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at the “New” Eldredge Park 50 YEARS 1967-2017 | 13 | ��Action from the 1967 Cape Cod League All-Star game at reconfigured Eldredge Park ORLEANS FIREBIRDS 2017 YEARBOOK OrleansFirebirds.com By Ron Petersen The 2017 season is a significant milestone in the history of the Orleans Firebirds and our beloved home field – Eldredge Park. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of the “new” Eldredge Park in 1967. Actually, the history of the Park goes back a lot further than that, and is only one year younger than another baseball shrine- Fenway Park. In 1913, Lewis Winslow “Win” Eldredge had acquired 250 acres of land in central Orleans, and donated 10 acres “in consideration of my affection for and interest in the young people of Orleans and my desire to provide a playground for them”. Thus began the saga of Eldredge Park. While the land continues to fulfill Win’s vision of a playground, it has also become the playing field of some of the nation’s most famous baseball players. In 1966, major renovations were instituted to modernize the park and the baseball field. The configuration of the field was rotated 90 degrees, with home plate being moved from what is now left field near the foul pole to where you see it today. New soil was brought in and the outfield was reseeded. Sod was laid in the infield, and the base paths were dug out and packed with six inches of clay. The pitcher’s mound was re-done entirely in red clay, and the mound and home plate were stabilized with wood blocks and plywood. Scores of recessed sprinklers were installed all over the field. A Philadelphia sportswriter described the result as “A Norman Rockwell painting come to life”. Len Merullo of the Chicago Cubs, one of ten major league scouts in attendance at the game, said “This is as good a ball field as you’ll find anywhere, majors or minors.” According to Orleans Selectman Charles F. Moore, the improvements were made at a cost of


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