Montpelier Recreation Field is a baseball venue located in Montpelier, Vermont, United States and is the home field of the Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The field has served as home of the Mountaineers since 2003.Vermont Mountaineers stadium page at thevermontmountaineers.com
History
The Montpelier Senators and the Twin City Trojans The field was constructed in 1940 by the Works Progress Administration,Montpelier Recreation Field at waymarking.com with support from the depression-era Federal Government, featuring a 1,200 seat capacity grandstand (which is still in use today) and bleachers down the first base and third base lines.Baseball in Vermont at the vermontmountaineers.com In the first decade of its existence, starting from 1941, it was home to the Montpelier Senators and, later the Twin City Trojans.
Robin Roberts During this time, Robin Roberts played at Rec Field for the Twin City Trojans. He remembers his time at the Rec Field fondly: "It was a great experience ... you can't imagine a guy that age having a better summer then we had in Vermont."Robin Roberts at thevermontmountaineers.com "We were really good then. I won 17 straight starts that year in Vermont." by Bill Doyle at thenorthfieldnews.com In 1976 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.Robin Roberts at baseballhalloffame.org
Vermont Mountaineers When the league folded in 1952 Rec Field endured a half-century without a professional tenant. This ended in 2003 when the New England Collegiate Baseball League voted to award a franchise to a local Montpelier baseball group.Vermont Baseball at dufresnegroup.com Since then the Rec Field has been the home of the Vermont Mountaineers, enjoying high attendances and success on the field, with the Mountaineers reaching the post-season numerous times, winning the NECBL championship in 2006, 2007, and 2015. The Mountaineers are consistently one of the best teams in the NECBL, and set the record for wins in a season in 2022 with 32 wins. The Mountaineers reached the NECBL Finals in that year, before falling to the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. The Vermont Mountaineers have produced over 50 Major League players, including A.J. Pollock, Tyler Rogers and Nick Martinez.
Full list of tenants 1941-1952 – Montpelier Senators of the Second Northern League. 1941-1952 – Twin City Trojans of the Second Northern League. 2003–present – Vermont Mountaineers of the NECBL.
Attendance In their inaugural season the Mountaineers enjoyed the highest average attendance in the league and have consistently been near the top of the league in this category since.NECBL team statistics archive at necbl.com, URL accessed December 21, 2008
SeasonGame Avg.League Rk.20031,6661st20041,6433rd20051,7072nd20061,7542nd20071,5183rd20081,7203rd20091,3503rd20101,0384th20111,7433rd20121,4982nd
Notable events Robin Roberts Night, July 21, 2003. Robin took the mound at the Rec Field for the first time since 1947, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in front of nearly 3,000 fans. The 2004 NECBL All-Star Game drew 4,127 spectators to Montpelier Recreation Field, a then-NECBL record for highest All-Star Game attendance.All-Star Game 2004 at necbl.com The 2012 NECBL All-Star Game was played at the venue on July 22, 2012.
Photo gallery
External links Vermont Mountaineers website NECBL website
References