1. Things to Do In New Jersey – South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame

Most baseball fans know that Hoboken, New Jersey is rumored to be the birthplace of organized baseball. However, many are unaware that just down the New Jersey Turnpike in South Jersey lies a treasure trove rich in the history of our nation’s beloved game of baseball. The South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame, supported by the Hot Stovers Baseball Club of South Jersey and located in the front office of the Camden Riversharks, has set about to change that.

A recent visit to the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame taught this baseball fan a few things:

• Pitcher Scott Schoenweis played baseball in South Jersey for Lenape Regional High School in Medford, New Jersey. Schoenweis pitched in the 2002 World Series for the Anaheim Angels, who defeated the San Francisco Giants.

• Chris Widger, of Pennsville, New Jersey, who played major league baseball for eleven seasons, earned a World Series Ring while catching for the White Sox in the 2005 World Series. A baseball bat used by Widger in the Series is housed in the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame.

• In 1988, Orel Hershiser set a major league baseball record with 59 consecutive scoreless innings while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hershiser won Major League Baseball’s Cy Young Award, and was named MVP of the LCS and the World Series, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, the Sporting News Major League Player of the Year, and the AP Male Athlete of the Year. Hershiser got his start playing baseball in South Jersey for Cherry Hill High School East. He pitched in major league baseball for 18 seasons.

• You know the mud that’s used to remove the shine from baseballs? Well, it’s not just baseball playing field dirt with some water added to it! For three quarters of a century, Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud has been used to prep baseballs for nearly every professional baseball team in the country. Blackburne, a third base coach for the old Philadelphia Athletics baseball team and a resident of South Jersey, discovered the mud and it’s special “baseball rubbing qualities” somewhere along the tributaries of the Delaware River in Burlington County back in 1938. To this day, the exact location of the old New Jersey mud hole is a “dark” secret.

• South Jersey’s Whitey Witt, of Alloway, played baseball for the New York Yankees in 1923. The outfielder was the leadoff batter for the opening day baseball game at the newly built Yankee Stadium (now “old” Yankee Stadium), making him the first Yankee to bat in the new stadium.

There are many more interesting South Jersey baseball facts to be found out at this New Jersey gem, but I won’t spoil your visit! Take a ride down to the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame and find out for yourself. The hall of fame is located outside the main gate of Campbell’s Field, home to the Camden Riversharks. Make an event of it and catch a game while you’re there. The Riversharks are one of the best bargains you’ll find in baseball and Campbell’s Field features breathtaking views of the Philadelphia skyline and the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Things to know:

• The South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame is located at 401 N. Delaware Avenue in Camden, New Jersey.

• It is easily accessible by car or the New Jersey Transit Riverline light rail line.

• The hall is open during Riversharks front office hours or when the Riversharks have a home game.

• Time to allot for visit: less than an hour.

• Free admission.

• Visit the Riversharks online or call (866-742-7579) for directions, game schedules, office hours, or for Riversharks tickets.

Other things to do in the area:

• Battleship New Jersey
• Adventure Aquarium
• Camden Children’s Garden
• The Walt Whitman House (a New Jersey State Historic Site)

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