A July night at Riverhead Stadium in 1950. Two baseball legends face each other without even realizing it. Satchel Paige, fabled Negro League pitcher, is on the mound for the Philadelphia Stars. Young Carl Yastrzemski Jr. is in the stands, cheering for his dad on the Riverhead Falcons. The sellout crowd in a stadium barely a year old is a testamant to the long history and deep popularity of baseball in the area.

Fabio Montella of Suffolk County Community College recounts the story of that night and of baseball in Riverhead. Riverhead Stadium was just the latest iteration of a long-standing connection to the sport.

Further Research

• Satchel Paige (Baseball Hall of Fame)
• Remembering Riverhead (Facebook Group)
• NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture
• Fabio Montella
• Audio Footnote
  • Episode 55: The Cuban Giants of Long Island