Baseball Origin? In Pittsfield?

If you're a big baseball fan (like me), then you might have heard of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Several years ago, a document was discovered in the town that have helped it stake a claim as the birthplace of baseball.  Apparently, the document was dated 1791, which would put it well ahead of the more popular myth that Abner Doubleday wrote the rules for baseball in Cooperstown, NY in 1839.  Other cities like New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey also claim to be the city of baseball's origin, but the history of baseball remains clouded with influence from England and variations of the sport.

Nevertheless, while driving through the scenic Berkshire Hills up to Vermont, we passed through Pittsfield, and I was hopeful we would find some type of historical plaque or monument devoted to its baseball claim.  While Pittsfield is the largest city in the county, the downtown area is not too big, so we quickly found Wahconah Park, located among a few local businesses in town.  The ballpark was built in the early 1900s and has been the home of a variety of minor league and independent league baseball teams.




In front of the ballpark was a small grassy park area with a monument of a large baseball bat leaning to one side, a baseball made of rocks and some shrubs that were supposed to be grown around it as a glove.  The bat was brown and rusty while the shrubs were trimmed down a lot - hey, it was offseason in November!  According to Roadside America, the town held an art blitz back in 2006 to help draw attention to their new baseball claim to fame, and this monument was created by landscape designer Jerid Hohn.  So this was apparently what I was looking for - a small monument in front of the town ballpark.  It's a little reminder to baseball fans that there was some documented history of the game here in this Western Massachusetts town.

Baseball Monument in Front of Wahconah Park

By the way, the Berkshire Hills - also known as just "The Bershires" - are a very popular destination in its own right, particularly for art, music and outdoor recreation.  While our best experience there was just a scenic drive-through, there are many places worth experiencing for camping, relaxing and staying in lakeside cabins.  If you get a chance to explore it further, please drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Pin Stops Ranking: 1 Pin

This is about as inconspicuous as it can get.  Only the most diehard baseball fan would care about this monument - and even I was not super excited about seeing it.  Sure, it's kind of interesting for me to think back about seeing it, but I'm sure many people - locals included - would pass by this monument without a second thought about what it really represented.

Note - this ranking is really about the baseball monument in town.  I'm sure there are other things about Pittsfield and the Berkshires that would be worth seeing but unfortunately, I haven't had the chance.

For more on my Pinstop Rankings, check out this post.