This past Tuesday, March 18th, I had the pleasure of attending the monthly meeting of the Harrisburg Senators Fan Club. I was invited as guest speaker at the invitation of club president, Brian Williams, whom I had met at a Harrisburg Senators game last season.
From L to R, Harrisburg Senators Past President Barry Fealtman, David Stinson, Harrisburg Senators GM Randy Whitaker, and Terry Hartzell
With the D.C. area having just been hit with yet another winter storm, the snow covering the country side along I-83 toward Harrisburg belied the notion that spring is just around the corner. Judging from the number of people who turned out for an evening talking baseball, this winter’s harsh weather has done little to dampen fans’ excitement about baseball’s imminent return.
The Senators Fan Club meets in a banquet room at the Sons of the American Legion, Post 143, on Market Street in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, a place well suited as a winter home for baseball fans to congregate. Harrisburg fans know their baseball, and I truly appreciated the opportunity to talk with those in attendance about baseball, lost ballparks, and my book, Deadball.
Many thanks to Barry Fealtman, the club’s past president, and Jeanne Jacobs, the club’s Vice President, who both made me feel right at home, and Randy Whitaker, General Manager of the Harrisburg Senators, for providing the necessary projector for my presentation about lost ballparks. Thanks also to fan club members who shared with me stories about their visits long ago to stadiums now vanished. Those stories, and memories they invoke, help keep the ballparks alive and seemingly still present.
I look forward to heading back up I-83 to Harrisburg this summer (the snow should have melted by then). The Senators (AA Eastern League) play at Metro Bank Ballpark, one of the most unique ballparks in the country, as it is located on City Island in the middle of the Susquehanna River. Baseball has been played on that spot for over 100 years (since 1907) and the team has done a wonderful job of incorporating that history into the fans’ game day experience.
For more about the Harrisburg Senators Fan Club, visit their website here. For more information about the team, visit their website here.
