Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Arts & Culture, People, Site

Location

15 James Georgeson Ave, Oneonta, NY 13820, USA

Lat/Long

42.452099, -75.057701

Grant Recipient

Greater Oneonta Historical Society

In 1905, a new baseball field named Elm Park opened in the city of Oneonta in Otsego County, New York. The opening day game was played on Memorial Day, then called Decoration Day, on May 30, 1905. The Elm Park baseball field would come to sit within Neawha Park, a public park established in 1908.

Over its history, the field has been home to Oneonta’s minor league baseball teams, in addition to hosting amateur, college, and semi-pro baseball games. In 1968, the baseball field, then home to the Oneonta Yankees, was renamed in honor of a beloved local coach and a longtime Commissioner of Recreation for the city, E.C. “Dutch” Damaschke. As of 2024, Damaschke Field continues to serve the Oneonta community, hosting local amateur games and travel teams along with community events and celebrations.