Don’t you just love tangents? You know, when you are on one path and suddenly another very interesting path opens up and you head down there full speed? Like for example, I was out the other day with Rachel and the Weims (Rookie and Nora) exploring the area I lived in when I first moved to Virginia Beach back in the late 1990s. College Square Apartments, Riviera Place, off Providence Rd, Indian Corner Rd, that section of VA Beach. We made it over there from our house in about 15 minutes or so, no problem. On the ride over, I spotted a really nice park with baseball fields – Providence Park – and thought, yeah after I walk down memory lane, I need to check this place out. And so we did…
After a nice walk with the Weims around the circumference of the park, I took a few photos of the two baseball fields. The fields, part of the Kempsville Pony League, were in decent shape for winter. I’m guessing the local baseball moms and dads will be out soon to put up banners, line the basepaths, clean out the dugouts, rake the field, and prep the field for the 2024 season. As I was leaving, I snapped a photo of each press box so I could research the field’s namesakes – Ralph Garriot and Roland Hargrove.
I did a Google search for Ralph Garriot and, holy cow, am I glad I did. There is an extensive history of the Kempsville Pony League, written by Frank Albero, online that I downloaded. I read all 14 pages and read them again. Hampton Roads has a very rich history of baseball. And Norfolk, Virginia Beach can lay claim to a lot of pages in that history of baseball in Hampton Roads. I have attached the PDF file for your viewing and I encourage you to read up on the Kempsville baseball story. It is a baseball love story with this league, trust me. Wait until you read about the Coast Guard helping dry out a field so the boys could play a championship game. Priceless!!!
So, in the Kempsville Pony history file, the author mentions a commemorative statue and a home plate memorial located on the grounds of the former Kempsville Pony League field location. The grounds is now a beautiful park called Kempes Landing Park off Princess Anne Road/Kempsville Road. I liked the photos in the author’s history showing the baseball fields literally right up against Kempsville Road and the fact that the traffic stalled at lights was at risk of foul balls. Great visual.
This afternoon, I took a short drive down to Kempes Landing Park to check out the statue and the plate. Here are some photos from my visit:
You have to read some of the brick messages near the statue. They say a ton about the men and women who built this league and kept it running through good times and bad. I tip my cap to each and every one of you for making baseball a reality for future generations. This one really got to me “Thank you for all the invaluable life lessons and the lifelong memories, Gabby, David, Steve & Matt Hayes.”
What an awesome baseball experience there at Kempes Landing Park. I can’t wait to catch a game or two this Spring at Providence Park, at either Hargrove or Garriot Field. And what an incredible history Kempsville Pony Baseball has. I loved reading the history of the league, seeing historic photos, and learning about these incredible baseball people who put community first and profits second.
The Rhiter 