Baseball's Long Tradition In Freehold Is Topic Of Author Talk

FREEHOLD, NJ — Baseball historically was a true hometown game, and historian Glenn Cashion will be sharing fascinating details about his own hometown's early teams at an event Jan. 20.

Cashion, whose family has lived in Freehold for generations, will be making an appearance here to sign copies of his book, "Baseball Is in My DNA: A History of Baseball in Freehold, New Jersey 1857-1973."

Cashion will be at Freehold American Legion Post 54, 62 W. Main St. on Friday, Jan. 20, at 5 p.m. for the signing and to read selections from his book, according to the post's Facebook site.

There will be copies of the book to buy, or if you already have one he can personalize it.

The history of local baseball teams in Freehold and surrounding towns was part of the fabric of life here and all over America, beginning in the mid-19th century, according to Cashion's research.

Cashion previously presented a YouTube discussion recorded by the Monmouth County Historical Association that's very instructive about local teams from that early period. It's great preparation for his in-person program Jan. 20. You can tune into the Historically Speaking virtual discussion by clicking here.

Cashion lives in Middletown and was a co-captain of his baseball team at Brown University.

But his is a Freehold family for many generations. In fact, he started to research a book about his family. The baseball angle became so prominent that he decided to focus on that first, he said.

His family was involved in baseball since 1887 and his father, for example, umpired a Babe Ruth travel game in Bradley Beach in the 1920s. His brother, “Mr. Baseball of Freehold,” David “Dem” Cashion, who was 22 years old than he, had a storied baseball career on local teams.

His book is described as "part history, part memoir," as it traces the evolution of baseball played in Freehold and the greater region.

Cashion said there are two major themes that evolved from his research.

First he said he was "amazed" at how popular the game was in town. In its early years, Cashion said "half the town was playing the game, the other half was watching." Cashion said Freehold was once a town buzzing with industry, and companies all had their own teams.

Secondly, he learned about the dynamic between white and Black teams. For the many decades in which the game was segregated, Cashion said there was a lot of interaction between white teams in town and Black teams. The teams would play each other since the turn of the 20th century, he said. And in 1937, well before Jackie Robinson first integrated baseball's Major League, Black player Hank Schanck integrated the Freehold team.

Photographs, newspaper articles, and players’ recollections bring to life more than 100 years of the “baseball stronghold” in the Garden State, including early rules, team rosters, tryout tales, and eccentric ball players will all be presented at the event, according to the borough Facebook posting.

The book is available for sale on Amazon, and you can read endorsements of it by borough historian Kevin Coyne, former mayor Roger Kane, and by Bruce Springsteen.