Historical marker installed at Detroit’s Hamtramck Stadium as 2014 SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference begins

A former home of baseball’s Negro Leagues was recognized with a historical marker as SABR’s 17th annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference kicked off Thursday, August 14, 2014, in Detroit, Michigan.

A ceremony took place Thursday afternoon in honor of the installation of the marker at Hamtramck Stadium, where the Detroit Stars once played.

The group Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium has been raising money to repair the grandstand and field, estimated to cost $250,000 to $600,000.

The stadium in the Detroit enclave of Hamtramck was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, and the Michigan Historical Commission approved a historical marker for the site.

The grandstand and field date to 1930 and are located in Veterans Memorial Park.

The Negro Leagues gave African-Americans a chance to play professional baseball in an era when the majors excluded them.

SABR’s Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the study of black baseball, continues through Saturday in Detroit. Learn more at SABR.org/malloy.

View a photo gallery from the Malloy Conference below, courtesy of Courtney Smith:

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)



Originally published: August 15, 2014. Last Updated: January 6, 2023.