Dovetail Slides Baseball History into the New Fredericksburg Nationals Stadium

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In partnership with the Fredericksburg Nationals Baseball team (FredNats), and in cooperation with Germanna Community College (GCC) and Fredericksburg Area Museum, Dovetail Cultural Resource Group (Dovetail) conducted pro bono archival and oral history research and assisted in the development of the new 80-foot History Pavilion in the FredNats stadium outfield concourse.  Baseball primarily took root in this region, and indeed across the country, during the Civil War. While battles were being fought and lives were being lost, soldiers on both sides played the new game to take their minds off of the battlefields and their homesickness. Abner Doubleday, purported founder of baseball, was even stationed in the Fredericksburg area from 1862 through 1863.  Baseball teams were organized in Fredericksburg by 1866 and, since then, countless amateur and youth teams have taken to the diamond to play ball. For over 160 years, residents have played, watched, listened to, and loved baseball. The establishment of the Fredericksburg Nationals minor league baseball team continues this long and exciting tradition.  The History Pavilion project was designed to highlight the history of baseball in Fredericksburg and provide a location for on-site educational programs; the area also exhibits the FredNats Hall of Fame. You can see some of the results of Dovetail’s research in a series of History Minutes, sponsored by GCC:

• Walter Johnson Silver Dollar Throw
• Culpeper's Pete Hill

• FXBG Baseball History: Croteau started here; ended up in Baseball Hall of Fame