- Delano-Hitch Stadium
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Delano-Hitch Stadium The Ditch 
Location Newburgh, NY, USA Coordinates 41°29′56″N 74°01′31″W / 41.49889°N 74.02528°W Built 1926 Opened 1926 Renovated 1998 Owner City of Newburgh Surface Grass Capacity 3,100 Tenants Newburgh Hummingbirds, Newburgh Nighthawks, Newburgh Black Diamonds (former) Delano-Hitch Stadium is a stadium in Newburgh, New York; it has a current capacity of 3,100.
Contents
Early years
Baseball in Newburgh goes back to the 1860s: the Hudson River club played from 1863–67, compiling a 18-18 record against many of the top teams of the day. Several other short-lived pro teams called the city home before World War I, including the Newburgh Taylor-Mades (aka Hill Climbers or Hillies, Hudson River League, 1903–1907); the Newburgh Dutchmen (New York-New Jersey League, 1913) and the Newburgh Hillclimbers (Atlantic League, 1914).
In 1916, Mrs. Annie Delano Hitch (aunt of Franklin Delano Roosevelt) donated land to the City of Newburgh for a "driving park", later known as Delano-Hitch Recreation Park. The stadium was opened in 1926, and has been primarily used for baseball. Three professional teams have called Delano-Hitch home: the Newburgh Hummingbirds in 1946, the Newburgh Nighthawks in 1995-96, and the Newburgh Black Diamonds in 1998.
1946 Newburgh Hummingbirds
The Newburgh Hummingbirds were charter members of the North Atlantic League, a Class D circuit which was one of many minor leagues to pop up after the end of World War II. However, the Birds seemed cursed from the start: the club had difficulty finding a home field, finally signing an agreement with Delano-Hitch (then called Recreation Park) just a week before opening day. Former Yankees third basemen Joe Dugan was offered the manager's job, but he turned Newburgh down; the position went to Frank Novosel instead.
The season itself started inauspiciously when only 259 fans attended the home opener on May 10; the fact that Rec Park was not an enclosed facility did not encourage fans to buy tickets. Rain cancelled the next two day's games, then team president Leo Bloom died suddenly. More rain deluged the Newburgh area, and the Birds didn't play again until May 17: a 4-3 win over Mahanoy City which was called after seven innings due to darkness. It would be the last game the Hummingbirds would ever play in Newburgh.
On May 20, the team's contract at the stadium was cancelled by the city's Recreation Commission, due to nonpayment of rent and the team's failure to install lights at the field.[1] Francis Giegnas, Jr. became the Hummingbirds new president, but the team was without a home field; on May 23, the franchise became a road team, finally moving to nearby Walden, New York on June 10. The re-named Walden Hummingbirds (aka Keen Kutters) drew nearly 1,000 fans to their opener in their new home (impressive for a town of just 4,000 people), but it was all downhill from there; Giegnas, unable to pay the team's bills, soon returned the franchise to the NAL.
In July, the league sold the club to former minor-league player Lou Hanales for $1,200 (plus assumption of the team's debts). Under Hanales (who became the Hummingbirds' manager and first baseman as well), attendance didn't get any better, drawing just 145 fans to a Booster's Night on July 12.[2] The club finished the season deep in the NAL cellar with a 27-89 record, then shifted to Kingston, New York for the 1947 season. The league itself disbanded in 1950.
Later use
During the next half century, the stadium was used by various amateur and semi-pro baseball teams, as well as by the semi-pro football Newburgh Raiders from 1991-96. (Despite winning four Empire Football League championships, the EFL unimously voted to boot Newburgh out in 1997 for a variety of misdeeds, including the fact that Delano-Hitch wasn't really suitable for football.)[citation needed]
1995-96 Newburgh Nighthawks
In 1995, owner Bill Cummings brought the Newburgh Nighthawks to town, as a franchise in the new Northeast League (now the Can-Am League). Despite decent attendance figures of about 1,000 per game, Cummings lost over $30,000 and sold the team to Jeff Kunion. The '96 Nighthawks won the NEL first half championship and played the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs for the league title, losing three games to one. The final game of the championship series proved to be the last Nighthawks' game ever, as Kunion, unsatisfied with the pace of stadium renovations, folded the team.
1998 Newburgh Black Diamonds
After sitting empty in 1997, the stadium got a new team for 1998: the Atlantic League's Newburgh Black Diamonds. However, poor attendance and the league's displeasure with Delano-Hitch's condition sealed Newburgh's fate, despite $150,000 worth of renovations. Minutes before Newburgh's home opener, league president Bud Harrelson announced the Black Diamonds would return in 1999, but only if the team built a new stadium. Instead, the franchise was sent wandering for several years after a proposed stadium in Easton, Pennsylvania was left unfinished after the builders went bankrupt; the team existed as the Road Warriors through 2004, then again in 2006-07.
Today
In the 21st century, Delano-Hitch was used for amateur baseball, including high school (Newburgh Free Academy), college (Mount St. Mary's), collegiate league (New York Generals) and American Legion ball. The financial downturn, however, has made it difficult for these teams to afford the rent on the stadium, so as of 2011 the ballpark has mostly sat empty, except for non-athletic gatherings. On August 7, 2010 Marcus Gill Ministries held a crusade "Unity Fest with Minister Marcus Gill". About a hundred and fifty people were in attendance. The crusade was held to encourage the community to pray for peace and to end the crime outrage in Newburgh, New York.[3][4]
References
- ^ "The Newburgh News - Google News Archive". News.google.com. 1946-05-21. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=rUiCm8s56TIC&dat=19460521&printsec=frontpage&hl=en. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ "Paper of Record". Paperofrecord.hypernet.ca. http://paperofrecord.hypernet.ca/paper_view.asp?PaperId=834&RecordId=10&PageId=7749558&iZyNetId={7D4DB5B8-25BC-47FD-AEA6-262AF53E37B9}&iOrder=2&iOrderDir=0&iCurrentBlock=1. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
- ^ "Unity Fest". YNN. 03 August 2010. http://hudsonvalley.ynn.com/content/512740/unityfest-offered-as-alternative-to-gangs/. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "Unity Fest Crusade with Marcus Gill". The Record. 07 August 2010. http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100808/NEWS/8080332&cid=sitesearch. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
External links
Categories:- Sports venues in New York
- Minor league baseball venues
- Sports venues in Orange County, New York
- U.S. Route 9W
- Buildings and structures completed in 1926
- Newburgh, New York
- Baseball venues in New York
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