Historic Designation Sought for Detroit-area Ballpark
From Cecil Angel of the Detroit Free Press on February 25:
In Veterans Memorial Park in Hamtramck, the grandstand at the baseball field is dilapidated, rusting, fenced off and looks ripe for the wrecking ball.
But in its heyday, thousands of mostly African-American fans filled seats in Hamtramck Stadium and cheered with pride as they watched the Detroit Stars and other ballplayers of the Negro League.
Now, after decades of neglect, there is an effort under way to get the stadium listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The stadium, which opened in 1930 as Roesink Stadium, is a member of a rapidly shrinking club.
“This is only one of five still standing that were home fields for a major Negro League team between 1920 and 1950,” said Gary Gillette, who was appointed to a committee working on the historic designation.
Read the full article here: http://www.freep.com/article/20110225/NEWS02/102250412/To-save-baseball-history-Hamtramck-historic-designation-sought-stadium
Originally published: February 25, 2011. Last Updated: February 25, 2011.