third-largest city. He tends to string his sentences together when he gets on a roll. “With all due respect to Iowa, which was a movie set … James Earl Jones, Kevin Costner, you build it they will come. We’re building it. They’re coming. This is the real field of dreams.
“We’re actually trying to get the MLB Field of Dreams Game here. Actual Hall of Famers played on this field. Josh Gibson, Larry Doby, Cool Papa Bell … they all played here.”
For all the history of Hinchliffe Stadium, it seemed to be a cat down to its last life.
“There were efforts to raze the building,” states Sayegh, born and raised in Paterson, now in his second term. He’s the first Paterson mayor to win a second consecutive term in 16 years. “We fought against that because it is a historic treasure. Then it got incorporated into the national park. It’s the only park within a national park. It’s in the Great Falls National Park.”
Hinchliffe Stadium is owned and
operated by the Paterson Board of Education. That means 180 days are reserved for the school district.
The project was able to survive “because of the mayor and our ability to persuade the governor to keep tax credits alive,” says Mike Powers, director of economic development for the city of Paterson. “It’s the largest project in the city’s history. Because of the structure, half of it is to be used by the school district and half of it is to be used for public events and revenue.
“It’s about a $103 million project. We can keep some reserve, so it doesn’t fall back into deterioration.”
That’s a major point because it does cost to maintain a ballpark, whether it’s in a cornfield or an urban area.
The old stadium used to host boxing matches, concerts with entertainers such as Duke Ellington and Sly and the Family Stone, and even auto races.
The oval-shaped stadium is perfect for the sports of football, soccer, track and even cricket, and the Jackals’ home opener is Saturday.
The configuration of the stadium, similar to the Los Angeles Coliseum where the Dodgers played after moving west, will take some adjustments.
Hinchliffe Stadium is the reverse with a very short right field porch.
“Aaron Judge could probably bunt a home run here,” laughs Sayegh, a bona fide Mets fan sporting a Mets tie and socks.
Saving this stadium fell on Sayegh’s shoulders, as he pledged if he ever became mayor, he would bring back Hinchliffe. His third try for the mayoralty was the charm. Government tax credits made the project a reality.
Besides sporting events, graduations and concerts will also be held in the stadium that will seat 7,000.
“We’re looking at Live Nation concerts,” Sayegh said. “I want boxing matches. Boxing is so important because it teaches you discipline and confidence building and character development.”
He should know. He’s been boxing to keep in shape for 11 years.
If any one person is confident about the project, besides the mayor, it’s Baye Adofo-Wilson, one of the developers of the project. He watched the decay of the stadium firsthand. He witnessed a 4-year old homeless girl and her family living under the stands. Now the project is almost complete. The running track still has to be installed, but he beams with pride at his creation.
“I grew up in Paterson,” says Adofo-Wilson. After working as deputy mayor/director of economic housing development under Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, he came back home to help. “I started talking to the mayor, I pulled a team together and this is where we’re at.”
Besides the stadium, there is a new parking garage, a restaurant and upgrades to NJ Transit allowing more trains to arrive from the Secaucus Terminal.
The mayor has also been in touch with Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, to help with their own museum celebrating the Negro League stars who played at Hinchliffe Stadium.
“I am so excited about this effort and really applaud all of those who have been a part of making this happen,” says Kendrick, who hopes to be at Hinchliffe on Saturday. “We have a vestige interest in seeing these landmarks where Negro baseball was played and see them restored.
“And to see this fabled facility restored, I was there when those sacred grounds were designated as a national historic landmark so they could not be razed and done away with through the ruins of time.”
One former major leaguer, a New Jerseyite, is happy that Hinchliffe Stadium has life again.
“It’s got to mean a lot, especially having something like that in the neighborhood,” says former Met and Yankee Willie Randolph. “People in the inner city need something to be proud of. Something that’s there and you’ve got to take care of it.
“That’s the problem why we’re losing a generation of African American kids to other sports because there’s no nice facilities to play the game. In baseball, you’ve got to maintain the facility.”
That’s why Sayegh traveled to Birmingham to see how Rickwood Field in Alabama is still surviving.
“It was a fact-finding mission that taught us lessons in how you can bring a stadium back to life and maintain it, because that’s the mission,” Sayegh said.