For Pottsville Area Little League President Matt Harrison, history is important.
He’s a history teacher by day and on nights and weekends over the last several months, he and his fellow board members have overseen a $600,000 transformation of the most famous of all Little League parks in Schuylkill County.
And on Friday evening, a new chapter in Railway Park’s already-storied history – remember the 1997 All-Star team that went all the way to the Little League World Series – started to be told.
Probably the league’s most storied player, former Sprite and Major League Baseball pitcher Chris Nabholz threw out the first pitch and the community got its first chance to see how Railway Park would play host to a new generation of baseball players in Pottsville.
Nabholz is now the Dean of Students at DHH Lengel Middle School in Pottsville. So, in that role, he has gotten to know many of the kids who take the same field he did more than 45 years ago.
He says he tries to tell today’s players, no matter what their dreams are, if they are like his were or not, that they have to know that at some point, they will fail and how to build off that experience to get better.
“There’s nothing that can hold you back except yourself,” he says is his lesson to students.
Nabholz says he’s still in contact with some of the players on his Railway Little League teams and they still talk about their time together.
“That’s what’s fun about Little League baseball. You develop friendships that you have for a lifetime,” the lefty says.
Railway Park Transformed
“If not us, who,” Harrison asked as to why it was decided to raise all that money and transform Railway Park into what was unveiled on Friday. “Today’s rededication marks a new chapter. With modern improvements and renewed commitment, Railway Park stands ready to serve the next generation of athletes and families. While the facilities may be updated, the mission remains the same: to provide a place where young people can learn, grow, and fall in love with the game.”
The park’s upgrades include a massive 100-by-50-foot indoor practice facility. It’s 24-foot high walls also serve as the outfield wall in left field. There are new home and visitor dugouts and a shed. A new scoreboard is in right-center field. New LED lights have been installed. The concession stand and press box got a new facade. Fencing surrounding the entire field has been replaced. The infield dirt has been replaced and leveled. And new landscaping helps complete the upgrades.
All this work happened over the winter and right up until Friday afternoon. Ground was broken on the project late last year. At times, Harrison says, a crew from Pioneer Pole Buildings was working in 8-degree weather to construct the all-weather practice facility.
“We hoped and prayed (it would be finished on time),” Harrison says. “It was a sprint to the finish.”
The finished product is something the current board members hope shows a pride in the Pottsville community and a place where kids from around the area dream of one day playing a game of baseball.
“We want everyone to want to come play at Railway,” Harrison says.
Photos by Jacqueline Dormer
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