{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://pascrell.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/pascrell-menendez-announce-major-milestone-for-paterson-s-historic", "Pascrell, Menendez Announce Major Milestone for Patersons Historic Hinchliffe Stadium", "2014-12-18", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Bill Pascrell", "P000096", "pascrell.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "PATERSON, NJ \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and U.S. Senator Robert Menendez announced that legislation introduced by both lawmakers in their respective chambers designating historic Hinchliffe Stadium as part of Paterson\u2019s Great Falls National Historical Park is headed to President Obama\u2019s desk for his signature. \u00a0Last year, Rep. Pascrell and Sen. Menendez introduced the Hinchliffe Stadium Heritage Act, which was ultimately included in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act.\n\u201cToday is a great day for Paterson. It\u2019s a great day for New Jersey. And it\u2019s a great day for our entire country,\u201d said Rep. Pascrell. \u00a0\u201cThis historic stadium symbolizes the strength and courage of the many players that graced its field, including the great Larry Doby, as they overcame great adversity in pursuit of a more perfect union. The federal government has finally recognized what all Patersonians have known for years: that Hinchliffe Stadium has played a vital role in our nation\u2019s history, and is worthy of preservation and continued appreciation.\u201d\n\"When I look at Hinchliffe Stadium, I see a field of dreams, an enduring reminder of how far we\u2019ve come since the days of 'separate but equal,' when institutional segregation marginalized the work, dreams and achievements of African Americans,\" said Sen. Menendez. \"I see a community coming together, decades after Hinchliffe first earned its place in American history, to preserve the legacy it represents.\"\nIn 2009, Representative Pascrell, Senator Menendez and the late-Senator Frank Lautenberg introduced the \u201cGreat Falls National Historical Park Act,\u201d which was signed into law as a part of the \u201cOmnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.\u201d \u00a0The measure designated the Great Falls in Paterson as a National Historical Park and commissioned a study to assess Hinchliffe's potential to be named a National Historic Landmark. \u00a0Last year the U.S. Department of Interior completed the study, and designated Hinchliffe as a National Historic Landmark.\n\"The designation of Hinchliffe Stadium as part of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park is an honor and will aide greatly in restoring, the only baseball stadium in the nation with this distinction, to its past glory,\" said Mayor Jose 'joey' Torres. \u00a0\"Hinchliffe Stadium has served as a catalyst of change and improvement. \u00a0During its heyday it represented marginalized communities in American sports. \u00a0We are thankful for its place in this nation's history and share the joy that now the nation and the world can see the beauty of what we hold dear.\"\nEleven current members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame played on Hinchliffe's grounds, including Larry Doby, Josh Gibson, William Julius \u201cJudy\u201d Johnson, Oscar Charleston, and Leroy \u201cSatchel\u201d Paige. \u00a0In addition to hosting Negro League baseball, Hinchliffe Stadium was also home to three professional football teams, many auto racing events, and professional boxing. \u00a0Located within Paterson's National Landmark Historic District, the stadium is directly above the Great Falls National Historical Park.\n\u201cHinchliffe Stadium represents an irreplaceable piece of our nation\u2019s history,\u201d said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. \"Some of our nation\u2019s greatest athletes took to the field there and courageously led the movement to integrate professional sports -- and our country as a whole. Inclusion of the stadium within the broader Great Falls National Historical Park system is an important milestone towards the preservation and reuse of this extraordinary sports venue.\u201d\nPaterson School Board, the current owner of the stadium, adopted a resolution in support in support of the bill.\nThe bill also had the support of the New Jersey Community Development Corporation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Friends of Hinchliffe Stadium, the Hamilton Partnership for Paterson, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and former Paterson Mayor and current Chair of the Great Falls Advisory Commission, Pat Kramer.\nThe Hinchliffe Stadium Heritage Act had bipartisan support from 24 cosponsors, including the entire New Jersey congressional delegation. \u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://pascrell.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/pascrell-menendez-announce-major-milestone-for-paterson-s-historic"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7255601231008768, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}