Things are happening at the American Legion baseball field on Chenango Street — the grass has been torn up, the fences are coming down and backhoes and diggers are at work tearing into the ground.
No, there is not a new store or development being put in within village limits. In fact, there is nothing new going in — the members of the American Legion Post 88 are simply undertaking major renovations to refurbish the nearly century-old baseball field — known around town as Vet’s Field but officially called the North Field — to improve its playability and, hopefully, encourage more use of it by the Cazenovia community.
While the Legion softball field (officially called the South Field), behind the baseball field, is not being renovated at this time, it is intended to get its own upgrade in the near future.
The project includes leveling the entire field, redoing the drainage and putting in new grass, said Post 88 Vice Commander Gene Gissin, who is also the co-chair of the project committee. The legion will also revamp the bleachers, dugouts and bullpen, and plant a garden around the flagpole, he said.
“There is a long history of community use of the field, and because of it being all volunteer-driven, we’ve never really had an overall revamping — that’s why we have decided to do this,” Gissin said. “We’re really going to try to clean it up.”
According to Al Keilen, Post 88 first vice commander, the baseball field was originally called “Wright Field,” named after its owner, Albert J. Wright. Wright was born in Oswego in 1858 and his family moved to Buffalo in 1862. He was a university student at Wesleyan and played on their baseball team. He suffered a baseball injury that left him totally blind. Despite his blindness, in 1884 he became president of the Merchants Exchange and Dean of Buffalo Stockholders. He died in 1940 in his summer home high on the hill across from Lakeside Park in Cazenovia. Wright road was named in his honor.
Wright apparently gave the property to The Cazenovia Seminary (now Cazenovia College) for use as an athletic field. In 1933, the seminary conveyed this property to the Trustees of Wright Field, who conveyed this property in 1949 to the Cazenovia American Legion Post 88 through the Cazenovia Memorial Association. The deed states that there are no restrictions as to the subsequent disposition of the property, although it indicated that it was Wright’s wish to always keep the property for an athletic field for athletic purposes.
Through the years, Vets Field has been home to numerous baseball teams, leagues and tournaments, including American Legion Baseball, Cazenovia Baseball/Softball Association, Cazenovia Summer Youth Recreation Program baseball and Cazenovia College Baseball.
“We’re excited that the Legion is renovating the field. Right now, both of our Babe Ruth teams are playing on the Fenner Field, but we hope to have them return to Vets Field next year, along with other local teams and possible tournaments,” said Brian Sparks, president of the Cazenovia Baseball/Softball Association. “The Legion has some nice plans for the park and we’re helping them in any way possible.”
Part of that assistance will be in fundraising, Sparks said. The CBSA is currently selling raffle tickets to win a trip for four to a Yankees game in August. Proceeds from the raffle will go towards improving the fields and equipment needs down there, he said.
Cazenovia College is also supporting the Post 88 field project, specifically with a commitment to resume use of the field as the Wildcats’ home baseball field in 2018 and help with maintenance and support moving forward.
“We can’t wait to play on it,” said Pete Way, director of athletics and recreation at Cazenovia College. “It’s so exciting, and we are just very thankful to all the folks who came together to make this happen both for the community and for the college.”
The college baseball team played at Vet’s Field for years, but stopped three years ago due to the poor playing conditions, Way said. “We wanted our team on the best possible playing surface. At that time, there was no agreement on where progress of field needed to be made. College baseball as a sport is really competitive, and we were looking to compete on a better quality field that was more playable during our season,” he said.
Way, who played baseball at Cazenovia College and served as an assistant baseball coach, said improving the field and having a permanent home for the Wildcats will improve the student athlete experience, as well as help with recruitment and retention of players. But, just as important, he added, the improvements will benefit the entire community as well as the college, and Cazenovia College is “thrilled” to be involved in and supportive of such a project.
Remaining true to the field’s charter, Post 88 is not making any changes to the field, just maintaining what has deteriorated over many years. “It’s nothing new; we’re not making it bigger, just better,” Gissin said.
The project will cost around $450,000 to complete, Gissin said, which is being funded completely by community donations and Post 88 — no local, state or federal funding is being used for the work. A local general contractor has been hired to do the work, with the goal of completing it by the end of this summer and opening it for use for the 2018 baseball season, he said.
“We want to encourage the community to use the field when it’s completed,” Gissin said. “This is all for the kids.”
Post 88 looking to revive Legion Baseball
In addition to refurbishing Vets Field, Post 88 also intends to revive the Madison County American Legion Baseball League and field a new team. American Legion baseball fields teams of players ages 13 to 19, with legion posts in different towns playing their teams against one another. The league was formed in 1925 with the intention to help teach young Americans the importance of sportsmanship, good health and active citizenship. The Madison County American Legion League, which once had teams from Chittenango, Cazenovia, Munnsville, Oneida, Canastota and Morrisville-Eaton, stopped playing in about 2008.
