Joe Farrell, 1946
Some personal history: my Mom and Dad bought a house in South Plainfield in 1952. In 1954, my Dad (Joe Farrell) became a member of the South Plainfield Recreation Commission. Joe Farrell had a lifelong love of sports as a fan and participant. At times he was an amateur boxer, a basketball and football player in school and out, an avid bowler and golfer. But his first and primary love was baseball. A semi-pro player and lifelong Dodgers fan, he recognized a need for organized baseball in South Plainfield. One of his pet projects was getting a youth baseball program started in town.
Joe Farrell announced as South Plainfield News-Review Sports Editor
With the Rotary Club’s Little League franchise stalled, South Plainfield’s families continued to express their interest in youth baseball. Dad became the sports editor for the local paper, The South Plainfield Weekly News-Review, in March 1954. (His regular column on baseball switched over to Suburban Living in 1962, the weekly that replaced the News-Review.) He continued to hear from South Plainfield’s parents, through both his position with the paper and his membership on the Recreation Commission, that interest in baseball was high. The town was growing quickly and baseball was hugely popular, but there was nothing for the younger kids. South Plainfield had increased its population by 30% between 1940 and 1950, and more than doubled that population again between 1950 and 1960. In the 50s the town would see it not only needed to build a high school, but that its kids would need recreation opportunities. At the top of the list was a baseball program.
Next: South Plainfield Recreation Commission Steps In (1955)