The History of Baseball in Fredericksburg

The History of Baseball in Fredericksburg. . , America's Game, Fredericksburg's Game , After the Civil War, baseball found its way into every corner of our national life: from country cornfields to suburban back yards to city streets to palatial stadiums., The sport has been part of Fredericksburg's cultural and physical fabric for more than 150 years. Men, women, and children of all backgrounds have played the game on dozens of fields scattered across the landscape. America's pastime has always been Fredericksburg's favorite game. This photo shows the 1971 Fredericksburg "Midget League" Champs on the old James Monroe High School baseball field. Image courtesy of Ben Valley., Est. 11,000 BC First Native Americans occupy the Fredericksburg region., Play Is Timeless , People play. They always have. Native people played a game called "chunkey" for centuries before the first European peoples arrived in Virginia in 1607. In 2003, at George Washington's Ferry Farm, archaeologists discovered a pre-historic chunkey stone. The game piece was rolled, and opponents tried to stop it with wooden poles or guess its stopping point by throwing a pointed stick. Image courtesy of The George Washington Foundation, Archaeological Collections., Fun Fact: The "chunkey stone" found at George Washington's Ferry Farm may be more than 1,400 years old., 1728 Fredericksburg is formally founded., 1791 “Town Ball,” precursor to baseball, is first played in America. Image Courtesy of Baseball America, 1845 New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club formed, the country’s first formal baseball team. Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Fun Fact: Union General Abner Doubleday, long connected to the invention of baseball, served as military governor of Fredericksburg during the summer of 1862., 1861-1865 Soldiers Sling It , Baseball provided relief for thousands of young men idling in army camps along the Rappahannock River during the Civil War. Both Union and Confederate soldiers played the sport, and even occasionally watched each other's games at a distance. The games were raucous and rough. One soldier remembered the "disabled arms, sprained ankles, and lame backs" after a particularly spirited game between two New York regiments. One of the few known images that show soldiers playing baseball during the Civil War Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress, 1861-1865 The American Civil War leaves Fredericksburg in ruins. Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress, 1870s Baseball games switch from being played in the fall/winter to the spring/summer so games could be after work., 1866 Baseball Comes to Town , After the Civil War, baseball fever spread to Fredericksburg. In 1866, the town's first baseball club organized. They practiced on the grounds of the former Kenmore Plantation every Tuesday -- "The ladies are invited to attend." Over the next twenty years, at least a dozen amateur teams organized in Fredericksburg, including the Hope Foundry Cast Irons (employees at a factory on Princess Anne Street) and Darbytown Darbies, a team organized in the lower part of town. Image courtesy of the Fredericksburg Ledger, 1884 The Louisville Slugger is born, Fun Fact: In 1874, the “Creamationists” took to the field in Fredericksburg, with the promise they would “cream” their opponents., 1900 The shape of home plate switches from a square to a pentagon to give umpires a better view down the baseline. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, 1904 The Fredericksburg Greys , By the early 1900s, Fredericksburg had at least four teams composed of African American players. The most enduring of them was the Fredericksburg Greys, which became known in the Fredericksburg press as "the local colored team." Like the major leagues at the time, Fredericksburg baseball was segregated, though the ball clubs often used the same fields. Teams both white and black enjoyed good attendance and received heavy coverage in the local press. The onset of World War I ended the Greys' tenure in Fredericksburg. Image courtesy of the Free-Lance Star, Fun Fact: Fred Harriss, a star for the Fredericksburg Greys, earned his living by being a “track walker” for the railroad. He lived at 506 Princess Anne Street., 1904 Fredericksburg Amateur All-Star baseball team is established. , Alta Weiss is the first woman to play professional baseball (for the Vermillion Independents). Image courtesy of The Free-Lance Star, 1908 Hanover Base Ball Park founded near the intersection of Hanover Street and Kenmore Avenue. , "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," written by Albert Von Tilzer and Jack Norwoth, becomes a favorite song. Image courtesy of The Free Lance-Star, 1908 The First Professionals , Today's Fredericksburg Nationals are not the first professional baseball team in Fredericksburg. In 1908, a group of businessmen formed a new team, the White Sox. For its first season, the team consisted only of professional ballplayers and on 42 of 61 games. The team drew more than 500 fans per game. In 1909, the team turned semi-professional (that is, the players held other jobs too). The Sox continued to be one of Fredericksburg's biggest sporting attractions well into the 1930s. The Fredericksburg White Sox in 1924. Image courtesy of The Daily Star., Fun Fact: Teenage pitcher Joe Boehling played for the Fredericksburg White Sox in 1908. In 1913 he became a rookie sensation for the Washington Senators, going 17-7 with a 2.14 ERA in 1913. Only Hall-of-Famer Walter Johnson had a better record for the Senators that year., 1910 Joe Boehling plays for the Fredericksburg White Sox and is soon drafted to play for the Washington Senators. