MOUNT VERNON — After nearly two decades of silence, the crack of the bat once again rings out in Lamb Park.
Youngsters stream out of the dugouts, taking their place along the baseline to stand with caps in hand while the national anthem plays.
Cries of “Good eye!” and “Way to hit!” emanate from the stands as family and friends cheer on their team.
For Jay Steinmetz and Jeff Derr, it brings back memories of bygone years when they played at Lamb Park.
“My home field was Phillips Park, but a couple of city championships were played here when I was a kid,” Steinmetz said.
Steinmetz’s son, Ronan, was on the mound for the home team when the Angels took on visiting Northridge 10U Minors on May 29.
The Steinmetzes live in Pleasant Township. Steinmetz and the Angels’ coaches met when their teams faced each other in an All-Star Game.
“That turned into joining the Ryse League in Licking County,” Steinmetz explained. “We’re trying to get back to community baseball rather than travel baseball.”
Derr played at Lamb Park as a Little Leaguer, although his home field was Dan Emmett.
“I think it’s great to see a historic park here in Mount Vernon come back to life,” he said. “I like to see park reclamation.”
Derr recently became the full-time recreation director for the City of Mount Vernon. His son, Marshall, plays for the Angels. The family lives in Mount Vernon but not the immediate neighborhood.
“We attend church with the coach and a few of the players. Through team formation, we ended up on the Angels,” Derr explained.
New life for Lamb Park
According to Fred Lorey’s “History of Knox County, Ohio 1876-1976,” Carl Robinson organized Little League Baseball in Mount Vernon in 1954.
The first Little League was a four-team league at Phillips Park. Leagues were organized at Lamb Park and Dan Emmett Park within two years.
Each league had four “major” and four “minor” teams. Lamb Park played in the South Vernon Youth League.
South Vernon won the inaugural 1954 City League Championship.
No one knows how long it’s been since Lamb Park fielded a team, but Brenneman Lumber was the last team listed on the city championship sign in 2005.
New Life Church of the Nazarene is the catalyst for revitalizing the park. The congregation needed green space for its youth sports programs and wanted to give back to the community.
“Our mission is to do good and share the hope of Jesus,” New Life Pastor Troy McNichols said. “This is a way for the local church to love on the community, which we’re excited about.
“What I really hope this comes across as is a celebration of new life for this ballpark,” he added.
Since launching a revitalization effort in February, volunteers cleaned up the infield and added clay dirt, painted fences and dugouts, and painted and renovated the concession stand and press box.
Volunteers also painted the flag pole and raised a new flag.
“[Clinton] Township is coming out and agreed to mow the grass,” said Ryan Farr, New Life’s sports director.
“We’ve done a lot of other small things, like picking up trash.
“There’s also just some really important maintenance work that is being done to keep the facility nice, too,” he added.
However, more needs to be done.
A future based on history
The Angels opened the season on April 27 and played their first home game on May 2. While the field is good enough to play on, the facility needs more improvements.
“I would love for a company to donate to rebuild the dugouts,” McNichols said. “We have sound equipment for the press box, but we can’t install it until we get a new roof. And we need gravel for parking.
“But I don’t want it to be like New Life is asking for a bunch of stuff,” he continued. “It’s more about bringing a place that was dead back to life.”
Lamb Park has a second field for minor league play. It is unkempt and also needs work.
“A team was practicing there. It’s in terrible shape, but that shows the need for somewhere to play,” McNichols said. “Our goal is to continue to make it a full-fledged ballpark. I think one reason why the community is so excited is because there’s a lot of history here.
“Being a ballpark since 1954, that’s pretty cool.”
Anyone wishing to contribute labor, services, equipment, or finances can email McNichols at troy@newlifenaz.net.
Below are photos from opening day (courtesy of New Life Church of the Nazarene) and the May 29 game vs. Northridge.
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