By Dan Shine
Voice Columnist
Shore Haven Junior Baseball League
Part I
See part 2
The year 1950 was a year of new growth for West Haven. Large numbers of men and women were still returning to the States from various World War II theaters, having left their tasks as soldiers, sailors, airmen and service personnel. They were now able to marry their sweethearts and settle down to pursue the lives they had been dreaming about for so long.
New Haven was a factory town with a good transportation network and West Haven had a thriving Campbell Avenue business district; these factors were attractive to young couples who were looking for a good place to work and raise their families.
As a direct result, the land occupied by the former West Haven Airport was sold in that year, and subdivided into spaces for 302 homes on 84 acres of land. At the same time, School Board Chair Harry M. Bailey announced that plans had been approved for a new nine-room schoolhouse to open the next fall on a 16-acre plot facing onto South Street. Immediately, it became obvious that the school would be too small, and that more space would be needed to accommodate incoming families.
Neighborhood organizations and social groups were springing up all over the area, and Shore Haven, as the new development was to be called, was no exception: The Shore Haven Association quickly came into being. It featured a clubhouse where special events and family gatherings could take place, and this became immediately successful.
But what could the organization do that would benefit the children of Shore Haven? Unlike today, almost no households had televisions, so boys either followed their favorite teams on the radio or through the newspapers. Their heroes were the likes of Stan Musial, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, and Jackie Robinson. And they longed to play organized ball, just like their heroes; but in the local area, there were as yet very few organized baseball leagues.
West Haven Little League existed, but it was on the other end of town, and not everyone who tried out was accepted into the organization. Most families had but one car, which father drove to work, while mother stayed home with the children. In a way, each residential neighborhood was a microcosm, isolated unto itself.
Children played baseball in the quiet streets of Shore Haven, or in whatever vacant lots they could find. Perhaps, the leadership reasoned, the Association could make organized baseball available to the boys in the growing neighborhood.
Thus, in 1954, the Shore Haven Junior Baseball League was established. The central idea was that a boy need not come to them with skills that were ready-made for playing baseball, for the league could help him acquire the skills needed to play and enjoy organized ball. The concept was eagerly accepted, and by the end of that first season, the league roster listed four teams of sixty-five boys, and twenty games played. Funding for the league was solicited from the public and from local businesses. The boys would play that first year without uniforms.
League officials and originators of the idea were: Marshall Beott, Paul Saldibar, Herb Small, John Davidson, Ted Roman, Elmer Bisonette, Dick Reising, Leslie Friend and John Cummings. Officials and players were expected to be from the Shore Haven area.
By 1964, the league had grown to six teams of 9-12 year olds for a total of 90 boys. They played twenty games in the regular season, three per night, and would routinely field an all-star team at Morse Park against the Benham Hill Junior League. Games were played at 6:15 on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
The four fields that are named at the SHORE HAVEN complex are:
Field #1 is named for Bill Donnegan, who was the treasurer of the league for over 35 years;
Field #2 is named for Joe Morrell Sr., who was a coach for 10 years and later commissioner for 35 years. He was instrumental in getting the dugouts built, along with a caged-in batters’ box for the safety of the players. In addition, he orchestrated the installation of the outfield fence, as well as the building of the Field house back in the 80’s. These projects were all coordinated with the city of West Haven;
Field #3 is named for Les Friend, who was one of the original founders of the league;
Field #4 is named for John Dini, who was a longtime commissioner back in the 60’s and 70’s and whose two sons continue to run the league today.
Signups for the 2025 season will take place in late December.
To be continued