[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 23, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1213-E1214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HINCHLIFFE STADIUM HERITAGE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 22, 2014

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2430, 
the ``Hinchliffe Stadium Heritage Act of 2013.''
  I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this legislation, which makes a long 
overdue adjustment of the boundaries of Paterson Great Falls National 
Historic Park to include the historic Hinchliffe Stadium.
  Hinchliffe Stadium, located in Paterson, New Jersey, was the home 
stadium of the ``New York Black Yankees'' and the ``New York Cubans'' 
of the old Negro Baseball League.
  In the 1930s and 1940s, baseball, like most American institutions, 
was segregated by race prohibiting great players like Josh Gibson, 
Oscar Charleston and Judy Johnson from displaying their extraordinary 
talents in the major leagues.
  These games featured future Baseball Hall of Famers such as Larry 
Doby--the first player to break the color barrier in the American

[[Page E1214]]

League, as well as Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston and Judy Johnson.
  In 1942, future Hall of Famer Larry Doby played at Hinchliffe Stadium 
as a member of the visiting Newark Eagles. Larry Doby would go on to 
become the first African American to play in the American League, 
breaking the color line in 1948 as a member of the Cleveland Indians.
  In addition to being the venue for Negro League baseball games, 
Hinchliffe Stadium also hosted boxing matches, auto races, professional 
football games, and other notable events.
  In 1963, Paterson Public Schools assumed ownership of Hinchliffe 
Stadium and utilized it for high school sports.
  Over time, however, the maintenance funds diminished and the stadium 
fell into disrepair, ultimately closing in 1997.
  Hinchliffe Stadium was recently listed as one of the country's most 
endangered historic places by the National Trust for Historic 
Preservation and would benefit greatly, as would the nation, were it 
included in the National Park System.
  H.R. 2430 will readjust the boundaries of the Paterson Great Falls 
National Historical Park, which overlooks the Paterson Great Falls, to 
include the adjacently located Hinchliffe Stadium.
  By expanding the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park to 
include Hinchliffe Stadium, our country will retain one of the last 
remaining landmarks of an important chapter in the nation's history.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of H.R. 
2430.

                          ____________________