Majestic Hinchliffe

Above the historic Great Falls of Paterson, NJ, and on the edge of the historic district sits a concrete amphitheater that can house 10,000 attendees. The stadium dates back to the 1930s and has played host to numerous sporting events, concerts, antique car shows, and other community events.

Once known as City Stadium and now called Hinchliffe Stadium, the stadium that was once owned by the schools fell into disrepair and was closed in 1997 and scheduled for demolition.

The stadium hosted High School sports for the Paterson teams, and I played there on several occasions, not realizing the history of the stadium. This stadium was the home field of Eastside High School that was made famous by the movie Lean on Me. I remember in the 60’s when we had to have our team bus escorted out of town because we beat the baseball team so bad. However, that is not the point of this story. That’s only a small part and an insignificant part of the history of this magnificent place.

As I look back now, at an age where I am supposed be wiser and smarter, I realize how lucky I am to have walked where baseball greats of the old Negro League, like Josh Gibson, Larry Doby, and “Cool Papa” Bell once walked. The New York Black Yankees made their home there and concerts featuring Duke Ellington and Abbott and Costello performed for overflowing crowds. Lou Costello was one of Paterson’s favorite sons, being raised on Paterson’s eastside. There were even midget car races, boxing, and any event you could think of held at this historic venue.

Luckily, elected officials and some of Paterson’s old-timers realized the historic significance of what they had and worked to get the site protected. In 2010 Hinchliffe was called one of the most Endangered Historic sites by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The stadium has now been added to the National Historic Landmark Register. There are efforts currently underway to save the old stadium and restore it to its glory. It will take millions of dollars and many years to do this, but some things, in my opinion, are worth preserving and Hinchliffe certainly falls into that category.

While I didn’t appreciate its history when I was a teenager taking the mound in a high school baseball game or watching our football team from the concrete stands, today I can appreciate the deep history of this great stadium that sits above what we called the “Paterson Falls”, now that “they” got my attention.

I can almost see the ghosts of the old negro leagues flashing signals, sliding into home plate and I can almost hear the vendors shouting out “peanuts, popcorn”. The cheers never fade from a stadium like this and, I bet, if you stand there all alone in the quiet and listen carefully, you will hear those cheers from the glory days of this magnificent coliseum.

History is important and preservation of sites like Hinchliffe Stadium important, ‘lest we forget where we came from.

As an update, the money for the rehabilitation of the stadium has been partially raised and the renovations and restoration are about to begin.

When I close my eyes, I can go back to those days when I took the mound there or watched our High School football team play. Most of us who played there in those days did not realize where we were standing but, history has a way of opening your eyes and making you grateful that you had a chance to experience a little bit of what once was, even if it is 50 years later.

I cannot wait until it’s completed.