Neighborhood Gets a Boost From Spruced-up Marsh Field
By Mike Mattson | Muskegon Chronicle
April 25, 2010, 10:33PM
Muskegon varsity baseball coach Tom Lopez appreciates historic Marsh Field.
He’s heard the oldtimers’ stories.
He’s read articles about the baseball diamond that served as home field to the professional Clippers and Lassies in years gone by.
And he grew up with special childhood memories at the park.
“My dad always brought me to the field,’’ Lopez said. “And I chased foul balls for Les David. He’d pay us a hot dog and a couple bucks to chase foul balls.’’
In recent years, Lopez watched the decline of Marsh Field, which serves as the home field for the Big Reds.
Read more: Neighborhood gets a boost from spruced-up Marsh Field
Marsh Field and Lakeshore Baseball Club
City of Muskegon wants private group to maintain Marsh Field
By Dave Alexander | Muskegon Chronicle
November 20, 2009
The old field where Jesse Owens once dusted his toes and Satchel Paige trotted the bases is about to get a facelift.
Marsh Field, on the corner of Peck and Laketon, has hosted professional baseball stars, an Olympic track champion and high school games for nearly 100 years. But, it’s starting to show its age.
And officials from the cash-strapped city of Muskegon, which owns and cares for the field, think it might be time to forge a relationship for upkeep of the field with a private entity.
Enter the Lakeshore Baseball Club LLC. The new organization, led by Pete Gawkowski and Len Piasecki, hopes to make improvements to the facility so that it can host local and out-of-town youth baseball activities from tournaments to summer camps.
“Marsh Field has been in a state of decline over the past 10 years,” said Gawkowski, a West Michigan Subway sandwich shop franchise owner and developer of Extra Innings — a Norton Shores indoor baseball training facility.
Marsh Field also has a walking path as part of the recreational facilities at the city park. A formal three-year agreement having the Lakeshore Baseball Club take over the operation and maintenance of Marsh Field is being put in final form by attorneys. The field would remain the home and practice field for the Muskegon High School Big Reds baseball team.
Check out the ChannelCats on YouTube!
The Muskegon ChannelCats are on YouTube! Check out these exciting photo slideshows of the 16U, 17U and 18U teams.
Muskegon ChannelCats Baseball Club
The Muskegon ChannelCats manage select youth travel baseball teams from Muskegon, Michigan and along the Lakeshore. The ChannelCats give players the opportunity to build a solid foundation of fundamental skills, learn the value of teamwork, and, most importantly, have fun playing the game of baseball.
The ChannelCats offer the top youth baseball players from the area the chance to compete against the best competition in the area. Players are offered the opportunity to grow as individuals while preparing them for the next level of competition.
As Muskegon’s longest standing travel baseball organization, the ChannelCats celebrate a rich baseball tradition. ChannelCats baseball teams are recognized throughout the area as a "first class travel baseball operation".
Muskegon Baseball Club Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
