Holman Stadium joins Black Heritage Trail of NH: Where Campanella, Newcombe made history

NASHUA – Mayor Jim Donchess recently announced the city and the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, which is based in Portsmouth, will erect a new plaque at Holman Stadium honoring African American baseball players Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe.

Campanella, a Hall of Fame catcher, and Newcombe, a Cy Young Award-winning pitcher, were signed to play with the Nashua Dodgers in 1946, when Jackie Robinson was playing with the Dodgers AAA team in Montreal. Campanella and Newcombe would follow Robinson to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers — Campanella in 1948 and Newcombe in 1949.

The plaque will be unveiled on May 30 before a home game for the Nashua Silver Knights, a collegiate summer league team which plays at Holman.

“We are very excited to have a place on the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire,” Donchess said. “Nashua is proud to be recognized as the home of the first major-league affiliated integrated baseball team in the United States. It is important that we honor these two players – Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe – in the place where they made history.”

The city is also considering displaying a memorabilia case during the unveiling event, which would be on permanent display inside City Hall. The Mayor’s Office is requesting that anyone who collects Nashua baseball artifacts, specifically relating to Campanella, Newcombe, the Dodgers and Holman Stadium, to email NashuaMayor@nashuanh.gov.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Holman Stadium joins Black Heritage Trail of NH: Integration history