The temperature yesterday here in Virginia Beach was around 70 degrees. It’s late January and I am having to choose which pair of shorts I am wearing out of the house? Definitely a good problem to have. With the weather being so nice outside, I took a look at my list of baseball fields to check out and decided on Virginia Beach’s First Colonial High School. The Patriots, a familiar team to me being from New England. Seemed like a good fit and off I went to First Colonial.
With the roar of planes overhead and games being played on an adjacent field on campus, I parked in the back lot of First Colonial High School right outside the field area. There was a brick walkway which took me down the right field line to the visitor’s dugouts (I’m presuming) on the first base side of the field. There was a commemorative sign thanking alumni and contributors to who helped create the facility. I also learned the name of the baseball field – Norbie Wilson Field. Off to a good start…
Who is Norbie Wilson and why is the field named after him? Quick search online and I found this article honoring Coach Wilson’s time at First Colonial, where he won some 400 games. 400 games, that is legendary. Here is a snippet from that article – “Wilson, a coaching legend at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach where he won more than 400 games before retiring from coaching in 2004, made his mark in baseball. Under Wilson, First Colonial won 14 district championships, seven Eastern Regional championships and a Virginia AAA state championship in 1993. His 1993 state championship team was ranked sixth in the nation by USA Today and posted a record of 28-0.“ Just amazing.
As I have noted in previous articles about visits to fields, the field was still coming by from hibernation so netting and other structures were not completely up and in season form. Still, I was able to walk around the field and check out the dugouts and the stands were fans cheer on the Patriots Baseball team. The seating behind home plate was raised up, as you can see from the photo above, on a platform of bricks. Off in the distance, past the left field foul territory area was an indoor batting cage hut. As I was walking around, I noticed players and coaches entering that.
As the field area was open, I took a peek inside the dugouts to see if I could see any plaques or other signs. I did notice there were some motivational signs and team goal type signs that were pretty interesting. I really liked the one about quality at bats. Not every hit can be a home run or a triple. A quality at bat can advance a runner in a key spot or simply provide a spark at the right time and place for a struggling team. The sign’s message finishes with the word “compete,” can’t get much better than that.
As I typically do after visiting a field, I head home to research who may have played baseball on that field. In this area, Hampton Roads, there seems to be a large number of prospects, MLB players, and other very interesting people who have attended schools around here. Case in point, First Colonial High School. A number of NFL players, professional soccer players, filmmakers caught my eye. I did a double take when I saw actor Mark Ruffalo’s name. Very cool. Big fan of Ruffalo’s work over the years and especially as the Incredible Green Guy. And for baseball, veteran MLB’er Mark Reynolds.
Reynolds will be eligible for next year’s Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. According to his Baseball Reference page, he last played in 2019, for The Colorado Rockies. Nice career, 13 seasons, solid defensive player playing multiple positions, almost 300 home runs, nearly 1300 hits. Great player to have on your team who can hit for power, field, and provide those First Colonial quality at bats when you need them. Here are his 13 seasons of stats, again from his Baseball Reference page:
I had a great visit to First Colonial High School and Norbie Wilson Field. It was cool to find out that Mark Ruffalo and Mark Reynolds once attended First Colonial and also learning more about Coach Wilson. The weather was just gorgeous yesterday, and heck it’s only January. And I am looking forward to watching some Patriots games this Spring, Patriots Baseball that is.
The Rhiter 
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