Wellpoint New Jersey and the New Jersey Jackals minor league baseball team will officially rename the playing field at the historic Hinchliffe Stadium to Wellpoint Field during a public ceremony on June 5 at 6 p.m. before the game.
The stadium’s name will remain Hinchliffe Stadium, a nationally recognized landmark with deep roots in Negro League baseball history because it was one of the few stadiums of its size that would host Negro League games.
The stadium was built in 1932 during the Great Depression and has played host to baseball Hall of Famers Larry Doby (who played high school sports in Paterson and was the first Black player to play in the American League), Honus Wagner, Josh Gibson, and Oscar Charleston. Hinchliffe Stadium, which seats about 10,000 people, is located just above the Paterson Great Falls, making it the only American sporting venue in a national park.
The partnership between Wellpoint New Jersey and the Jackals spans several years and includes joint initiatives such as Read Around the Bases, health fairs, and community wellness programming. This renaming is a natural next step in a shared mission to support families and fans throughout New Jersey.
The Jackals were founded in 1998 and play in the East Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league that is a Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Jackals moved to Hinchcliffe Stadium in 2023 from Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair.
Among those scheduled to attend the ceremony are Patrick Fox, CEO, Wellpoint; Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh; and members of the New Jersey Jackals.
