Delano-Hitch Stadium

Exterior of Delano-Hitch Stadium, from the northwest, Jul-1998.

A look from the right-field line toward the main grandstand.

The field sits in a town park in the center of the city.

Chronological Tour: Stop 134

• Location: Washington Street at Lake Avenue (NY 32), Newburgh, N.Y.
• Opened: 1926 (approx.)
• Home team: Newburgh Hummingbirds, North Atlantic League (1946); Newburgh Nighthawks, Northeast League (1995-96); Newburgh Black Diamonds, Atlantic League (1998); Newburgh Newts, North Country Baseball League (two weeks in 2015)
• Capacity: 3,100

Rating: 3 baseballs

I got there for the Black Diamonds of the Atlantic League in 1998. Unfortunately, no pro games would be played there in 1999, as the Black Diamonds were scheduled to move to the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. As a result, the club did only a minimum amount of promotion, ensuring lackluster crowds.

That was a shame, for Delano-Hitch Stadium is a gentle old facility that received a seating upgrade in 1995 and became a pleasant place to watch a game, without the crowds that pile into Dutchess Stadium right across the river for Hudson Valley Renegades games. The existing electric scoreboard was small, but a high school project had produced a post-up inning board right below it that added to the place’s charm.

One thing that detracted from my experience there, in July 1998, was the public address announcer. I understand he was new, and his shtick was to do a poor imitation of Bob Sheppard, the voice of the New York Yankees for over fifty years. He also played “New York, New York” at the end of the game, which seemed somewhat out of place in Newburgh, N.Y. After all, independent minor league baseball is supposed to be the antithesis of the Yankees.

If minor league ball returns to Newburgh in the near future, Delano-Hitch Stadium would be worth at least one visit. It actually happened in 2015, for about two weeks, but the Newts of the independent North Country Baseball League quickly packed up and became a road team. In the meantime, the park continues to be used for events such as American Legion Baseball tournaments.