Rogers Park
Danbury, CT
Review by Gary
For the better part of 100 years, up to the 1950’s, Danbury, Connecticut was known as “Hat City”, the greatest manufacturer of chapeaus in the country. Today, this town in western Connecticut is home to many a New York City commuter and a rest stop for travelers heading to Boston. Danbury is also the home of the Westerners, the oldest active team in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). While the Westerners have toiled in the NECBL since 1995, they have only won the league championship once, in 2021.
The Westerner’s field is the first of several baseball fields built in the 1960s at Rogers Park, a 56-acre public park and recreational facility. Three more fields were added in the late 1970s, with the Westerners’ home field being the only regulation yard. The most notable feature of Rogers Park Field is its main grandstand. While fans can save the $5 admission and camp outside the fences, most of the seating is in the aluminum grandstand that runs along the third base line. Towering above this 10-foot-tall structure is the enclosed press box. On the sultry Saturday night in July that I attended a game, the windows were open allowing the energetic fans sitting in the closest rows to hear the radio announcers’ play-by-play, which was cool.
The entire field from home to each corner base is protected by an 8’ chain link fence, which was still not tall enough to stop the meaty end of a broken bat from hurtling towards those of us in the main stands. While no one was injured, many a fans’ hearts surely skipped a beat. There is a much smaller metal grandstand behind home plate with another fixed seating unit on the first base side, none of which are connected to one another. Massive foul poles that hold up the seemingly over-tall backstop screen are in play behind home, which must make any errant balls hitting these round concrete pillars an adventure to field.
Rest rooms for fans can be found at the neighboring middle school while some of the players use a porta-potty near the left field foul pole, quite a distance for occupants of the first base dugout. The concession stand and adjoining souvenir shop are comprised of two sheds like those purchased at your favorite home improvement megastore. They sit far back behind the miniscule home plate grandstand. On the field, a large scoreboard with the Westerners name was added in 2021 and rises over the left centerfield fence, replacing its older, smaller electric brother that remains quietly unlit next to the left field foul pole.
Sporting spiffy “Hat City” emblazoned jerseys, the Danbury Eleven hosted the North Shore Navigators on this evening. The two combatants engaged in a literal home run derby that accounted for 15 out of the 22 total runs scored. Combining for eight home runs on 29 hits, the Navigators survived a shootout with the Westerners for a 12-10 triumph on this humid Saturday evening. Upon leaving the ballfield, I saw 5 baseballs floating in the creek across Memorial Street, which runs along the tall right field fence.
Twenty-eight former Westerners have graced the fields of Major League Baseball since 1995, including a pitcher from Danbury’s 2004 roster, one Adam Ottavino. Maybe he could have helped the Mad Hatters during this three-hour plus hit parade.
2023
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