There was a time when Hinchcliffe Stadium was at the forefront of the sports universe. After years of neglect, the former home of the Negro League World Series and championship boxing events is starting to make a comeback.
During the Great Depression and the New Deal, municipal improvements were started in an attempt to jumpstart the American economy. One of those projects was Hinchcliffe Stadium, a multi-sport complex that the city of Paterson, New Jersey, had been attempting to build since the 1920s.
Completed in 1932, and named for mayor John Hinchcliffe, who continually pushed for the stadium, it quickly became a key venue in the sporting world. The Stadium was the home of the Colored Championship of the Nation, the Negro Leagues equivalent of the World Series. Players like Josh Gibson, Monte Irvin, and Cool Papa Bell played there. It was the site where local high school player Larry Doby was scouted and signed by the Newark Eagles. Hinchcliffe Stadium also hosted boxing, professional football, auto racing, and even performances by Abbott and Costello.
For a dozen years, it was also the home of two Negro League franchises. The New York Black Yankees called the stadium home from 1934 through 1945, with a one year interruption in 1938. The New York Cuban Giants also called Hinchclilffe home in 1935 and 1936.
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However, over the years, the stadium lost its luster. It became the home of various high school sporting events, and began to fall into disrepair. Finally, after being underfunded, it was abandoned in 1997, sitting vacant and unused. Threats of demolition began to circulate, spurring an effort to save the historic site.
While it is still a long way from making Hinchcliffe Stadium functional again, efforts have begun to resurrect the site. The Paterson City Council approved a $1.5 Million project to repair the exterior of the stadium. Included in the repairs will be the ticket booths, the terracotta tiling, and the facade on Liberty Street.
While the stadium will look better from the outside, it still will not be in any condition to play in. That will take a larger effort, expected to cost around $25 Million, to address the structural issues within. However, should the city locate the funding to do so, that project is expected to help breathe new life into the venue.
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Hinchcliffe Stadium was an important part of Negro League history. The first steps have been taken to bring the venue back to its former glory.