Pro Baseball Team Will Move To Historic Passaic County Ballpark

PATERSON, NJ — A New Jersey ballpark and national landmark is back in the game. The New Jersey Jackals, an independent baseball team, will move to Hinchliffe Stadium, bringing a home team to the Paterson stadium following a $94 million project to renovate and reconstruct the field.

The Jackals will compete in Paterson starting next May, following 25 years at Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair. The team is part of the Frontier League — an independent baseball league with squads in the Northeast and Eastern Canada.

In its heyday, Hinchliffe Stadium hosted boxing matches, auto racing and even one of Duke Ellington's last major concerts. But the stadium is best-known for hosting significant Negro League baseball games. Legendary ballplayers such as Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, "Cool Papa" Bell and New Jersey's Monte Irvin competed in the stadium. Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Doby grew up in Paterson playing football and baseball at Hinchliffe before breaking the American League's color barrier in July 1947.

The threat of demolition loomed during the stadium's later years after years of disrepair. But several efforts to revive the ballpark launched in the 21st century. In 2002, a group of local citizens formed the nonprofit Friends of Hinchliffe Stadium on the 70th anniversary of the ballpark's dedication. The voters of Paterson approved a ballot initiative in 2009 to renovate it.

The first phase of renovation took place in August 2017, but major reconstruction broke ground in April 2021. The project is nearing completion.

The stadium was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2013. In the following year, Congress passed legislation to include Hinchliffe in the Great Falls National Landmark District.