Baseball in Bayonne kicked off in style over the last two weeks as the Bayonne Little League and Bayonne Cal Ripken League opened their seasons.
Cal Ripken unveiled its newly reconstructed field on Fifth Street on April 9 with much celebration and a host of dignitaries.
Although the Klumpp Stadium Little League Field has not yet been finished after Paramount Studios used it in the upcoming film “War of the Worlds,” Bayonne Little League held its annual opening day parade and ceremony there on April 16.
Distinguished guests for the Cal Ripken opening day included Mayor Joseph Doria, Assemblyman and Bayonne Councilman Anthony Chiappone, Councilman Ted Connelly, Former councilwoman and long time Cal Ripken supporter Mary Jane Desmond, Public Works Director Frank Carine, Public Works Superintendent Mike Colombo, and Managing Specialist for the Quality of Life Gary Chemielewski.
“I want to thank you, the volunteers of this outstanding program, for sacrificing your time to see that the children of Bayonne can learn to become better adults,” Doria said during the ceremonies. “We are so proud to be a part of this and will continue to support the league as best we can. This is a remarkable team effort by a lot of special people, and we are grateful to have you all in this town.”
“The reason we are where we are today is because eight years ago, we were just as excited about our program as we are now,” said Bob DeChiaro. “Even though we had none of the amenities we have now, one thing we had then was a dream and passion behind it. To be where we are in just eight years is nothing more than a minor miracle. I am so proud to be a part of such a tremendously dedicated group of men and women. We are a closely knit bunch, and this day is one for our entire family to be proud.”
During the ceremony, the league announced that the Fifth Street Stadium is being renamed The Yard at Foot Locker Stadium. Foot Locker has given them a donation.
The ceremony featured Scooter the Holy Cow, the mascot of the Staten Island Yankees; Steve Klein, the Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth state commissioner, and Skip Adams, the Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth District 6 Commissioner. Ken O’Neill, Jim Iorio, Renne Lennon and Jim Collins from Bayonne Community Bank and John Cherchio, president of Nacirema Group, also attended. Those two companies were instrumental in the field’s restoration, as was Mike Norton from Murallo Paints, who supplied all paint for entire compound.
Also present was Nick Brancatella, one of the original founders of the Cal Ripken League, who was the first inductee into the Bayonne Cal Ripken Hall of Fame.
Good sportsmanship is hallmark of Little League
After the mile parade of players down Broadway, Father Lawrence Miller of St. Mary’s Church read the invocation for the Little League 54th opening day ceremony at the stadium on First Street.
Rep. Bob Menendez was one of the key speakers, talking about the benefits of Little League in building character.
“This teaches you how to work as a team with sportsmanship, not what you see on TV,” he said. “Little League gives us the most pristine form of the game.”
Doria echoed Menendez’s sentiments, saying that baseball on this level provides boys and girls with a great opportunity to work as a team.
Chiappone said three of his own kids went through the Little League program, and that from such programs, kids learn fair play and how to have good, clean fun.
Called Little League’s favorite son, Former Mayor Dennis Collins told the crowd of parents and players that his children went through the program as did his grandson, Christopher Stanul, who went on to become a firefighter.
“He enjoyed his time here in Little League,” Collin said. “Here, everyone learns good fellowship and good sportsmanship, which are the hallmarks of Little League.”
Even as ceremonies took place, workers continued to restore nearby Klumpp Stadium Little League Field, which had been used as part of the set for the Steven Spielberg film. The rebuilt field is tentatively scheduled to open on May 7 instead of April 30.