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Fun Fact: The White Sox and St. Louis Stars played at Hanover Park, located at the corner of Hanover Street and Kenmore Avenue, where Mill Race Commons now stands., 1912 Barnstorming Women , In 1912, the St. Louis Stars Ladies Baseball Club came to Fredericksburg and took on the all-male Fredericksburg White Sox. This sort of "barnstorming" performance by traveling teams was a staple of pre-World War II baseball, and the presence of the White Sox made Fredericksburg a frequent stop on the circuit. The Sox defeated the St. Louis Stars 3-1. The local paper reported, "The local boys...had to play well to win. While the women on the [St. Louis] team are not heavy hitters they play well in the field and are good base runners." Women playing baseball at the Washington Monument. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, 1916 Hanover Ball Park closes to make way for the G&H Clothing Company, today known as Mill Race Commons., 1917 Over 38% of Major League players fight in World War I., 1923 Full season payroll for entire semi-professional Fredericksburg White Sox team is $67.00., 1923 Gouldman Park Opens , For thousands of local ballplayers, black and white, young and old, Gouldman Park was their Yankee Stadium. Local investors put up $3,000 in 1923 to build "a convenient and modern baseball park," with a fenced outfield, grandstand and bleachers, refreshment booths, and, most importantly, a regulation diamond. The Fredericksburg White Sox, managed by John Gouldman, immediately made it their home. For the next thirty years, club teams, school teams and even Midget League teams played at Gouldman Park. This aerial photograph from 1928 shows Gouldman Park in the distance. The ballfield stood between Washington Avenue and Prince Edward Street, along the canal. Image courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington, Fun Fact: Admission to Gouldman Park ranged between 25 and 50 cents, though you could reserve box seats behind home plate for the season. A home run often ended up in the canal., 1929 Fredericksburg Orioles, a "Midget League" team (precursor of little league), is the state champion., 1935 Baseball field established at what was then the James Monroe High School downtown, today known as the Maury School. Image courtesy of the Fredericksburg Area Museum, 1936 A Historic Hurl , On George Washington's 204th birthday in 1936, Hall-of-Fame pitcher Walter "Big Train" Johnson came to Fredericksburg to test an enduring legend. Could he match Washington's mythical feat of throwing a silver dollar across the Rappahannock River?, More than 4,000 people turned out to watch. Ninety radio stations across the country broadcast the event live. After two warm-up throws from the snowy shore of Washington's boyhood home, Johnson's third throw cleared the river and landed (unseen by most) at the feet of an Italian stone mason, who quietly made off with the prized souvenir. Johnson was the greatest pitcher of his age, but had been retired for ten years when he made the attempt to match Washington's hurl. Image courtesy of The Free Lance-Star, Fun Fact: In 1936, the river was about 280 feet wide at Ferry Farm, perhaps 100 feet narrower than it had been in Washington's day. Johnson did not throw a silver dollar, but an engraved metal disk. The location of that prized artifact is unknown today., 1940s Gouldman Park becomes a neighborhood playing field and all baseball features like the grandstand are demolished., 1947 New York Yankees hold tryouts in Fredericksburg., 1940s-1950s The Sandlot , Ballparks and ball clubs came and went in Fredericksburg, but neighborhood games never stopped. Informal "sandlot" games were a staple of childhood in Fredericksburg, popping up wherever open space allowed. After the Fredericksburg White Sox folded in the 1930s, Gouldman Park was taken over by the kids. For decades, pick-up games at places like Gouldman Park were the life-blood of baseball in America. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, “We just had little sand lot games where we'd play till somebody had to go home. Then the players would dwindle down until there was nobody.” - Coleman Maurice Tate, Fun fact: There once was a time when almost every empty lot turned into a temporary ballfield, with rocks or gloves for bases, imaginary runners, wads of bubble gum, and wooden bats way too heavy. Remember the sandlot? Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, 1950s The Fredericksburg All-Stars and Stafford Braves semi-professional teams, among others, play in the region., 1973 Designated hitter rule established., 1980 The semi-professional Central Virginia Baseball League is founded with a team in Fredericksburg but folds in 1982., 1984 Semi-Pro Baseball Returns , In the 1980s, after a hiatus of nearly 50 years, semi-pro baseball returned to Fredericksburg. For 23 years, the Fredericksburg Giants competed in the Virginia Baseball League. The team played 50-60 games per year, their home field at James Monroe High School. They won the VBL title eight times, and in 2004 they finished second to Brooklyn in an East Coast Tournament. The Giants operated until 2008. Today, semi-pro baseball has yielded to professional ball: the Fredericksburg Nationals. Fredericksburg Giants Pictured Left to Right: Ed Tober (7), Ernie Baker (32) and Bob Simmons (27) Image courtesy of The Free Lance-Star, 1988 Trailblazer: Julie Croteau , After being cut by her high school team in Manassas, Julie Croteau signed on with the Fredericksburg Giants in 1988, becoming for a time the only female semi-pro ballplayer in America. She played with the Giants until 1994, with a career batting average of .306. Meanwhile she became the first woman to play on a men's NCAA baseball team (St. Mary's of Maryland). In 1995, she played in the Hawaii Winter League, one of the first women to play in a league sanctioned by Major League Baseball. She later coached the men's baseball team at the University of Massachusetts, another first. Up next: Number 9, Julie Croteau. Image courtesy of The Free Lance-Star, Fun Fact: A signed ball and glove of Croteau's is on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Croteau performed as a stunt double for actress Anne Ramsay in the movie A League of Their Own., Fun Fact: In 1993, former St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer Ernie Baker tried to jumpstart his career with a stint with the Fredericksburg Giants. He never made it back to the pros, but went on to become a scout and today manages a business called "Baker's Baseball.", 2006 The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation's "Playball Fredericksburg" initiative launched in Fredericksburg to encourage youth to play the game., 2008 Virginia Baseball League closes, ending semi-professional baseball in the area., 2012 Sunshine Ballpark , Generations of Fredericksburgers had played sandlot or Little League ball, but in 2012 youth baseball took an immense step forward. That year, the Sunshine Lady Foundation and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation collaborated with the City to open a $2.5 million state-of-the art, fully accessible facility for youth baseball, the Sunshine Ballpark, atop Bragg Hill in Fredericksburg. The purpose of the park is not just to host ballgames, but to affect the community by engaging at-risk youth, collaborating with educational institutions, and putting baseball in the context of a healthy lifestyle. More than 300 children join the Sunshine Baseball League each year. None are turned away. Images courtesy of Sunshine Baseball League, 2018 Fredericksburg City Council unanimously votes to help bring the Potomac Nationals to Fredericksburg., Fun Fact: Did you know that 11 of 25 players on the 2019 World Series Washington Nationals roster played for the Potomac (now the Fredericksburg) Nationals franchise?, 2020 During the 2020 MLB season, amidst the Nation's COVID-19 health crisis, the Washington Nationals used the Fredericksburg stadium as their "alternate training site" for their taxi squad players., 2020-2021 Pro Ball Returns , In 2020, after an absence of 111 years, professional baseball returned to Fredericksburg. The effort to bring a minor-league ball club to Fredericksburg began in 2011. When the Potomac Nationals were looking for a new home in 2018, the City of Fredericksburg reached out. The result is in front of you: a gleaming, state-of-the-art minor league ballpark, home of the Fredericksburg Nationals, the affiliate of the 2019 World Series Champion Washington Nationals. Aerial view of the Nationals' ballpark under construction, 2020. Image courtesy of the Fredericksburg Nationals, America's Game, Fredericksburg's Game , After the Civil War, baseball found its way into every corner of our national life: from country cornfields to suburban back yards to city streets to palatial stadiums., The sport has been part of Fredericksburg's cultural and physical fabric for more than 150 years. Men, women, and children of all backgrounds have played the game on dozens of fields scattered across the landscape. America's pastime has always been Fredericksburg's favorite game. This photo shows the 1971 Fredericksburg "Midget League" Champs on the old James Monroe High School baseball field. Image courtesy of Ben Valley.